Potentially reusable organic matter are going to waste due to lack of technology.

About ten thousand tons of poultry feather are wasted in Hungary each year. The fate of this unusable organic byproduct is mostly incineration, which is not only costly, but has harmful effects on the environment. To deal with the problem, a solution came from Hungary: research in order to figure out how to exploit the unused feathers as input for the building industry. The project started in Kiskőrös in 2015 with the contribution of numerous architects and green technology professionals. 

The project’s long term goal, as a result of experimental development and innovation, is to reduce carbon emissions, to achieve better material efficiency during production, more efficient management and processing of waste and the creation of new, more environmentally-friendly products (e.g. energy efficient, material saving) aiming to reduce pollution. Within this framework, to reduce economical and social inclusion and to build bilateral partnership between Hungarian and Norwegian partners.

Finding a cost-efficient recycling process.

Numerous patents exist around the word for the recycling of feather waste. However, there was not a single cost-efficient, secure and marketable solution – until now. The complexity of the task is shown by that, during the developmental phase of the “From nature to nature” project, approximately 1500 individual experiments were necessary to reach the final structure of the material. Ninety percent of the end product is comprised of ground and whole poultry feather, with nine additional elements providing such product qualities as static solidity, fire resistance or the protection from insects and pests – claims József Major, the owner of the patent.

Discovering the opportunities that the feather holds (good isolation, good structure built of polymers), the project will develop methods to allow secondary raw material production. In order to achieve this goal, through a research & development process, the project will create new ways and techniques for new product production.

• Design prototype product made of feather (isolation material for building industry);
• Design technology for production line;
• Submit patents for the prototypes;
• Set up testing lab and production line testing room;
• Set up factory machinery for actual production facility in industrial park;
• Set up Feather Network (suppliers)Hungary and Eastern Europe.

IDN collaborated in the project by:

• Consulting on Business Model Canvas (product options, suppliers, market segments, value propositions, channels).
• Contacting potential European partners and creating a network for collaboration.
• Developing market entry strategy for the European market.
• Developing Business plan.

The undertaking of the tender was not something easy or insignificant: the development of two different prototypes that both satisfy the needs and qualifications of the construction industry, and the implementation of a production line for the manufacturing of the products.

• Feather-carton: an outer facade insulating material; 
• Feather-wood: an inner heat and noise insulating material, were born. 

Both possess excellent insulating qualities and have outstanding significance regarding environmental protection. The successful finalisation of the project in the beginning of 2017 does not mean an end to the process. The long term goal is mass production and an entry to the international market, which is justified by the cost-efficiency and the environmental value of the product.