Commercial PHAs have a high cost compared to conventional polymers, due to the raw materials they use as a carbon source. About 50% of the total production costs of PHA are due to raw materials, which leads to high production costs.

Additionally, the HAP industry has raised concerns since most HAPs are produced mainly from food crops (cereals), sugar cane, and vegetable oils. The production of these carbon sources competes with food and feed production. Therefore, it is advisable to choose cheap, readily available, and renewable substrates, which do not compete with food production and support microbial growth efficiently. This is why there is a strong trend in the research of PHAs obtained from waste as carbon sources.

Project reference 2019.08.CT01.0040, a grant awarded 128,687€ with co-financing of up to 80% (102,950€) from the FEDER global subvention.