- Under the title “LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 – Synergies towards greener communities: EU funds 4 organic waste”, the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project hosted an event last Thursday, 8 June, at GoHub Ventures in Valencia
- The event was institutionally represented by the Directorate General for Energy of the European Commission through the Policy Officer, Katarzyna Gryc, who was in charge of opening the evento
- This hybrid meeting brought together experts and representatives of some European LIFE and Horizon projects to exchange best practices on energy transition
12/06/2023, Valencia. The GoHub Ventures facilities in Valencia hosted last Thursday, 8 June 2023, from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST, an event of the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project in the framework of the European Green Week. The seminar, entitled “LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 – Synergies towards greener communities: EU funds 4 organic waste” and organised by the Finnova Foundation in collaboration with Global Omnium, was attended by experts and representatives of European projects to exchange best practices on energy efficiency and transition.
During the day, water management, organic waste and biogas, among other topics, were discussed, with the aim of fostering sustainable communities in which the circular economy is promoted.
European and expert representation
The event was moderated by Alexandra Pokatina, EU Project Manager at Finnova, and included the institutional intervention of Katarzyna Gryc, Policy Officer of the DG Energy unit for Innovation, Research, Competitiveness and Digitalisation at the European Commission, who was in charge of the opening. Gryc spoke about her area of expertise, which is hydrogen, and addressed both production and technology, from electrolysers and the Net Zero Industry Act, referring to the strategic challenges.
Then, Victor Vercher, CFO of GoHub, presented Global Omnium’s venture capital fund. “GoHub is a key player in the financing of innovation and companies, where we invest in solutions,” said Vercher.
The next panel featured presentations by Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, who spoke about European funds, NextGeneration and the LIFE Programme; and Elías Colom, Corporate Marketing Director of Global Omnium, leading partner of LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0.
Synergies and projects for the energy transition
Carlos Lafita, R&D&I Waste Technician at Global Omnium, moderated the next panel of European projects. After his intervention, Sandra Jorge, Research and Development Coordinator at Águas do Centro Litoral, partner of the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project, took the floor.
Rodrigo Simón, Projects and Sustainability Technician at the Competitiveness Department of the Valencia Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the “Negocio local sostenible” programme. Loreto Fenollosa, Deputy Director of Chairs and Internships in Business and Social Action at the School of Agricultural Engineering and the Natural Environment (ETSIAMN) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, offered a more technical perspective as an agricultural engineer and professor. Pieter de Jong, European representative of Wetsus and WaterCampus, also participated, presenting the innovation ecosystem and the contributions of this non-profit foundation from the Dutch point of view.
In terms of European projects, the panellists were Kristie Tanner, R&D Project Manager at Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence with MICRO4BIOGAS; Carlos Serra, together with Alfonso Gallego, researchers at Polibienestar of the University of Valencia with Agro2Circular; and Miguel Ángel Suárez, R&D Technician at CETENMA with The HOOP project.
These presentations were followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Carlos Lafita, with very interesting and relevant contributions on tools and good practices to promote the circular economy and the energy transition.
New call of LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 SEUA
Finnova’s CMO, Lola Bordás starred in the next panel on Girls4Tech Challenge LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0, where girls from the Abecé school in Gandía won the Technovation Girls awards with an app proposal, entitled Comen 2.0, inspired by the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0.
Bordás also presented the new LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 SEUA call, focused on emerging companies that provide innovative solutions to the challenges of ecological transition, energy efficiency and the fight against climate change. The awards ceremony will take place on 21 September in the framework of Greencities and S-Moving at the Trade Fairs and Congress Centre of Malaga (FYCMA) and the registration of proposals will remain open until 31 July at 23:59 CEST through this link.
The successful candidate will benefit from a European acceleration ticket, consisting of a training programme on European legislation and funds, and mentoring to turn the idea into a real and measurable project funded by the EU with up to €5 million. They will also have access to a networking network and investors with whom they will learn good management practices in the European legal framework and techniques for the internationalisation of the project.
The panel ended with the contributions of the official jury of these awards, composed of Elías Colom, Corporate Marketing Director of Global Omnium; Mark Barker, CEO of WEX Global; and João Simão, Executive Director of the Portuguese Water Partnership (PWP).
The event concluded with Elías Colom and Juanma Revuelta emphasising the importance of continuing to bring together efforts for the effective promotion of biogas and other innovative sustainable solutions, with special mention of emerging business models and available regulatory channels.
You can watch the online seminar here:
LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 – Synergies towards greener communities: EU funds 4 organic waste
About European Green Week
The European Green Week is an annual opportunity to discuss European environmental policy with policy makers, leading environmentalists and stakeholders from Europe and beyond. Side events organised in the framework of this week, under the theme “Delivering a net-zero world” will take place from Saturday, 3 June to Sunday, 11 June 2023.
About LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0
This is a pilot demonstration project, funded by the LIFE programme and with a budget of more than 970,000 euros, which generates biogas in sewage treatment plant digesters by mixing putrescible organic waste (slurry, poultry, organic fractions, MSW, horeca, etc.), thus transforming sewage sludge 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, achieving environmental and economic benefits through the production of biogas by making optimal use of waste. Thanks to this technology, it favours the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the use of sewage sludge generated in wastewater treatment processes, thus achieving a positive impact on the environment. This programme is easily scalable with other funds such as FEDER, NextGenerationEU or Repower EU.
About GoHub
GoHub Ventures is Global Omnium’s venture capital fund that invests in high-tech startups with B2B software solutions for the automation of processes and focuses on technologies such as applied AI, augmented reality, edge computing, 5G, cybersecurity, etc. It was born in 2019 with its first fund of €30M, and in 2022 launched its second fund of €60M. The current portfolio is composed of 26 startups from Europe, USA and Latam.
About Global Omnium
The Global Omnium Group is a national and international benchmark specialising in the different processes of the Integrated Water Cycle. With more than 130 years of experience, the Group is present in 15 Spanish Autonomous Communities, the United States, Africa and the Middle East. It currently groups 25 specialised companies, 13 participating firms and 56 UTEs in different areas related to water management, engineering and the environment. The Global Omnium Group manages a total of 28 drinking water treatment plants, 308 wastewater treatment facilities, 25 septic tanks, 155 external pumping stations and 2 sludge facilities in Spain.
About Águas do Centro Litoral
Águas do Centro Litoral is a Multi-municipal Water Supply and Sanitation System for the Centro Litoral of Portugal, which covers the collection, treatment and supply of water for public consumption and the collection, treatment and rejection of domestic and urban effluents and the reception of effluents from the cleaning of septic tanks. Águas do Centro Litoral covers a geographical area of 5,485 km2 and its main activity is water supply and wastewater treatment. Other activities such as water quality control, quality control of rejected effluents, maintenance of a global quality system, asset management, investment planning and execution, management control, accounting system, among others, are intrinsic to the core of the company.
About Startup Europe Awards
The Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) is an initiative promoted by the European Commission, launched 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.
About Finnova Foundation
Finnova is the Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels and Spain, working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship in the EU. Finnova’s experience in leading communication and dissemination activities for European projects is combined with a proven track record in business creation and entrepreneurship support programmes, such as accelerators, incubators and events, as well as its commitment to training and employability of young people.