The PATHSENSE (Pathogen Sensing) ETN will bring together an interdisciplinary team of world-leading researchers from Europe to tackle a highly ambitious scientific project, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of sensory perception in bacterial pathogens. PATHSENSE will establish an innovative doctoral training programme that will deliver 13 PhD graduates and high-impact scientific outputs. The relationship between molecular structures and biological function is central to understanding any living system; however the research methodologies required to unravel these relationships are often complex and fast-changing. The team participating in this Network has the infrastructure and track-record to train ESRs in these state-of-the art methodologies, including structural biology, proteomics & protein biochemistry, molecular biology, bacterial genetics, food microbiology, mathematical modelling, cell biology, microscopy and comparative genomics. PATHSENSE will investigate the poorly understood structure-function relationships that exist within a large multi-protein complex called a “stressosome”, which acts as a sensory organelle in bacteria. The project will involve extensive inter-sectoral mobility of the ESRs across 7 EU countries to make full use of the complementary skills available at each of the hosting institutions. The inter-sectoral Network comprises 8 leading Universities, 1 public research institution, 4 companies (from spin-off to large multi-national) and 1 governmental agency. A major objective of this Network will be to exploit the fundamental research to develop novel antimicrobial treatments that have applications in the food and public health sectors. This project will deliver high-impact science, 13 highly-trained innovative researchers and will produce a long-lasting inter-sectoral network of collaborators who will continue to work together to exploit fundamental research for the socio-economic benefit of Europe.

Pro-Enrich will develop a flexible biorefinery approach capable of processing a range of agricultural residues (rapeseed meal, olives, tomatoes and citrus fruits) in response to the increasing global demand for alternative sources of protein and phenolic product streams, tailored to the cross sectoral requirements of industry. Pro-Enrich will optimise existing biomass fractionation technologies and validate novel extraction approaches beyond the current state of the art (from TRL2 through to TRL 4/5) to isolate and purify proteins, polyphenols, dietary fibres and pigments. The products being targeted are food ingredients, pet food, cosmetics and adhesives. These will be developed through an iterative process of feedstock mapping, laboratory process development, functionality/performance testing of samples by industry and pilot upscaling. Pro-Enrich gathers the expertise of 16 partners from 7 countries, covering the entire biorefinery value chain and consisting of 8 SMEs, 5 large enterprises, 2 RTOs and 1 university. The project facilitates supply chain building across different sectors, including biomass production and logistics; materials handling and processing, through to end-users. The project will engage and collaborate with key industry stakeholders from farming and biomass supply, processors and brand name owners. Pro-Enrich produces detailed life-cycle, socio-economic and safety assessments to facilitate policy and decision-making by industry and the EU, inform and guide consumer acceptance and assist with regulatory compliance. The outcome of Pro-Enrich will have a huge economical impact on the involved partners especially the industries and generate a large number of new job positions. However, the impact goes beyond the consortium by contributing to the BBI’s strategy for zero-waste processing in the biobased products sector, by addressing technical, commercial and environmental impact across the whole supply chain.

Natac Biotech S.L. is the R&D division of a group of 8 companies (Natac Group S.L.) with headquarters in Spain and international presence in EU, LATAM and the USA. Our group is a leading firm of the natural extracts sector and we have developed and operated the first olive biorefinery at a global level. Thanks to this, we can obtain high added value bioactive ingredients from residues of olive oil production (circular bio-economy) at industrial quantities and very competitive prices. In our effort to continue innovating and expanding, the AQUOLIVE project is now the most strategic project for us, as a way to become a leading player of the animal nutrition market. The AQUOLIVE project is aimed at offering the aquaculture sector a high-performance feed additive based on our patented formulation of bioactive phytochemicals obtained from olive oil production by-products (production method also patented). This solution will help Fish farmers to increase their productivity and profitability, while reducing the use of hazardous antimicrobial chemicals in intensive aquaculture practices. Thanks to the clear benefits AQUOLIVE will bring to fish farmers and the industry need for this type of solution, we see in the AQUOLIVE project a clear investment opportunity, in which we seek entering the fast-growing aquaculture feed market. This market was value globally at €156 Billion in 2015 and project to €209 Billion by 2019. More precisely, AQUOLIVE will target the salmon feed market, with a global production of 7 MTon in 2017 and that accounts for a total of 11% share of the total production of aquafeed products globally. In this growing market scenario, our 3-years business plan after this Phase 2 project will mean a 3-years cumulative cash flow of €9.02 Million meaning a 3-years after-tax ROI of 362% for a total investment of €2.49 Million in the Phase 2 project (€1.74 M of EU contribution).

The goal of Olive-Net project is to introduce a novel approach for the exploration, valorization and marketing of new products based on bioactive compounds from Olea europaea. This will be achieved through an extended and well-balanced scheme of researcher’s secondments between universities and enterprises from EU & Associated countries as well as universities from Third countries. A mutual scientific project developed on the needs and interests of both sectors exploiting the existing expertise will be the base of this proposal. Products and side-products of the olive tree such as olive oil, edible olive fruits, olive mill waste and olive tree leaves, will be subjected to a series of state-of-the-art extraction and isolation cascades in order to provide extracts, enriched fractions and isolated compounds of high purity. Target chemical categories will involve the well known olive oil polyphenols and secoiridoids, that will be assessed for their safety and pharmacological effects against inflammation, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, etc. in cell-based and in vivo assays. All active ingredients will be identified and characterized with advanced analytical techniques, in order to be integrated in formulations and products in the area of nutraceuticals/dietary supplements. Within this project, core scientific multidisciplinary knowledge from different research areas will be integrated creating valuable synergies. Expertise will be transferred by means of the seconded researchers training in environments with different research orientation where complimentary skills are required. Special attention will be given to dissemination activities aiming to public awareness of benefits of healthy diet(s). Olive-Net aspires to create a successful model promoting considerably researchers’ competences and long-lasting collaboration between Industry and Academia.

The bioeconomy roll-out on a large scale needs the establishment of new models and interactions between the primary sector and other stakeholders toward co-participated bioindustries. In this sense, ROBOCOOP-EU proposes a breakthrough cultural change in the agrosector, by deploying effective regional and circular bio-based Business Models for the valorisation of waste streams from 3 agricultural sectors: grape, olive and stone fruit. This will expand real scenarios of commercial opportunities to diversify the economy of small and medium scale farmers and cooperatives, enabling a more versatile biorefinery with a portfolio of biobased products. This model will allow the integration of secondary streams in a holistic closed loop, thus improving the ecological footprint and revenues with social impact. ROBOCOOP-EU will: involve 8 actors of the primary sector in the establishment of biobased value chains; avoid 25-30% of GHG emissions by means of supply chain and logistic optimisation; design 1 zero-waste multi-feedstock biorefinery at industrial scale (based on existing processes for biocompounds extraction and 2nd streams valorisation); validate 17 new products (3 food formulations, 3 feed additives, 5 cosmetics and nutraceutics, 1 plasticiser and 5 biofertilisers). In order to achieve a successful implementation of the business models in its 3 regional hubs (Extremadura, Apulia and Western Macedonia), ROBOCOOP-EU will integrate multidisciplinary knowledge by developing co-creative spaces called “Living Labs”, where partners and stakeholders will discuss and validate the most consensual pathway towards sustainable and profitable co-participated biorefinery and seek for public and private fund scheme workable scenario. ROBOCOOP-EU consortium is composed by 22 multisectorial partners, specifically designed to cover the entire bio-based value chain in non-competitive and complementary position, which in turn will ensure an effective dissemination and exploitation of results.