- First of the three days of the meeting, with sessions focusing on an in-depth discussion of the soil-water-biodiversity system.
- The European LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project is a step forward in the transformation of organic waste.
12/07/2023, Brussels. Yesterday, Monday 10 July at 10:00 (CEST), the first day of the informal EU Environment and Energy ministerial meeting was held in Valladolid. One of the topics discussed at this meeting has been the improvement of water management with progress in wastewater treatment, objective of the European project LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0, in which Finnova collaborates.
The working sessions focused on the priorities of the Spanish Presidency within the framework of the objectives of the European green agenda, including the preservation of spaces as a support for the production capacity of the primary sector over the coming decades.
The Environment officers developed the agenda of this first day in three blocks. The first dealt with the integrated management of soil, water, forests and biodiversity. The second part of the day focused on existing alternatives for reducing marine pollution. Finally, the third block explored the need to balance the implementation of renewable energies with territorial management and the protection and conservation of biodiversity.
LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0
Ministers discussed joint management of the soil-water-biodiversity system, improving water management – with progress in wastewater treatment – reducing pollution and promoting circularity. One example of innovation in water treatment plants is the European LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 project. The project, funded by the LIFE programme and with a budget of more than 970,000 euros, uses innovative technology to transform putrescible organic waste into biogas through anaerobic digestion in the digesters of Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP), LIFE Ecodigestion 2. 0 is committed to making the use of biogas a reliable energy source to cover industrial energy demand as green energy to meet the EU target of at least 27% of energy from renewable sources by 2030. This methodology is particularly interesting in Europe, given that there are 18,000 wastewater treatment plants.
Tomorrow, the conference will continue to analyse the challenges to be presented at the next COP 28 and the improvements that can be made in communicating the opportunities of the energy and climate agenda.
About LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0
This is a pilot demonstration project, financed 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 the 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 of European projects is combined with a strong 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.