Month: November 2021

The training action was divided into two blocks: training actions and European funds for innovative actions.

Brussels 30.11.2021

As part of the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), which runs from the 20th to 28th November, the training day “FIREPOCTEP: Exchange of good practices in sustainable management of forestry and agricultural waste” was held on Wednesday 24 November 2021.

The conference, included among the training actions to be developed by the FIREPOCTEP Programme, was aimed at finding solutions to improve waste management in forestry and agriculture in order to reduce the risk of forest fires and their effects in the Raya area (border between Spain and Portugal).

Moderated by José Manuel Requena, Finnova’s Director of European Territorial Cooperation, it was divided into two main blocks, the first focused on the different actions carried out in the field of training and the second one focused on European funding for innovative solutions in the management of plant waste, and the prevention and extinction of forest fires.

Promotion of training actions

The first block was opened by Lucia Braña, Project Manager of the Fundación Empresa-Universidad Gallega (FEUGA), who stressed the need for the training to be aimed also at public corporate organisms: “The training is also for public corporate organisms that can take measures, theoreticians involved in fire extinction and for related associations that can promote the resolution of real problems”, she said.

Francisco Rodriguez y Silva, director of the Forest Fire Laboratory in the Forestry Engineering department of the University of Cordoba (LABIFUCO) recalled the different training workshops they were going to implement and mentioned the collaboration in the IV National Workshop on Lessons Learned from Forest Fires.

Elsa Nunes, project manager at the “Comunidade Intermunicipal do Baixo Alentejo” (CIMBAL) commented on the alignment of objectives between CIMBAL and the FIREPOCTEP project. “Since 2019, the CIMBAL Forestry office articulates the forestry instruments and produces and provides cartographic information to the municipal technical offices”, she highlighted.

Luis Carlos Barbero, Professor at the University of Cadiz, Department of Earth Sciences, spoke during his speech about the degree of drone use in the world today and how they can be used as tools. “Drones have a very important role to play in filling data gaps due to their possibilities and some of the main applications of drones are forest mapping, silviculture and forest residue volumetry, which allow for a considerable reduction in analysis times”, he explained.

Ana Luisa Abreu Alferes Lourido, a senior technician at the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT) of the University of Évora, focused her presentation on the educational offer that the university has in the area of forest fires and highlighted the creation of several postgraduate courses and training within action 3.2 (a workshop and a classroom training course).

European funding for innovative solutions

Cristina Gouveia, from the Agência Nacional de Inovaçao, started the block on European funding by talking about the Horizon 2020 programme: “Of all the European instruments, Horizon is one of the most attractive. It is very competitive and open to all countries and partners”.

The FIREPOCTEP project technician of the Finnova Foundation, Hector Juan Armas, spoke about the different opportunities and grants that support blended finance with funds of up to 15 million.

Finally, Carmen Albendín, civil and criminal lawyer, department of Design and Advertising at the Escuela Autónoma de Dirección de Empresa (EADE), University of Málaga, presented the EADE campus, where the first master training in management of European funds will take place in collaboration with Finnova where the paid internships will be carried out.

About Interreg FIREPOCTEP (www.firepoctep.eu)

The FIREPOCTEP project is part of the fourth call of the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 (POCTEP), 75% co-financed by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) with a total budget of 5.6 million euros. With a duration of 3 years, its main objective is to analyse the impact of climate change on the risk of fires and their effects on the environment of the Raya (Spain and Portugal). FIREPOCTEP will not only improve cooperation and coordination of fire-fighting forces but will also serve as an example of good practices focused on the protection and promotion of the environment which, in turn, allows the creation of employment and innovation in rural areas through training actions, supporting the local economy, and the conservation of the landscape.

• International experts discussed last Friday the situation in Africa regarding mobility, green energies, and climate change as well as different disruptive initiatives that may be put in place.
• Finnova Foundation presented several EU funding opportunities.
• During the event, the open call to find potential partners in Africa within the framework of the Energy Africa Startup Europe Awards was launched, which will be held in early 2022.

Brussels, 23.11.2021

Finnova Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to the green transition in Ghana and Africa and their endeavours to combat climate change in an event on last Friday 19 November 2021 to assess the situation in Africa regarding mobility, green energies, and climate change.

The Next Ghana Generation. Mobility and Energy: New Opportunities and Challenges in Ghana and Africa webinar was held to commemorate the recent announcement on the start of effective implementation of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) between the EU and Ghana. This event was also held on the eve of Africa Industrialization Day, an initiative launched by the United Nations to foster Africa’s sustainable development.

The international expert panel featured Juan Manuel Revuelta (Finnova Foundation CEO); Alexander Charalambous (Team Leader, EU SWITCH to Green Facility); Juan Jesús Rodríguez Marichal (Chairman, Trade Department of the Cámara de Comercio de Fuerteventura); Jacob Fohtung (Research Associate, Global Prosperity at Clayton Christensen Institute); Prof Leendert de Bell (Researcher, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences); Gameli Adzaho (Regional Programme Manager, Just One Giant Lab); Cornelius Nartey (Volunteer, Africa Association of Entrepreneurs); Regina Nesiama Miller (Principal Renewable Energy Specialist, African Development Bank Group); Shantha Bloemen (CEO & Founder, Mobility for Africa); Festus Loma (Senior Commercial Specialist, Nigeria Electrification Project); Tony Tiyou (CEO & Founder, Renewables in Africa); Roberto Vigotti (Secretary General, RES4Africa Foundation); Gonzalo Piernavieja Izquierdo (RDI Director, Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias); Juan Viesca (EU Funds Director, Finnova Foundation), Alberto Navarro (HR and Training Manager, Finnova Foundation), and Yiboula Bazier Emmanuel, member of Foro Euroafricano.

Throughout the event, which was divided into five panels (institutions, innovation and entrepreneurship, energy and mobility, EU funds, and training and education), panellists presented different disruptive solutions, best cases, and initiatives conducted both in Ghana and in the rest of African countries in order to implement technologies and innovation in several domains like education, mobility, renewable energies, and the upgrade of infrastructures. It was also talked about the different barriers these countries must overcome to put in place these ideas, and an introduction of EU funds was also provided.

EU funding opportunities

The event was inaugurated by Finnova Foundation CEO Juan Manuel Revuelta, who provided some data regarding EU-Ghana cooperation since 2000 up until now, which encompasses some issues like climate change, food security, cross-border challenges, and how cooperation plans facilitate trade and the access to the EU market for exporting countries like Ghana.

“We hope that the EU-Ghana compromises will play a key role in facing the challenges that poses the green transition in Ghana and Africa as well as in terms of contributing to the United Nations’ ambition such as SDGs and the goals of Africa Industrialization Day”, said Mr Revuelta. “We believe that public-private partnerships remain crucial and that innovation is pivotal, as can be seen in all the projects we are involved and which were discussed at COP26”, added Mr Revuelta.

According to Finnova CEO, “EU-funded initiatives like Startup Europe Awards as well as innovative and low-cost technologies will enable overcome our shared challenges, for which a public-private partnership approach will be required”.

Mr Revuelta mentioned other European projects upholding sustainability like LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0, which enables to transform sludge from wastewater treatment plants into green energy thanks to technology.

Energy Africa Startup Europe Awards

On the other hand, the event featured the launch of the open call to find potential partners to carry out the Energy Africa Startup Europe Awards in early 2022. This call takes place against a backdrop of the new 2021-2027 EU financial period which will help advance renewable energies and sustainable mobility. The announcement was made by Yiboula Bazier Emmanuel, member of Foro Euroafricano, and it was endorsed by World Diplomatic Institute.

As a sidenote, Finnova backs the CLIMA-RISK project, which will be presented during the Africa event, an international business platform which will be held from 30 November to 1st December on the island of Fuerteventura (the Canary Islands, Spain). Africagua seeks to connect the world with Africa from the Canary Islands, encouraging clean energies and sustainability.

Click here to watch the webinar.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations receive funds for innovative projects. It aims to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g., employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova is in charge of organising Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best European start-ups.

• This event will be held to celebrate the recent announcement on the start of trading under the interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Ghana.
• Panellists include inter alia representatives from institutions, scholars on EU-Ghana/Africa relations, several experts on mobility and energy, and entrepreneurs.
• It will take place on Friday 19 November 2021 at 16:00 (CET)/15:00 (Accra time) on the eve of Africa Industrialization Day.
• The event will feature the launch of the open call to find potential partners in Africa to carry out the Energy Africa Startup Europe Awards in early 2022.

Brussels, 18 November 2021 – To commemorate the recent announcement on the onset of effective implementation of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) between the EU and Ghana, Finnova Foundation will hold a webinar on Friday 19 November 2021 at 16:00 (CET)/15:00 (Accra time) with representatives from both regions. The event will also be held on the eve of Africa Industrialization Day (20 Nov.), an initiative launched by the United Nations to foster Africa’s sustainable development.

According to the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU is one of Ghana’s key trade partners – Ghana’s total trade value with the EU was estimated to be nearly 20% in 2018. These figures, however, are expected to rise in light of the recent announcement on the start of trading and the effective implementation of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement between Ghana and the EU, which facilitates commercial exchanges and the removal of a number of technical hindrances.

The event will be held on the eve of Africa Industrialization Day (20 Nov.), which was proclaimed by the United Nations within the framework of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa (1991-2000). In 2016, the UN approved the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (2016-2025), which focuses on ensuring Africa’s sustainable industrialisation by respecting the planetary boundaries. Consequently, this event will devote a specific panel to discussing green energies and carbon-free mobility as a means to reach Africa’s sustainable industrial development. The webinar will be broken down into five main panels: institutions, innovation and entrepreneurship, energy and mobility, EU funds, and training and education. It will feature Finnova CEO Juan Manuel Revuelta‘s keynote address as well as the contributions of some institutional representatives like Regina Nesiama Miller (African Development Bank Group), Alexander Charalambous (EU SWITCH to Green Facility), and Juan Jesús Rodríguez Marichal (Cámara de Comercio de Fuerteventura); scholars and innovative entrepreneurs like Jacob Fohtung (Global Prosperity at Clayton Christensen Institute),Prof Leendert de Bell (Utrecht University of Applied Sciences), Gameli Adzaho (Just One Giant Lab) and Cornelius Nartey (Africa Association of Entrepreneurs); experts on mobility and energy like Shantha Bloemen (Mobility for Africa), Festus Loma (Nigeria Electrification Project), Tony Tiyou (Renewables in Africa), Roberto Vigotti (RES4Africa Foundation) and Gonzalo Piernavieja Izquierdo (Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias); and Finnova’s experts on EU funds i.e., Juan Viesca, as well as training and education i.e., Alberto Navarro.

“Finnova is committed to Africa’s and Ghana’s green transition and endeavours to tackle climate change. We hope EU-Ghana’s arrangements will play a decisive role in ensuring successful follow-through as well as contributing to the United Nation’s ambitions e.g., SDGs and the goals of Africa Internationalization Day. Similarly, we believe public-private partnerships remain crucial and that innovation is pivotal, as can be seen in all the projects we are involved in and which were discussed at COP26. In this regard, EU-funded initiatives like Startup Europe Awards and breakthrough and low-cost technologies will surely help meet our common challenges, which will require a public-private partnership approach”, said Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation.

This event will take place following Finnova’s participation at COP26, where it co-organised four official events, one of them being on green energies and bioeconomy and another one being on sustainable mobility. The event will feature the launch of the open call to find potential partners in Africa to carry out the Energy Africa Startup Europe Awards in early 2022. This announcement will take place against a backdrop of the new 2021-2027 EU financial period, which will enable to advance green energies and sustainable mobility. The announcement will be made by Foro Euroafricano (Josu Gómez Barrutia) and World Diplomatic Institute (Jean Aznar). As a sidenote, Finnova endorses the CLIMA-RISK[1] project, which will be presented during the Africagua event as well as in the Next Ghana Generation EU webinar.

By holding this webinar, Finnova is kicking off its cooperation with Ghana and Africa. This event will provide a timely opportunity to bring together European and Ghanaian and African actors to meet the challenges the 21^st century poses through open innovation.

If you represent a public or private institution, if you run a business, if you are a youth or if you have innovative or disruptive ideas, do not hesitate to join us by registering here: http://ghana.inscripciones.finnova.eu/.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations receive funds for innovative projects. It aims to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g., employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova is in charge of organising Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best European start-ups.

About Startup Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT which has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards is an open innovation mechanism to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. SEUA also seeks to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, SEUA also contributes to the circular economy, sustainable tourism, and the fight against climate change.

• The event will take place online on Wednesday 24 November 2021 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (CET).
• During the occasion, international experts will present solutions for the improved management of forest and agricultural residues in order to reduce forest fires.
• The event will be an opportunity to learn about opportunities and calls for proposals for European funds.

Brussels, 15.11.2021

Next Wednesday, 24 November 2021, from 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. (CET), the online event “FIREPOCTEP Training Day. Exchange of good practices in sustainable management of forestry and agricultural waste” will be held. It is organised by the Finnova Foundation in the framework of the European Week for Waste Reduction. This event aims to show solutions for improving waste management in forestry and agriculture in order to reduce the risk of forest fires and their effects in the Raya area (border between Spain and Portugal).

This initiative (registration here) aims to create joint tools to facilitate risk management in the cross-border cooperation territory by capitalising on the results, knowledge, and good practices in forest and agricultural waste management. In addition, this training action is expected to reduce the risk of forest fires in the cross-border cooperation territory, as well as to contribute to the communication and dissemination of the results of the FIREPOCTEP project.

The calls for proposals, lines of financing, and programmes offered by the European Union for the sustainability of the project will also be analysed, from the perspective of experts in European projects from the Finnova Foundation.

The conference will be attended by international experts in the environmental field such as Inmaculada Vázquez, member of the Environment and Water Agency of Andalusia (AMAYA) and coordinator of FIREPOCTEP; Jose Manuel Requena, European project manager and coordinator of the FIREPOCTEP project at the Finnova Foundation; Héctor Juan Armas, FIREPOCTEP project technician; Francisco Rodríguez, director of the Forest Fire Laboratory (Labifuco); Sofia Martins, project manager at the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Baixo Alentejo (CIMBAL); Ana Luisa Abreu Alferes, senior technician at the ICT-Instituto de Ciências da Terra of the University of Évora, among others.

FIREPOCTEP works for an effective control of forest fires and addresses their consequences to prevent their occurrence from the base, through training and an approach oriented to the mitigation of climate change with emphasis on the rural environment. A set of 21 beneficiaries makes the project consortium, both Portuguese and Spanish. The project strives to improve forest fire prevention and suppression efforts in the cross-border region between Spain and Portugal.

About Interreg FIREPOCTEP (http://www.firepoctep.eu)  The project “Strengthening of cross-border forest fire prevention and extinction systems and improvement of resources for the generation of rural employment post Covid-19 (FIREPOCTEP)” is within the framework of the fourth call of the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 (POCTEP). It is 75% co-financed by the ERDF Funds with a total budget of 5.6 million euros. With a duration of 3 years (01/01/2019 to 31/12/2021), the main objective of the project is to analyse the impact of climate change on the risk of fires and their effects on the environment of the Raya (border territory between Spain and Portugal). To this end, joint tools will be created to facilitate risk management in the cooperation territory through the capitalisation of results, knowledge, and good practices.

FIREPOCTEP will not only improve cooperation and coordination of fire-fighting forces, but will also be an example of good practices focused on the protection and promotion of the environment. This will allow the creation of employment and innovation in rural areas through training actions, supporting the local economy, and the conservation of the landscape.

About Finnova Foundation (http://www.finnova.eu)

Finnova is a foundation working to promote and to develop innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit across the EU. Based in Brussels and Spain, it works and engages in partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in leading communication activities and disseminating European projects is coupled with an extensive expertise in creating enterprises and entrepreneurial support programmes such as accelerators, incubators, and events.

On Tuesday, November 16^th 2021, the European final of the EEPA awards took place in Portoroz, Slovenia, and the award was conferred to the Interreg CILIFO project on forest firefighting and prevention.

• The CILIFO project gains European recognition, for implementing the world’s first accelerator/incubator focused on forest fires, called “Firefighting Open Innovation Lab“.
• The Finnova Foundation receives the award in Portoroz Slovenia.
• During the ceremony, the Finnova Foundation announced its commitment to create green jobs by extending innovation centers through to the European funds in Africa, Latin America and in other regions of Europe (Mediterranean, Atlantic, Macaronesia, Baltic Danube, Adriatic and Central Europe)

The European Commission, in association with the Committee of the Regions, has awarded the CILIFO project, funded by Interreg project coordinated by the Junta de Andalucía, along with the co-organizer, the Finnova Foundation, at European level within the 4^th category: “Support for the internationalization of enterprises” of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA).

Finnova was also present at the recent COP26 in Glasgow on November 8^th, in a face-to-face and virtual event, together with Helmholtz Climate Initiative and Forestry Division of FAO, on deforestation and firefighting entitled “Forest ecosystems trends and innovation: satellite observation, simulations, and firefighting” which was also attended by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Regional Government of Canary Islands, José Antonio Valbuena.

The proposal of the Iberian Centre for Forest Fire Research and Fighting (CILIFO) presented by the project partner Finnova, through the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO, enabled the achievement of this award by the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission.

The awards ceremony was held within the framework of the Annual Assembly of the European SME week that took place from November 15^th to November 17^th, in 2021 in Portoroz, on behalf of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Annual Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises is the most important event for the SMEs across Europe.

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, and Zdravko Počivalšek, Minister of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia headed the opening of the “2021 SME Assembly”. Thomas Wobben, Director for Legislative Works of the European Committee of the Regions, was also present, representing the institution that have conferred the prestigious European awards.

Support and recognition of entrepreneurship in the European Union

With a total of 6 categories, the prestigious European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) at the gala event “European Entreprise Promotion and Small and Mid-Caps Award” which are celebrating their 15th edition this year, recognized and rewarded those initiatives that exceptionally support the entrepreneurial spirit, foster entrepreneurship, and raise awareness of the innovative role that all the start-ups, SMEs and companies, collectively play within the European social fabric. Raúl Blanco, General Secretariat for Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises of the Spanish Government was the one who informed the consortium that CILIFO was the national winner of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) within the 4^th category: “Support for the internationalization of enterprises”. Moreover, the project has always counted on the support of the European Union and specifically the Sevillian Member of the European Parliament, Juan Ignacio Zoido.

The green and sustainable economic recovery

As Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of the Finnova Foundation, mentioned during his speech at the ceremony, we are witnessing the largest stimulus package ever, not only at European level, but worldwide. In the period 2021 – 2027, the EU will be endowed with an economic budget that is 12 times the Marshall Plan, for the recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic through the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the NextGenerationEU recovery funds.

These funds are aimed not only at economic recovery, but also at achieving it in a sustainable manner. For all these reasons, the CILIFO project coordinated by the Junta de Andalucía together with the Finnova Foundation, exposed in this official act its objective of achieving an increase in the budget in order to be directly proportional in the field of forest management and recovery from forest fire, to continue with its work of mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

With the international recognition of this project financed by the Interreg POCTEP Spain – Portugal 2014 – 2020 Program with 24.6 M€, the largest budget in the field of forest fire prevention and extinction in the European Union, which is led by the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Desarrollo Sostenible, the importance of these European funds in the economic and social recovery is highlighted.

Under the umbrella of CILIFO, extending its good practices to Castilla y León, Galicia, Extremadura and all Iberian Portugal, another project of the Junta de Andalucía has been framed, financed with European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), that seeks to strengthen cross-border systems for the prevention and extinction of forest fires and the improvement of resources for the generation of rural employment post Covid-19. This project, called FIREPOCTEP, dispose of 5.6 million euros and it is driven by the Interreg VA Spain-Portugal Cooperation Program (POCTEP) 2014 – 2020 financed by 75%.

Awarded the first accelerator in the world about forest management

CILIFO’s partner Finnova Foundation, which attended the ceremony to receive the award, has been implementing the Startup Europe Accelerator open innovation methodology for more than 10 years. In this sense, the public-private partnership with the Junta de Andalucía creating the “Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO” is notable for being the first accelerator/incubator in the world, focused on prevention and extinction of forest fires, adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

The project currently counts on entities, applicable in the LIFE Programs within the European Union, with 32 accelerated entities at European level and two at intercontinental level (Mexico and Brazil). In order to contribute to the transfer of knowledge, the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO places at the disposal a “Catalogue of Innovative Solutions” which showcases up to 24 accelerated companies with their technologies.

The general director of the Finnova Foundation, Juan Manuel Revuelta, encouraged in his speech at the event to present projects, using a network of innovation centers in forest management, firefighting and climate change prevention with funding from the European Union. At the ceremony, the Finnova Foundation announced its commitment to create green jobs by extending innovation centers with European funds in Africa, Latin America and in regions of Europe (Mediterranean, Atlantic, Macaronesia, Baltic, Danube areas and  Adriatic and Central Europe) through Interreg, Life, Horizon and Euroclima funds.

About Finnova Foundation (www.finnova.eu)

Finnova is a foundation working to promote and develop innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. It is a European foundation based in Brussels and Spain, whose objectives are to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address social challenges such as employment, training, entrepreneurship, the United Nations SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova organizes the Startup Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, to recognize the best European startups in the social field.

About StartUp Europe

StartUp Europe is driven by the European Commission to promote the business ecosystem for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) entrepreneurs so that their ideas and businesses can start to grow and affirm themselves in the European Union. With this initiative, the Commission seeks to respond to the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

About StartUp Europe Accelerathon (www.acceleratho.eu) StartUp Europe Accelerathon is an acceleration program for innovative projects promoted by the Finnova Foundation that aims to find solutions and funding through an online system of applied open innovation that brings together the innovative ecosystem in different sectors. Startup Europe Accelerathon is based on the hackathon methodology, which aims to find innovative solutions to challenges. For this, an online competition methodology is established with training, mentors, jury and a prize “European acceleration ticket” with the aim of presenting the project to a European funding program, such as LIFE (2021-2027) with a budget of about 2 million euros and with a duration of 3 to 5 years. The challenges follow the indications of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About Interreg FIREPOCTEP (www.firepoctep.eu)

The project, strengthening of cross-border systems of prevention and extinction of forest fires and improvement of resources for the generation of rural employment post Covid-19 (FIREPOCTEP), positions itself under the fourth call of the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020 (POCTEP), co-financed at 75% by the ERDF Funds with a total budget of 5.6 million euros. With a duration of 3 years (01/01/2019 to 31/12/2021) the project’s main objective is the analysis of the impact of climate change on fire risk and its effects in the environment of the Raya (Spain and Portugal). To this end, joint tools will be created to facilitate risk management in the cooperation territory through the capitalization of results, knowledge and best practices. FIREPOCTEP will not only improve cooperation and coordination of fire-fighting forces but will also serve as an example of good practices focused on the protection and promotion of the environment which, in turn, allows the creation of employment and innovation in rural areas through training actions, supporting the local economy and landscape conservation.

CILIFO, the “Iberian Center for the Investigation and Fighting of Forest Fires”, through the Finnova Foundation, has won the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) among the Spanish competitors. CILIFO will represent Spain at the European level as a finalist in the category 4 – “Supporting the Internationalisation of Business”. The final ceremony will be held on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, in the city of Pórtórósh, in Slovenia.

CILIFO is a project funded by the Interreg Program POCTEP Spain-Portugal 2014-2020, in which the Finnova Foundation is implementing the first European accelerator/incubator focused on forest fires, called “Firefighting Open Innovation Lab – CILIFO”. Currently, this accelerator/ incubator has 34 accelerated entities in Europe, and has published a “Catalog of Innovative Solutions” in prevention and extinction of forest fires, adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

The CILIFO project has a total budget of 24.6 Million euro. Being CILIFO the Interreg project in the field of forest fire prevention and extinction with the largest European Union budget in the more than 30-year history of European Territorial Cooperation. This project is led by the Junta de Andalucía, Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development.

If you have an environmental challenge and need solutions, we can help you design a European project and attract financial sources for its implementation. Contact Finnova! (www.finnova.eu ).

• The European project CircularInnoBooster and its accelerator CirCoAX were present at COP26.

• Spanish company DeleiteWear won Nextextile COP26 Startup Europe Awards.

Brussels, 8.11.2021 – Re-inventing a fashion and textile sector that respects the limits of the planet and whose strategies are framed by social, environmental and economic sustainability. This was one of the main demands of the panel of experts from the textile sector at the Next Generation EU Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) for Circular and Disruptive Solutions in Textiles, led by the Finnova Foundation with the support of the non-profit organisation Zero Waste Scotland. The event was held Saturday 6 November to coincide with the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment. During the event held in La Palma at Isonorte Foundation, the winning project of Nextextile COP26 Startup Europe Awards Special Edition was announced, which went to the company DeleiteWear.

Presented and moderated by Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, the event featured presentations from representatives of the textile sector who were able to analyse new models and processes that enable the achievement of the SDG within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, mainly to reach a circular and regenerative economy. Cutting-edge discussions were presented on collaboration and support for alternative models that close the circles of the value chain in the sector.  Also presented at the occasion were the CircularInnoBooster project and its accelerator CirCoAX, which aims to promote a change of model in the fashion and textile sector through an acceleration programme with training and funding. The call of this accelerator that closed last month has received more than 120 applications, which only 30 will receive the €12,000 funding of this COSME project of the European Commission endowed with €360,000 and funded at 75% for two years and whose partners are the European Institute of Design (IED),Texfor, Circulab, Finnova and The Circular Project with HumanNation.

The event was held at 18:30 CET in a hybrid mode, combining face-to-face participation from the island of La Palma with international online speakers. Representatives from the Canary Islands took part, such as Yurena Febles, Networking officer at Cide Canarias, Eduardo Javier Calderón Piñero, Director of Isonorte. The event featured a panel of experts in the fashion and textile sector in Latin America, the European Union, and Scotland, such as Michael Cusack, Head of Sustainability and Business Transformation at ACS Clothing Scotland; David Allo, Head of Sustainability at Texfor; Alejandra Gougy, President of the Asociación Moda Sostenible Argentina; Luis Lehmann, professor and writer; and Sharam Yalda, ecologist, expert in circular business design and founder of the consultancy Human Nation, who represented the EU project CircularInnoBooster and its accelerator CirCoAX.

Around 200 participants from the EU, Scotland and Latin America were able to learn first-hand about innovative EU projects, the importance of the circular economy in the textile and fashion industry and the need to establish climate change actions that promote the green recovery of textiles, which is the second most polluting industry in the world.

Innovation, collaboration and European funds

Juan Manuel Revuelta highlighted the need to understand the call for change in the textile and fashion industries and the importance of innovation, collaboration, and EU funds to achieve sustainability. “We are looking for new models to reinvent fashion and textiles that respect the limits of the planet and include an approach on social, environmental and economic sustainability”, he pointed out.

According to Mr Revuelta, “this COP26 edition will provide an unparalleled opportunity to reflect and to create a new roadmap towards sustainability based both on the goals set out under the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal and on EU funding facilities like Next Generation”.

DeleiteWear, winner of the Nextextile COP26 Startup Europe Awards

In addition to the CircularInnoBooster project, the protagonists were innovation, clusters such as NextextileGeneration and initiatives that promote public-private partnerships. All of this materialised with the presentation of the Nextextile COP26 Startup Europe Awards Special Edition to DeleiteWear, a Spanish company that began by rescuing and recycling men’s shirts that, due to small imperfections in their fabrics, could no longer be sold. DeleiteWear’s philosophy is based on the certainty that alternatives to fast fashion exist. It is a triple-impact business that aims not only for economic interest, but also for environmental and social benefit. DeleiteWear, consisting of upcycling and circular fashion, is a Spanish project with a minimal carbon footprint and maximum social impact, which protects endangered biodiversity and employs women at risk of social exclusion and victims of trafficking.

The event is available here.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Spanish-Belgian foundation which finances innovation. Finnova aims to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address societal challenges such as jobs, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, and the circular economy, among others. Finnova works at an EU-level and is headquartered in Belgium, although it also has several offices across Spain, Chile, and Panama.

About Startup Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism, culture and creativity, and the fight against climate change.

• The panel discussion addressed the current status of bioeconomy in Europe.
• Panellists concurred that biogas is a sustainable source of renewable energy which may bring Europe closer to the green transition.
• Topics included the harnessing of organic waste to scale up the circular economy and to produce green energy.
• The event was framed within the I Congreso Internacional de los Océanos – Reserva de la Biosfera El Hierro y Corredor Biológico Natural which was held in the Canarian island of El Hierro.

Brussels, 08.11.2021.

Finnova Foundation co-organised on 5 November an event entitled ‘Powering the EU through 2050: Turning the Bioeconomy into Reality’ along with Metabolic Institute and Global Omnium within the framework of EU side events at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). Throughout the panel discussion, experts debated about the current status of the bioeconomy in Europe and the challenges it faces to meet the EU’s endeavour to become climate neutral by 2050.

Created by the United Nations 30 years ago, the COP26 is the most important international forum devoted to addressing climate change. The 2021 edition will host on-site and online events from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow and Brussels. Participants and policymakers will attempt to engage in new commitments to contain temperature rise to 1.5 degrees this century. This goal as well as those set out under the Paris Agreement will only be met provided that global emissions are halved by 2030 and net-zero emissions are achieved by 2050.

The event was moderated by Elizabeth Corbin, Metabolic Institute, who provided a broad overview of the status and impact of bioeconomy as well as the human actions and the consequences of them on the planet. Ms Corbin also made some forecasts vis-à-vis 2030. By that year, the EU is expected to reduce by 40% its GHG emissions, to increase by 32% the use of renewable energies, and to improve by 32.5% energy efficiency, which will enable to reach a green transition towards a sustainable future.

Challenges for the bioeconomy in Europe

Carlos Lafita, RDI manager at Global Omnium, Herman Dekker, chair of the European Biogas Association, and Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation weighed the challenges the EU faces bioeconomy wise. Equally, they brainstormed potential disruptive solutions to reach a green transition based on biogas and the exploitation of organic waste, among others.

All the speakers concurred that biogas is an available and sustainable solution capable of advancing the European green transition and bolstering the circular economy by harnessing agri-food waste instead of dumping them into landfills.

Carlos Lafita pointed out the need to re-use existing infrastructures to conduct co-digestion activities and to increase the production of biogas from an optimal exploitation of waste. Similarly, Mr Lafita said there are still many logistic, technological, and legal barriers hindering the production of biogas and the development of technology more easily.

Juan Manuel Revuelta stressed the importance of EU funding for the 2021-2027 period. Mr Revuelta optimistically claimed that there are some EU schemes aimed at preserving the environment and advancing the circular economy, including Next Generation EU, LIFE, and Horizon Europe, a success story being the European project ‘LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0’. Mr Revuelta equally urged to harness organic – as well as textile and touristic – waste to avoid being disposed of in dumpsites, which may take a toll in our health and the environment. Instead, this waste may be re-used to contribute to the European economy.

Harmen Dekker said that biogas is one of the most viable and quick solutions to fulfil the green transition in Europe owing to it being a 100% renewable and zero-emissions source of energy. Mr Dekker did also reinforce the idea of using organic waste as an alternative to fossil fuels.

On the other hand, this event was held within the framework of the I Congreso Internacional de los Océanos – Reserva de la Biosfera El Hierro y Corredor Biológico Natural which took place from Wednesday 3 Nov. to Friday 5 Nov. 2021 in the Canarian island of El Hierro. Alpidio Armas González, the president of the Cabildo Insular de El Hierro (El Hierro regional government), wrapped up the event by pointing out at the El Hierro’s leading position, as 60% of its energy comes from renewable energies such as wind and hydroelectric power. The president said El Hierro could serve as a living lab and he welcomed any innovative project in energy to carry out pilot projects funded under LIFE and which may be eligible for scaling up under Next Generation EU recovery funds.

The event was wound up with the delivery of the Bioeconomy COP26 Startup Europe Awards, an open-innovation tool designed to identify emerging and promising enterprises capable of solving current challenges and fight climate change. These awards are implemented by Finnova Foundation and the European Commission’s DG CONNECT.

The winners of the 2021 edition were TheKSFactory, a company from Malaga belonging to Grupo RedVerde which specialises in researching raw materials to develop and create different natural compounds to produce consumer goods for the shipbuilding and architectural sectors. TheKSFactory focuses on recovering marine, green, and mineral waste which cannot be used and are sometimes hard to recycler or to dispose of.

Click here to watch the event.

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0

In this context, the European project LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 was presented. LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 is funded under the LIFE programme and it aims to transform the resulting sludge from wastewater treatment plants into green energy through technology.

This project, which is led by Global Omnium (Spain) and endorsed by Finnova Foundation (Belgium) and Águas do Centro Litoral (Portugal) seeks to become the most versatile digestion control tool due to its performance in achieving environmental and economic benefits thanks to the production of biogas from an optimal exploitation of waste. Thanks to this software, GHG emissions are reduced and the sludge emanating from wastewater treatment plants is harnessed.

Bioeconomy COP26 Startup Europe Awards

The event was wound up with the delivery of the Bioeconomy COP26 Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) which acknowledge the potential of projects, start-ups, or disruptive ideas in bioeconomy.

The winners of the 2021 edition were TheKSFatory, a company from Malaga belonging to Grupo RedVerde which specialises in researching raw materials to develop and create different natural compounds to produce consumer goods for the shipbuilding and architectural sectors. TheKSFactory focuses on recovering marine, green, and mineral waste which cannot be used and are sometimes hard to recycler or to dispose of.

About COP26

Created by the United Nations 30 years ago, the COP26 is the most important international forum devoted to addressing climate change. The 2021 edition will host on-site and online events from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow and Brussels. Participants and policymakers will attempt to engage in new commitments to contain temperature rise to 1.5 degrees this century. This goal will only be met provided that global emissions are halved by 2030 and net-zero emissions are achieved by 2050.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Spanish-Belgian foundation which finances innovation. Finnova aims to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address societal challenges such as jobs, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, and the circular economy, among others. Finnova works at an EU-level and is headquartered in Belgium, although it also has several offices across Spain.

https://finnova.eu/

About Global Omnium

Global Omnium is a highly renowned corporate group both in Spain and abroad. Global Omnium specialises in the different processes encompassing the whole water cycle, and it runs several complementary businesses which create synergies to optimise the use of water and to manage wastes. It services 5.5 million people in over 300 Spanish cities and it operates in three other continents. Global Omnium is a social-minded project, and it is made up of long-established companies which have been contributing to the growth of the cities and municipalities in which they operate.

https://www.globalomnium.com/Grupo/Inicio/

About Metabolic Institute

The Metabolic Institute is a non-profit think tank working at the intersection of academic research and real-world experimentation. It is made up of experts who counsel governments, companies, and NGOs on how to adapt to a rapid changing world, while it equally creates disruptive solutions which can drastically change the functioning of economy. The Metabolic Institute analyses data, proposes strategies and tools, designs pilot projects, and creates new companies which develop scalable solutions to solve critical problems.

https://www.metabolic.nl/institute/

About Startup Europe Awards (SEUA)

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism, culture and creativity, and the fight against climate change.

https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

About LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 features a software which enables to automatically control the pumping of organic wastes into anaerobic digesters in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to maximise the production of on-demand biogas – a renewable source of energy. This project has a 970,000 euro budget and has a duration of four years (2020-2024). It is being led by Global Omnium Medioambiente (Spain) and is partnered by Finnovaregio (Belgium) and Águas do Centro Litoral (Portugal). The production of biogas to cover the energy demand and to reduce the amount of wastes in landfills complies with the provisions set forth under the EU’s Landfill Directive.

https://www.lifecodigestion.com/

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, began on Monday, 1 November. For 12 intense days, leaders from all over the world will put forward avant-garde initiatives under the slogan ‘Uniting the World to Tackle Climate Change’. Through events and workshops, initiatives will be shared to tackle the climate crisis from many different angles, sustainable mobility being one of these.

Today’s transport industry, which is based on the use of fossil-fuelled motor vehicles, is one of the main causes of air pollution. It is estimated that this sector consumes one third of all energy in the EU and is responsible for a quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, road transport, i.e. cars, lorries, and buses accounts for 70% of these gases.

On the closing date of this summit, Friday 12 November, from 11:00 to 12:00 (CET), the ‘Sustainable Mobility: ‘Transitioning towards Sustainable Urban Mobility’’ event will be held in the capital of Europe, Brussels, and it will also be broadcasted. This event is organised by Climate Rally, MobiliseYourCity and Finnova Foundation, and it will feature the contributions of the Malaga City Council and its S-Moving congress, as well as T-Box. The event aims to offer a panel discussion in which alternatives are proposed to achieve an ecological transition towards a fair and sustainable urban mobility, attracting innovation to the transport industry to reduce greenhouse emissions and, ultimately, to neutralise the high levels of pollution. Given the importance of finding effective and replicable solutions, opportunities for accessing European funds to promote the creation of eligible projects at the forefront of this field will be presented.

At the end of the event, the Mobility Startup Europe Awards prizegiving ceremony will take place, an open innovation methodology that seeks to acknowledge disruptive proposals in sustainable mobility.

You can register to watch the event in streaming at the following link.

About COP26 (https://ukcop26.org/)

Created by the United Nations 30 years ago, the COP26 is the most important international forum devoted to addressing climate change. The 2021 edition will host on-site and online events from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow and Brussels. Participants and policymakers will attempt to engage in new commitments to contain temperature rise to 1.5 degrees this century. This goal will only be met provided that global emissions are halved by 2030 and net-zero emissions are achieved by 2050.

About Finnova Foundation (www.finnova.eu)

Finnova Foundation is a Spanish-Belgian foundation which finances innovation. Finnova aims to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address societal challenges such as jobs, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, and the circular economy, among others. Finnova works at an EU-level and is headquartered in Belgium, although it also has several offices across Spain, Chile, and Panama.

About Climate Rally (https://climate-rally.eu/)

Climate rally is a project promoting sustainable mobility through a bicycle tour from Munich via Innsbruck to Milan, organised by LCOY Germany, Austria and, Italy to discuss the future of our mobility. Together with 15 young people, Climate Rally raises awareness and develops new ideas for carbon-free transport. They are supported by the UK and Italian embassies in Germany and Austria.

About MobiliseYourCity (https://www.mobiliseyourcity.net/ )

MobiliseYourCity is a leading global partnership that functions to increase investment in sustainable transport solutions. It partners with organisations such as Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), both of which work in cities and countries around the world to develop scalable solutions to improve mobility in complex environments. The partnership has currently more than 65 partner cities with a total population of over 110 million people in 30 countries.

About Startup Europe Awards (www.startupeuropeawards.eu)

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism, culture and creativity, and the fight against climate change.

About Mobility Startup Europe Awards

The Mobility Startup Europe Awards are a new category within Startup Europe Awards organised by Finnova Foundation. They are framed under the requirements of the European Commission on Mobility and Transport, which aims to encourage governments and companies to engage with current issues affecting mobility and transport for the good of the economy, society, and the environment. The central objective of these awards is to acknowledge start-ups which put in place innovative solutions in sustainable mobility such as projects addressing the reduction of costs, a clean transport transition, and digitalisation or a legislative redefinition to unify European mobility.

Brussels, 04.11.2021 – Finnova Foundation, Metabolic Institute, and Global Omnium will hold an EU side event entitled ‘Powering the EU through 2050: Turning the Bioeconomy into Reality’ at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (#COP26) on Friday 5 November at 9:30(Brussels time). The goal of this event is to discuss the current situation of bioeconomy in Europe and to put forward innovative solutions to meet the EU’s goal to become climate neutral by 2050. This event will be held on EU Energy Day.

Having been established 30 years ago, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is the most important international forum to tackle the global climate crisis. The 2021 edition will be held from 31 Oct. to 12 Nov. in Glasgow and Brussels with on-site and online events.

The goal of this summit is to achieve new agreements and commitments among world leaders to contain temperature rise to 1.5 degrees this century. Consequently, it is pivotal to halve world emissions by 2030 and to cut them out by 2050 – this will enable to meet the goals set out under the Paris Agreement.

Metabolic Institute will kick off the ‘Powering the EU through 2050: Turning the Bioeconomy into Reality’ event by introducing the current status of bioeconomy in Europe, i.e. the production of goods and services using science, technology, and innovation as well as renewable natural and biological resources. Subsequently, there will be a panel discussion featuring Juanma Revuelta (CEO, Finnova Foundation), Carlos Lafita López (RDI Manager, Global Omnium), Harmen Dekker (Chairman, European Biogas Association), and Erin Kennedy (Project Manager, Metabolic Institute). During this roundtable, panelists will analyse the challenges the EU must face and how bioeconomy can become a reality.

The event will equally feature the presentation of LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0, a project funded under the LIFE programme – the EU fund dedicated to environmental and climate objectives. Under the umbrella of fostering innovation in the EU and ensuring implementation of bioeconomy, this pilot project allows to transform sludge from wastewater treatment plants into green energy via technology.

The event will be wrapped up with the delivery of the ‘Bioeconomy COP26 Startup Europe Awards (SEUA)’ whereby the potential of projects, start-ups, and disruptive ideas in bioeconomy will be acknowledged.

Register here.

About COP26 Created by the United Nations 30 years ago, the COP26 is the most important international forum devoted to addressing climate change. The 2021 edition will host on-site and online events from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow and Brussels. Participants and policymakers will attempt to engage in new commitments to contain temperature rise to 1.5 degrees this century. This goal will only be met provided that global emissions are halved by 2030 and net-zero emissions are achieved by 2050.

About Finnova Foundation  

Finnova Foundation is a Spanish-Belgian foundation which finances innovation. Finnova aims to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address societal challenges such as jobs, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, and the circular economy, among others. Finnova works at an EU-level and is headquartered in Belgium, although it also has several offices across Spain.

https://finnova.eu/

About Global Omnium  

Global Omnium is a highly renowned corporate group both in Spain and abroad. Global Omnium specialises in the different processes encompassing the whole water cycle, and it runs several complementary businesses which create synergies to optimise the use of water and to manage wastes. It services 5.5 million people in over 300 Spanish cities and it operates in three other continents. Global Omnium is a social-minded project, and it is made up of long-established companies which have been contributing to the growth of the cities and municipalities in which they operate.

https://www.globalomnium.com/Grupo/Inicio/

About The Metabolic Institute  

The Metabolic Institute is a non-profit think tank working at the intersection of academic research and real-world experimentation. It is made up of experts who counsel governments, companies, and NGOs on how to adapt to a rapid changing world, while it equally creates disruptive solutions which can drastically change the functioning of economy. The Metabolic Institute analyses data, proposes strategies and tools, designs pilot projects, and creates new companies which develop scalable solutions to solve critical problems.

https://www.metabolic.nl/institute/

About Startup Europe Awards (SEUA)  

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism, culture and creativity, and the fight against climate change.

https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

About LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0  

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 features a software which enables to automatically control the pumping of organic wastes into anaerobic digesters in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to maximise the production of on-demand biogas – a renewable source of energy. This project has a 970,000 euro budget and has a duration of four years (2020-2024). It is being led by Global Omnium Medioambiente (Spain) and is partnered by Finnovaregio (Belgium) and Águas do Centro Litoral (Portugal). The production of biogas to cover the energy demand and to reduce the amount of wastes in landfills complies with the provisions set forth under the EU’s Landfill Directive.

https://www.lifecodigestion.com/