After four years of collaboration, innovation, and stakeholder dialogue, the OXIPRO project has come to a close — leaving behind a powerful legacy that demonstrates the potential of enzyme technologies to transform everyday products into greener, safer, and more sustainable solutions.
From lab bench to policy table, OXIPRO has made measurable strides in enzyme discovery, process development, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory advocacy. The project focused on oxidoreductases—an underexplored class of enzymes with high potential for environmentally friendly applications in textiles, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and detergents.
Scientific and Technical Achievements
OXIPRO streamlined complex computational workflows through the creation of modular bioinformatics tools, biocontainers, and the user-friendly Horus workflow manager. This made advanced protein design and screening more accessible across the consortium.
Among the standout scientific breakthroughs were:
- The development of a new bacterial lactoperoxidase (CyanoPOX), promising for food and personal care applications.
- Several new industrially relevant oxidases identified through marine and microbial bioprospecting.
- A patented enzyme screening platform and a new flow reactor for activity measurement, now under review for European patents.
Across four innovation cases, OXIPRO delivered greener alternatives:
- A dual enzyme system to remove off-putting odours in salmon protein hydrolysates.
- A bioprocess to valorise wastewater into hydrogen peroxide for cotton biobleaching.
- Antimicrobial detergent strategies based on alditol oxidase.
- Laccase-based biopolymers for boosting UV protection in cosmetics.
Despite challenges such as cost, cofactor dependence, and stability, these solutions consistently showed environmental performance improvements, including reduced chemical and energy use, confirmed via life cycle assessments.
Supporting Standardisation and Industrial Uptake
OXIPRO also tackled the lack of standardised methods in enzyme testing, proposing improvements to flavoprotein oxidase assays and scaling up promising enzyme production processes to 70 L fermentation volumes. These efforts pave the way for industrial adoption.
Policy, Regulation, and Future Readiness
The project didn’t stop at the science. OXIPRO actively contributed to shaping the policy landscape:
- Three policy briefs outlined how EU regulatory frameworks must evolve to fully support enzyme technologies.
- Stakeholder roundtables with policymakers, industry, and NGOs created a shared understanding of barriers like REACH classification and alignment with Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles.
OXIPRO’s insights will continue to inform EU efforts to reconcile innovation, safety, and sustainability in future biotech regulation.
Watch our video summary of policy recommendations for enhancing the potential of enzyme technologies: ‘Enzymes for a Greener Europe‘.
Communication, Outreach, and Inclusion
Through the newsletter The Active Site, social media campaigns, and events ranging from science fairs to meet-a-scientist initiatives, OXIPRO brought enzyme science to new audiences. Pop-science videos, podcasts, and consumer surveys broadened engagement, while collaborations with sister projects boosted knowledge exchange.
Importantly, OXIPRO championed gender equity: over half of all participants and nearly half of the researchers were women—well above Horizon 2020 averages—with five out of eight work packages led by female scientists.
Training, Publications, and Long-Term Legacy
OXIPRO trained a new generation of experts, with 22 early-career researchers contributing to publications, patents, and policy. The project produced over 13 peer-reviewed papers and a book chapter, exceeding its KPIs.
To ensure long-term access to knowledge, datasets, models, and findings have been shared openly on platforms like Zenodo.
As OXIPRO ends, its influence continues—through its people, its technologies, its policy impact, and its potential to catalyse a more sustainable bio-based economy.
“OXIPRO has demonstrated that enzyme-based innovation is not only scientifically feasible but economically and environmentally meaningful. With the right regulatory support and continued collaboration, we’re just at the beginning of what these technologies can do. A heartfelt thank you to all partners for your dedication, expertise, and innovation throughout this exciting journey. The spirit of unity and purpose across disciplines and sectors has truly shaped what OXIPRO stands for.”
— Gro Bjerga, OXIPRO Coordinator