- The winners will be announced at the next edition of Greencities and S.Moving, next September.
In the framework of the TRANSFIERE forum held at the Palacio de Congresos de Málaga (FYCMA) from 15 to 17 February, the event “LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 – Synergies towards Technology Transfer” took place on Friday 17 February. The hybrid event, in which different European projects involved in energy transfer were presented, served to share and exchange good practices, strategies and innovative ideas.
Juanma Revuelta, Director of the Finnova Foundation, opened the event, presenting all his experience and knowledge in European funds and explaining in detail the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project, in which Finnova participates. After his speech, Carlos Ramos, Operations Director of FUMI-HOGAR explained the LIFE NextFumigreen project, a European project in which Finnova participates as a partner, which aims to develop natural fumigants from active substances extracted from plant extracts to control populations of whitefly and fungal outbreaks.
Continuing with the first panel, Manuela Granada, Communication and Project Officer at the Finnova Foundation, presented the Res4City project. The European project, funded through the Horizon Europe programme, has the overall objective of enhancing the development of sustainable fuel and renewable energy technologies in cities through the promotion of sustainability and the deployment of an educational programme.
Subsequently, Félix Marín, Head of Development and Technology Transfer at IMDEA Energía, presented the European SHARP-sCO2 project, which aims to establish the basis for the development of a new generation of highly efficient and flexible solar thermal power plants.
To end this section, Olga de Blas, Project Manager at food+i presented two projects. On the one hand, B-Resilient, which establishes an ambitious package of support actions to empower food processing SMEs through the optimal use of biomass. On the other hand, Bioeconomy Ventures, which aims to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the bioindustry sector by offering support, brokerage and networking services to stakeholders.
Life Ecodigestion 2.0 Startup Europe Awards
The second panel began with the presentation, by Juanma Revuelta, of the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 StartUp Europe Awards and the two challenges posed. The first one is to improve biogas generation in wastewater treatment plants and energy improvement in WWTPs, and the second challenge is related to sustainable technology for the valorisation of sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
The Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) is an initiative promoted by the European Commission, implemented by the Finnova Foundation in collaboration with StartUp Europe. It is an open innovation tool that allows companies to identify talented startups capable of solving today’s challenges in multiple areas. Its mission is to help Startups and Scaleups become more efficient, smarter and more successful. These awards are a useful tool to promote knowledge sharing, add value to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and help startups to grow and position themselves in the market.
The event ended with speeches by Natalia Bayona, Director of Innovation, Education and Investment of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Sergio Ignacio Molina Rubio, Expert in Materials and Nanotechnology for Innovation at the University of Cadiz.
If you want to participate in the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 StartUp Europe Awards, please click here.
About LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0
It is a demonstrative pilot project, funded by the LIFE programme, that generates biogas in water treatment plant digesters by mixing putrescible organic waste (slurry, poultry, organic fractions, MSW, horeca, etc.), in a way that allows transforming sludge from wastewater treatment plants into green energy through technology. The initiative led by Global Omnium, (Spain), in collaboration with the Finnova Foundation (Belgium) and Águas do Centro Litoral (Portugal) aims to become the most versatile digestion control tool on the market by achieving environmental and economic benefits through the production of biogas through optimal waste exploitation. Thanks to this technology, it favours the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the exploitation of sewage sludge generated in wastewater treatment processes, thus achieving a positive impact on the environment.
About LIFE NextFUMIGREEN
This ambitious project, 60% subsidised by the LIFE programme, will last 4 years and 6 months, until 31 May 2027. Its main objective is to develop natural fumigants based on active substances extracted from plant extracts for the control of whitefly populations and fungal outbreaks of botrytis in horticultural crops grown intensively under glass. In addition, it will test the efficacy of a new type of fumigant plant protection product, based on active ingredients of natural origin, in the protection of the most representative greenhouse crops. The project aims to demonstrate that this new fumigant biopesticide is effective against pests and diseases specific to pepper and tomato crops (the major greenhouse crops) and that it can be used for other pathosystems (in addition to whitefly, it is intended to demonstrate its efficacy against thrips and tuta absoluta) and in other EU countries. Life NEXTFUMIGREEN also foresees other benefits such as improved food security resulting in residue-free food, and positive effects on biodiversity and climate change.
About RES4CITY
RES4CITY is an innovative European educational project 100% funded by the European Commission through the Horizon Europe Programme. Its main objective is to bridge the skills gap that is slowing down our transition to sustainable energy. It will be designed by a multidisciplinary group of partners from academia, industry and European NGOs with expertise in energy management, renewable energy systems, renewable fuel technologies and the development and implementation of sustainability strategy design. RES4CITY aims to ensure that education systems are at the heart of the ecological transition. The team will co-design a set of micro Masters programmes aimed at Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates and non-STEM graduates, as well as professionals wishing to retrain in a wide variety of sectors and career paths. These micro-masters will respond to the needs and priorities of businesses, public institutions and citizens.
About SHARP-sCO2
SHARP-sCO2 (Solar Hybrid Air-sCO2 Power Plants) is a European project funded by the HORIZON programme that aims to establish the basis for the development of a new generation of highly efficient and flexible solar thermal power plants. It has a duration of 36 months, from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2025. By using thermodynamic cycles based on the use of supercritical CO2 and air as the working fluid, as well as developing new technologies (receiver, storage, etc.), SHARP-sCO2 will achieve high working temperatures, ensuring reliable and flexible operation, optimal working conditions and high efficiency for the coupling of the air loop with the sCO2 loop thanks to the development of a high-performance heat exchanger.
About B-Resilient
B-Resilient, a European project with a systemic perspective, sets out an ambitious package of support actions to enable food processing SMEs to become more resilient through optimal use of biomass, and with appropriate digital solutions. The project will focus on maximising the use of available feedstock and its subsequent valorisation of side streams into innovative bio-based ingredients. The B-Resilient project is based on a circular and zero waste concept, which improves the competitiveness of food processing SMEs from an environmentally sustainable perspective. The B-Resilient project brings together 8 leading European clusters from 5 different countries. The project has a total European funding budget of 1.5 million, of which 1.12 million goes directly to SMEs in the agri-food sector through the B-Resilient programme of financial support to third parties.
About Bioeconomy Ventures
This project aims to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the bioindustry sector by offering support, brokerage and networking services to stakeholders. Against this background, the BioeconomyVentures consortium plans to create, within 30 months, a framework capable of fostering the necessary interaction and collaboration between start-ups and spin-offs, investors and the community, and to provide holistic support to the emerging bioindustry ecosystem. BioeconomyVentures will target both sides of the community – investors and start-ups – with specific actions. Under the project, the partners will develop an advanced methodology to effectively identify and assess the needs of start-ups and a platform providing all the services needed by the community.