- Alexandra Pokatina, EU Project Officer at Finnova, explained today, Tuesday 6 June, the LIFE Programme and the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project at a hybrid HIBA event in the framework of the Green Week in Braga
- This event, which will be held on 6 and 7 June, is organised by the Finnova Foundation, INL and INTEC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Andalusian Regional Government, Smart Farm Colab and Fundecyt
06/06/2023, Braga. The LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project was present today, Tuesday 6 June, in the Portuguese city of Braga, which is hosting the 1st HIBA Cross-Border Marathon “Digitalisation in the agri-food sector” on 6 and 7 June. This event, in hybrid format, has been organised by the partners of the Interreg HIBA project: Finnova Foundation, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and European Foundation for Innovation and Technological Development (INTEC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Andalusian Regional Government, Asssociaçao SFCOLAB – Laboratório Colabortaivo para a Inovação Digital na Agricultura (Smart Farm Colab) and Fundecyt Foundation Science and Technology Park of Extremadura (Fundecyt PCTEX).
This first day, which took place today, Tuesday 6 June, entitled “HIBA Project: digitisation of the agricultural sector for sustainable and entrepreneurial development”, began with a seminar on European funds, where different current open European programmes and some examples of successful projects such as LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 were discussed.
The main objective of this event was to bring together representatives of the Spanish and Portuguese Ministries of Agriculture, European institutions, sector experts, businessmen and entrepreneurs to analyse the situation of the digitalisation of agriculture and to exchange experiences and best practices.
Participation of LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0
Alexandra Pokatina, EU Project Officer at Finnova, has been in charge of presenting the European project LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 in the second block on “European Funds”. In her speech, Pokatina explained the open call of the LIFE Programme and the characteristics of this project funding initiative of the European Commission.
In addition, it has put forward the LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project, which seeks to transform putrescible organic waste from the agri-food sector and slurry into biogas to generate green energy on demand thanks to the innovative technology of anaerobic digesters in water treatment plants. “In celebration of the 31st anniversary of the LIFE Programme, we have joined the LIFE Amplifiers campaign. We encourage all LIFE projects to use this new platform to make visible the communication actions and progress of your European project,” said the EU Project Officer at Finnova.
About HIBA
The Interreg Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Project (POCTEP) HIBA will promote a Multi-regional ecosystem focused on the digitalisation of the agri-food sector in Spain and Portugal through the creation of a network of Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH) to promote initiative, competitiveness and business sustainability, fostering post-Covid-19 economic recovery.
With a budget of €5.3 million, 75% co-financed by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) under the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 (POCTEP), HIBA has 19 beneficiaries, with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development of the Andalusian Regional Government (CAGPDS) as the main beneficiary.
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 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.