LeAD · Leveraging Anaerobic Digestion through environmental stresses

Effective (organic) waste management and renewable energy supply are essential in our present society, such as meeting targets of the European Green Deal and the Renewable Energy Directive. Anaerobic digestion can tackle both challenges simultaneously, and has been commonly applied for renewable energy recovery in the form of biogas from organic waste. The complex and sensitive microbial interactions to environmental stressors can cause the failure of anaerobic digestion, imposing challenges for innovation. In LeAD, we introduce the microbial niche nexus concept (tuning microbial communities and their metabolic pathways to achieve multidimensional microbial networks) to achieve more resistant/resilient anaerobic digestion systems, thus improving resource recovery from waste sources under stressed conditions. Hence, LeAD aims to train the next generation environmental biotechnologists in order to address key knowledge gaps and develop models and technologies in anaerobic digestion responding to stressed environmental conditions, which will revolutionize resource recovery from waste towards circular bioeconomy and sustainable development. The 14 tailored projects are tailored based on the design-build-test-learn cycle to train the doctoral candidates with systems knowledge to deal with challenges for transiting waste removal towards resource recovery through anaerobic digestion. To train the 14 doctoral candidates via an international, intersectoral, and interdisciplinary program, LeAD brings together experts from several disciplines, forming a consortium of eight beneficiaries and five associated partners (including three industries). Through both local and network-wide activities and events, LeAD will educate next-generation talents with competitive transversal skills and capacities both to the academic and non-academic sectors, further profoundly influencing the future bio-economy and society.