- An event to reinforce the strategic collaboration between leading industrial regions in Europe
- Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Foundation, presented the Industrial Water SEUA, to face the challenge of industrial water in Lombardy and Valencia
02/04/2023, Brussels. Finnova Foundation participated in the event “Clusters meet Regions”, which took place in Milan (Italy) on March 26th and 27th, 2024. The event, organized by the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) on behalf of the European Commission and in collaboration with Cluster Afil and Regione Lombardia, brought together institutional and regional authorities from Italy and the rest of Europe, cluster managers, entrepreneurs and academics for two days to promote industrial development in the regions and encourage the exchange of knowledge.
The conference, entitled “Twin Transition: Italian ecosystems and the European agenda for sustainability”, aimed to present innovative models and strategic choices adopted by different Italian and European regions, and to establish interregional collaborations.
The role of Finnova Foundation
During the event, Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation, met with the regional secretary of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Valencian Community, Felipe Carrasco, and with the secretary of International Relations of the Lombardy region, Raffaele Cattaneo, to deepen cooperation in strategic sectors and industrial partnerships.
He also had the opportunity to present the methodology of the Startup Europe Awards (SEUA), highlighting its role as a crucial tool in fostering public-private collaboration and promoting innovation to boost the success of startups and SMEs. In this line, the event served as a platform for the official launch of the Industrial Waste Water SEUA, a challenge focused on industrial water management in collaboration with the Valencian Community and the Lombardy region. The initiative seeks to attract innovations and offer sustainable solutions to the challenges facing industrialization and water management in both regions, especially in the fields of agri-food, fashion/textile, ceramics and automotive, 4 crucial sectors for both regions.
Finnova’s projects in the Twin Transition framework
During his participation, Juanma Revuelta highlighted the work of Finnova Foundation in different projects that reflect the Foundation’s commitment to green and digital transition in Europe.
RES4CITY, within the framework of the Horizon Europe program, with a budget of 2.5 million euros, aims to promote the development of sustainable renewable energy and fuel technologies in cities. Within this project, the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON idea accelerator proposes solutions in efficient mobility, land management, green hydrogen production and grey water reuse.
LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 under the LIFE program, with a budget of 970,000 euros, aims to generate biogas in sewage treatment plant digesters by mixing organic waste, achieving environmental and economic benefits through the optimal use of waste.
Another of the projects related to environmental care is ONE-BLUE, from the Horizon Europe program. With a budget of 6.2 million euros, it will improve knowledge about the effects of pollutants in different marine ecosystems.
Finally, MANUFACTURING4ALL, under the Erasmus+ program, with a budget of 60,000 euros, aims to transform small municipalities through digital education and entrepreneurship.
The event served as a space for the promotion of sustainable innovation and interregional and international collaboration, marking a step forward in the green and digital transition in Europe. The initiative reinforces the importance of working together to overcome global challenges, thus supporting the dual green and digital transition to a more sustainable and technologically advanced future.
About Finnova Foundation
Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels, which focuses on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the European Union. The foundation works in collaboration with various organizations and partners in the member countries to communicate and disseminate European projects. In addition, it offers support to start-ups and businesses through programs such as accelerators and incubators, and selection and award ceremonial events.