The University of Reims Champagne Ardenne (URCA) is a multidisciplinary university with 24,000 students. Two of the 31 research units from URCA are involved in the Valbran project: the URCA-INRA unit FARE (Agro-Resources Fractionation and Environment), and the URCA-CNRS unit ICMR (Institute of Molecular Chemistry from Reims).

The research developed at FARE concerns the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass into molecules of interest, in particular by biotechnological processes. Among its research themes, ICMR develops original synthetic ways to access molecules for the health and biorefinery sectors. FARE and ICMR have collaborated over the past 15 years to develop enzymatic functionalization of carbohydrates with low environmental impact and thus to produce original molecules that are difficult to access for different applications.