The Nexus Innovation Program promotes seven entrepreneurial projects in the agri-food sector

The Nexus Innovation Program has supported five entrepreneurial projects with the aim of promoting technology transfer to the agri-food sector and implementing clean technologies for sustainable growth in the production of the agri-food sector, based on a more efficient use of energy and water.

For four months, the programme included mentoring from experts in the agribusiness sector, round tables with leading companies such as Vacka and meetings with investors in the sector.

The programme ended on 26 October, with the presentation of the four projects that reached the final:

• Clic Recycle has developed two products based on human hair to clean water from pollution and reduce water consumption in plantations.
• Happy Crops wants to develop photochromic coatings that provide intelligent protection against excessive solar radiation and temperature rise in greenhouses without relying on any electrical source.
• OceanGarden grows macroalgae around the cages of offshore fish farms, selling blue carbon credits. In addition to capturing carbon dioxide, these algae will reduce eutrophication and oxygenate the water.
• TraceDrink wants to develop the authentication of cavas through multi-isotope characterisation.

Apart from the presentation of the projects, the closing event included a conference by Malwine Steinbock, strategy director of Food Republik, who explained new trends in the agri-food sector and explained different products that already exist on the market and that respond to the needs of consumers in terms of health and sustainability.

This programme was supported by the Nexus-driven open labs for competitive and inclusive growth in the Mediterranean (NEX-LABS) project, which aims to support the implementation of clean technologies to make production in the agri-food sector more sustainable and to make more efficient use of energy and water in Mediterranean countries.