BETA Technological Centre

The Technological Centre in Biodiversity, Ecology and Environmental and Food Technology was born in June 2014, to give a definitive boost to the research activity in the field of the environmental technologies at the Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC).
The main mission of the BETA Technological Centre is to be a relevant actor for the technological development, the improvement of the competitiveness and the quality of life of rural societies. The impulse for fulfilling this mission comes from both the execution of R&D&I projects and the transfer of knowledge to the private and public sector.
The CT BETA is part of TECNIO, a network that promotes differential technology, business innovation and excellence in Catalonia and that identifies technology centers and university groups that are experts in research and technology transfer.

Fields of knowledge:

Environmental Technologies & Circular Bioeconomy

With extensive experience in both biological and physico-chemical processes, from the BETA Center we are working on known processes and already implemented in the industry, such as: Anaerobic Digestion, Composting, Membrane Technologies, Adsorption processes, among others; as well as in innovative processes that allow to improve what is currently being applied: cryoconcentration, bio-drying or solid-state fermentation.

Applied Ecology & Global Change

The Applied Ecology & Global Change line promotes the study of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, with an emphasis on assessing their response and resilience to different impacts. We particularly focus on microbial communities relevant for ecosystem functioning. These communities are also used as biological model to test for the direct and indirect effects of different stressors related with global change on freshwater ecosystems.

Soil & Nutrient Management

The Soil and Nutrient Management Unit (S&NM) at CT BETA addresses the adequate and responsible management of soils and fertilizing products, with a view to furthering the rural circular economy by lowering dependence on external inputs and improving the sustainability of agricultural practices.

Sustainability Accounting and Optimization

Through this line we work to quantify the environmental, economic and social dimension of sustainability. Thus, we develop and apply tools and methodologies to assess the sustainability of complex systems; which final results assist the decision-making process of industries, governments and public agencies towards building more sustainable future.

Governance for Sustainability

The Governance for Sustainability area at BETA Tech. Center promotes initiatives and projects that seek to improve the governance in the field of sustainability based on the principles of coordination and cooperation among stakeholders of the quadruple helix. At BETA Tech. Center, we aim to guide actions and identify instruments to achieve a systematic change in strategies and public policies through the transfer and capitalisation of knowledge, results and recommendations to other projects, initiatives or interested target groups.