What is SUSBOARD?
SUSBOARD is a Horizon Europe CBE-JU innovation project aimed at tackling the continued use of fossil-based adhesives containing formaldehyde, one of the direst environmental and health challenges in the wood-based panel industry:
Despite progress in recycling and circular production models, adhesive systems remain a constraint for fully sustainable wood products. Today, nearly all industrial Particle Boards (PB) and Medium Density Fibreboards (MDF) panels are manufactured using formaldehyde resins. These pose significant health and environmental risks due to formaldehyde emissions and their fossil origin.
SUSBOARD offers a breakthrough innovation
The project is developing a cost-competitive adhesive system that is 100% biobased, formaldehyde-free, and suitable for large-scale production of PB and MDF. The solution builds upon the SUSBIND adhesive concept, improving it by replacing the fossil-derived amine component with a biobased amine component, thereby eliminating the major source of carbon emissions within the formulation.
Key Innovations
- Activated carbohydrate syrups, produced from widely available renewable feedstocks in Europe
- High-performing, non-toxic and bio-based amine components
- Testing at lab and industrial scale to validate board performance, emission levels, and recyclability
- Application of the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework to assess environmental and health impacts
Our Ambitions
- Provide the wood-based panel industry with a drop-in alternative to formaldehyde adhesives
- Enable the production of high-quality, sustainable furniture and building materials
- Demonstrate the scalability and market readiness of bio-based adhesives in a critical European furniture and construction industry.
By aligning technical expertise with environmental responsibility, SUSBOARD contributes to EU climate goals, bioeconomy strategies, and the transformation toward greener industrial value chains.
SUSBOARD Consortium
The Challenge
Wood-based panels such as particleboard (PB) and medium-density fibreboard (MDF) play a fundamental role in Europe’s furniture and construction sectors.
With an annual production of over 60 million m³, the sustainability of these materials is undermined by their reliance on fossil-based adhesives.
Adhesive systems used in PB and MDF are typically based on formaldehyde resins. These formulations are not only fossil-derived, contributing to the industry’s carbon footprint, but they also release formaldehyde, a classified carcinogen that poses health risks to both workers and consumers.
This drives the demand for bio-based and formaldehyde-free adhesive systems.
The adhesives currently in use perform extremely well at low cost. That makes the transition toward safer, circular and low-emission adhesives in the wood-based panel sector technologically and economically challenging yet essential for achieving EU climate, health and sustainability goals.
SUSBOARD addresses this challenge by introducing a new adhesive system that is fully bio-based, cost-efficient, and capable of replacing traditional resins.
SUSBOARD Solution
SUSBOARD builds on the successful results of the EU-funded SUSBIND project to bring a new generation of adhesives to technical readiness. The project offers a breakthrough in adhesive technology: a cost-competitive, 100% bio-based and formaldehyde-free adhesive, developed for use in particleboard (PB) and medium-density fibreboard (MDF) production.
The SUSBOARD adhesive system meets industrial requirements for strength, durability, and safety without the need for fossil-based components.
The adhesive is:
- 100% bio-based
- Formaldehyde-free, contributing to healthier indoor environments
- Compatible with existing PB and MDF production infrastructure
- Scalable to multi-ton production
- Economically and technologically viable
Safe and Sustainable by Design
SUSBOARD follows a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) methodology to ensure that all innovations deliver not only performance but also long-term value for health and the environment.
This includes:
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify environmental impact
- Social LCA (sLCA) to examine societal and worker-level effects
- Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to measure economic viability
- Monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde emissions throughout production and use
By combining scientific innovation with industrial scalability, SUSBOARD demonstrates that truly sustainable, high-performance adhesives can transition from lab to market, enabling a future of safer furniture, greener construction and furniture industry.
Impacts
SUSBOARD contributes directly to the European Green Deal, Circular Economy and Zero Pollution Action Plans.
Through the development of the first 100% bio-based, formaldehyde-free adhesive system, SUSBOARD addresses urgent challenges at the intersection of climate change, public health, and sustainable industry.
Environmental
Impact
SUSBOARD significantly reduces the environmental footprint of wood-based panel production by:
- Replacing fossil-based components with renewable, bio-based materials
- Reducing CO₂ emissions by up to 30% compared to conventional urea-formaldehyde adhesives
- Minimising volatile organic compound (VOCs) and formaldehyde emissions during board production and use
The project integrates the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework across all stages, ensuring that sustainability is not only achieved in terms of carbon footprint but also in terms of chemical safety and recyclability. SUSBOARD panels are tested for compliance with upcoming EU restrictions on formaldehyde (Regulation EU 2023/1464) and designed to meet the highest indoor air quality standards.
Economic and
Industrial Impact
- Delivering two fully bio-based adhesives (for PB and MDF) at Technology Readiness Level 7 (TRL7), validated through industrial trials
- Enabling cost-effective production of sustainable furniture boards with only a 15–25% increase in price, counterbalanced by added market value and health benefits
- Scaling up production to 40 tons during the project and paving the way for 1,000+ tons within one year post-project
Societal
Impact
- Enabling the creation of affordable, eco-friendly furniture with no added formaldehyde
- Contributing to improved indoor air quality, especially in residential spaces
Long-Term
Vision
- Support industrial production of over 10,000 tons of bio-based adhesives annually
- Enable 25–50% of production lines in partner companies to use bio-based adhesives
- Expand bio-adhesive use to additional applications
- Contribute to the broader market transition toward formaldehyde-free, circular materials in furniture and construction
BALORMAN Int Agac Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
Balorman INT has been active in the wood sector since 1958 and specialises in developing wood-based components for the modular furniture, white goods, and packaging industries. With integrated production facilities in Turkey and Romania, the company supplies markets across Europe, Africa, India, and the Americas.
Balorman INT has embraced Industry 4.0 automation, lean manufacturing principles, and recycling-oriented production models to enhance quality, efficiency, and global competitiveness.
In SUSBOARD, the company contributes to furniture prototyping, using SUSBOARD panels to design and produce modular furniture components, thereby validating the practical performance of the novel boards under real-world conditions.
RTDS Group
RTDS Association is a non-profit organisation based in Vienna, Austria, with long-standing expertise in EU-funded research and innovation projects.
RTDS specialises in project coordination, communication, and exploitation, with a focus on maximising the social and commercial impact of scientific results.
In SUSBOARD, RTDS serves as the project coordinator, ensuring effective implementation, legal compliance, and streamlined collaboration across the consortium. RTDS also leads Dissemination, Communication, and Exploitation (DCE) activities, managing project branding, the website, social media, press relations, and stakeholder outreach. As part of the exploitation task, RTDS supports partners in identifying business opportunities and maximising the market potential of the 100% bio-based adhesive developed within the project.
Kompetenzzentrum Holz GMBH - Wood K Plus
Wood K plus is one of Europe’s leading research institutions in the field of wood and renewable resources. Its core competencies lie in materials science and process technology along the full value chain — from raw materials to finished products.
The institute conducts applied research at the interface between science and industry, promoting resource-efficient innovation in the circular bioeconomy.
Within SUSBOARD, Wood K plus is responsible for scientific coordination and plays an active role across all work packages. The institute leads WP1 (Adhesive Formulation and Development) and WP2 (Laboratory Board Production Parameters), contributing to the optimisation of board production using the novel adhesive. Wood K plus also contributes to WP5 (Safe and Sustainable by Design) and leads the project’s environmental and socio-economic assessments.
Institut fur Holztechnologie Dresden gGmbH
Institut fur Holztechnologie Dresden (IHD) is a non-profit research institute specialising in applied research and development across the wood processing, conversion, and finishing industries. Through its subsidiary EPH (Entwicklungs- und Prüflabor Holztechnologie GmbH), IHD also provides global services in testing, certification, consulting, and training. The institute maintains an extensive technical infrastructure and cooperates with partners in over 60 countries.
In SUSBOARD, IHD contributes to WP2 by conducting laboratory trials on MDF boards and solid wood panels using the novel bio-based adhesive. IHD also leads WP5 (Safe and Sustainable by Design), where it is responsible for steps 1–3 of the SSbD assessment including hazard evaluation and the analysis of health and environmental impacts during production and use of the wood-based materials.
CARGILL Deutschland GMBH
Cargill is a global company providing food, agricultural, industrial, and ingredient solutions in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way.
With 160,000 employees worldwide — including 1,900 in Germany, Cargill operates across the supply chain to support farmers, customers, and communities with essential products and services.
In SUSBOARD, Cargill is responsible for providing and optimising the carbohydrate-based feedstock used in the bio-based adhesive. Leveraging its expertise in agricultural raw materials and bio-industrial processes, Cargill contributes to ensuring the feedstock’s performance, scalability, and sustainability.
BASF SE
BASF is a global chemical company committed to enabling the green transformation of industry.
With a focus on combining innovation, economic success, and environmental responsibility, BASF’s portfolio covers Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Nutrition & Care, Surface Technologies, and Agricultural Solutions. In 2024, BASF generated €11 billion in sales from products launched in the past five years.
In SUSBOARD, BASF brings its extensive expertise in the development, production, and application of adhesives, with a growing emphasis on bio-based alternatives. The company is tasked with scaling up the adhesive components and the final adhesive formulation to a 10-ton level, demonstrating its technical and industrial viability.
SONAE Arauco Portugal SA
Sonae Arauco is one of the world’s largest producers of wood-based products, with 13 plants across Europe and South America and more than 2,700 employees.
The company manufactures particleboard, MDF, OSB, and decorative products for the furniture, construction, and interior design industries.
With a strong commitment to circularity and sustainability, Sonae Arauco integrates recycled wood and by-products into its value chain. In SUSBOARD, the company is responsible for the industrial validation of the novel adhesive through large-scale particleboard production, including the assessment of its technical, environmental, and economic performance.
Sareco Deutschland GmbH - Saréco Deutschland GmbH
Saréco Deutschland GmbH is a medium-sized company based in Ibbenbüren, Germany, specialising in the coating and processing of wood-based materials. With a broad product portfolio, Saréco supplies tailored solutions to clients in the furniture, interior design, and construction sectors. The company maintains large stocks of certified substrates and decorative surfaces, and offers advanced processing capabilities including edge banding, CNC machining, and surface lamination.
In SUSBOARD, Saréco is responsible for post-processing the bio-based boards developed in the project. These include melamine lamination, cutting, edge-banding, and drilling. The processed panels are then assessed for their compatibility with standard manufacturing operations and their suitability for end-use by commercial customers.
Kastamonu Entegre Agac Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
In SUSBOARD, Kastamonu Entegre contributes its industrial expertise and infrastructure to support the demonstration of the bio-based adhesive at scale. The company plays a key role in validating the performance of the novel solution under real production conditions, ensuring market relevance and industrial applicability.