Innovating Works

LyticPol

Financiado
Understanding the new oxidative paradigm of biomass waste upcycling
As the EU is committed to becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent, fossil fuels need to be replaced by sustainable alternatives. A potential alternative is the upcycling of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels. However... As the EU is committed to becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent, fossil fuels need to be replaced by sustainable alternatives. A potential alternative is the upcycling of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels. However, the cost-efficient generation of biofuel from cellulose is considerably hindered by the recalcitrance of the cellulose biopolymer. In 2010, the discovery of a new family of copper-dependent metalloenzymes called lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) spurred great hopes as LPMOs were shown to significantly boost the degradation of cellulose and other polysaccharides. Today, eight families of LPMOs have been classified with remarkably diverse substrate specificities and regioselectivities. Furthermore, the metal active sites are in rather different surroundings. Despite combined efforts from experimental and theoretical sides, the reaction mechanism of LPMOs has remained elusive. The here proposed LyticPol project suggests that previous theoretical studies lacked general conclusions because they (i) considered too few LPMO families and (ii) employed insufficient theoretical methods for the enzyme environment. The LyticPol project aims at elucidating the reaction mechanism of LPMOs, by using a novel theoretical method on a large set of representative LPMO structures. From knowing the mechanism, the reaction conditions of LPMOs can be fine-tuned and the full industrial potential can be reached. This is expected to have substantial economic and social impact. Hence, the results of the LyticPol project will be communicated not only to scientific experts but also to the general public. The project will be carried out by Dr. Erna K. Wieduwilt (EKW) under the supervision of Prof. Erik D. Hedegård at the University of Southern Denmark. The project itself and the training of EKW will contribute decisively to her career goal of becoming an innovative and independent researcher in the field of theoretical bio-inorganic chemistry. ver más
31/03/2026
SDU
215K€
Duración del proyecto: 32 meses Fecha Inicio: 2023-07-19
Fecha Fin: 2026-03-31

Línea de financiación: concedida

El organismo HORIZON EUROPE notifico la concesión del proyecto el día 2023-07-19
Línea de financiación objetivo El proyecto se financió a través de la siguiente ayuda:
Presupuesto El presupuesto total del proyecto asciende a 215K€
Líder del proyecto
SYDDANSK UNIVERSITET No se ha especificado una descripción o un objeto social para esta compañía.
Perfil tecnológico TRL 4-5