The BETA Technology Centre obtains a Marie Curie Action to create a European training and research network in the dairy sector

The Beta Technology Centre at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) is part of a ten-member international consortium which has obtained an Innovative Training Network (ITN). This is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action, which is part of the H2020 programme, and it aims to train new generations of creative and innovative researchers in an international network of public and private centres.

The BETA is the only member in Spain which is a beneficiary of the REFLOW project, which aims to strengthen the relationship between the development of environmental technologies and new economic scenarios in Europe. To achieve this, it will train new researchers from a multidisciplinary perspective, enabling them to work in an industrial world based on the circular economy. These researchers will be responsible for developing and implementing new technologies for innovative and socially responsible management of waste from the dairy sector - effluents that contain high levels of phosphorus.

Phosphorus can cause environmental problems if it is not managed properly, while it is also one of the main ingredients of fertilisers that are used in agriculture on a regular basis. For this reason, one of the main objectives of the REFLOW project is to recover this ingredient and restore its value, to reduce the sector's environmental impact while simultaneously obtaining value-added products that stimulate new markets for the recovered phosphorus. "We aim to recover phosphorus by developing various technologies and producing high quality biofertilisers, and we will also assess their organic quality," explains the director of the BETA TC, Sergio Ponsá.

Two innovative technologies and a training programme

In this context, the work of the BETA TC will have two dimensions: on the one hand, it will recruit two new researchers who will be developing two innovative technologies focusing on the recovery of phosphorus and the production of fertilisers as part of their doctoral thesis. On the other, it will be the institution responsible for the technical and cross-disciplinary training programme for the 13 doctoral students who will be participating in the project at one of the centres involved, who will be chosen in a competitive application process.

This is "one of the most competitive programmes which gives most prestige to European research groups," says Sergio Ponsá, who believes that the REFLOW has been awarded in "recognition of the excellent scientific work that is being done at the UVic-UCC and BETA, as well as the work of the Doctoral College." According to Ponsá, both the subject matter and the workings of the REFLOW are a perfect fit with the objectives of BETA and the projects that are already under way: "Our goal is to have an international profile to also be able to have a territorial impact, and this project is the perfect example of how to achieve it: we are working with leading European institutions and, at the same time, we have the involvement of a local company, La Fageda."

REFLOW is led by the University of Limerick (Ireland), and the consortium is made up of 10 beneficiary members, including the BETA TC, and 14 associated institutions. The participants in the project include the University of Wageningen, the Teagasc of Ireland, the University of Ghent, the University of Aarhus, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, and companies including Prayon and Strane. Among other initiatives, together they will be carrying out individualised research projects, international and inter-sectoral research stays, courses and workshops given by industrial partners and academic teaching staff.

The project will last for 4 years, and will begin formally in January next year with a kick-off Meeting in Barcelona. The total budget and financing of the REFLOW amounts to 3,469,774 Euros, and 501,809 Euros of this figure is allocated to the BETA TC-UVic-UCC.