The PATHSENSE (Pathogen Sensing) ETN will bring together an interdisciplinary team of world-leading researchers from Europe to tackle a highly ambitious scientific project, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of sensory perception in bacterial pathogens. PATHSENSE will establish an innovative doctoral training programme that will deliver 13 PhD graduates and high-impact scientific outputs. The relationship between molecular structures and biological function is central to understanding any living system; however the research methodologies required to unravel these relationships are often complex and fast-changing. The team participating in this Network has the infrastructure and track-record to train ESRs in these state-of-the art methodologies, including structural biology, proteomics & protein biochemistry, molecular biology, bacterial genetics, food microbiology, mathematical modelling, cell biology, microscopy and comparative genomics. PATHSENSE will investigate the poorly understood structure-function relationships that exist within a large multi-protein complex called a “stressosome”, which acts as a sensory organelle in bacteria. The project will involve extensive inter-sectoral mobility of the ESRs across 7 EU countries to make full use of the complementary skills available at each of the hosting institutions. The inter-sectoral Network comprises 8 leading Universities, 1 public research institution, 4 companies (from spin-off to large multi-national) and 1 governmental agency. A major objective of this Network will be to exploit the fundamental research to develop novel antimicrobial treatments that have applications in the food and public health sectors. This project will deliver high-impact science, 13 highly-trained innovative researchers and will produce a long-lasting inter-sectoral network of collaborators who will continue to work together to exploit fundamental research for the socio-economic benefit of Europe.

OLEAF4VALUE is a three-year project that will develop a complete valorization system for the olive leaf. 4,5 million ton of olive leaves are produced annually in the world by the olive oil industry, a key industry in southern Europe and along the Mediterranean coast (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, among others). This recalcitrant biomass represents a problem for both the farmers and the whole olive oil industry, who need to remove it from the fields and the olive oil mills. This biomass is nowadays burnt in the fields, given to the cattle or, in some cases, combusted to produce energy. OLEAF4VALUE will put together a competitive consortium of highly experienced partners devoted to the complete valorization of this new underexploited biomass. The consortium will address all the stages of the value chain: raw material, biorefining, post-extraction technologies, market validation and sustainability assessment. The goal of OLEAF4VALUE is to set up the basis of a smart value chain based on a newly developed 4.0 concept: Smart Dynamic Multi-Valorization-Route Biorefinery (SAMBIO) for the cascade valorization of the olive leaf biomass according to its physicochemical composition, particularly modulated by specific pretreatments to produce target products. Advanced green extraction and isolation technologies will be used to sequentially separate all fractions and compounds of value, with a zero-waste approach. Enzymatic biotransformation and nanoencapsulation technologies will be applied to develop tailor made prototypes according to end user market needs from high value sectors: food, feed, health, cosmetic, pharma and chemical industries. Large companies from these sectors within the consortium will guarantee a good market-oriented approach throughout the project. OLEAF4VALUE will link the primary olive sector from southern Europe with large multinationals from the high valued competitive markets in a circular bioeconomy project.

Natac Biotech S.L. is the R&D division of a group of 8 companies (Natac Group S.L.) with headquarters in Spain and international presence in LATAM and the USA. We are a leading biotechnology company specialized in the extraction of high added value bioactive ingredients from agriculture products. In our effort to continue innovating and expanding, the AQUOLIVE project was initiated a couple of years ago and it has become the most strategic project for us, as a way to become a leading player of the animal nutrition market. The AQUOLIVE project is aimed at offering the aquaculture sector a high-performance feed additive based on our patented formulation of bioactive phytochemicals obtained from olive oil production by-products (production method also patented). This solution will help Fish farmers to increase their productivity and profitability, while reducing the use of hazardous antimicrobial chemicals in intensive aquaculture practices. We see in the AQUOLIVE project a clear investment opportunity, in which we seek entering the fast growing aquaculture feeding market (estimated to reach €123 Billion by 2019) and achieve a 5-years cumulative cash flow of €18.23 Million meaning a 5-years ROI of 608%.

Natac Biotech S.L. is the R&D division of a group of 8 companies (Natac Group S.L.) with headquarters in Spain and international presence in EU, LATAM and the USA. Our group is a leading firm of the natural extracts sector and we have developed and operated the first olive biorefinery at a global level. Thanks to this, we can obtain high added value bioactive ingredients from residues of olive oil production (circular bio-economy) at industrial quantities and very competitive prices. In our effort to continue innovating and expanding, the AQUOLIVE project is now the most strategic project for us, as a way to become a leading player of the animal nutrition market. The AQUOLIVE project is aimed at offering the aquaculture sector a high-performance feed additive based on our patented formulation of bioactive phytochemicals obtained from olive oil production by-products (production method also patented). This solution will help Fish farmers to increase their productivity and profitability, while reducing the use of hazardous antimicrobial chemicals in intensive aquaculture practices. Thanks to the clear benefits AQUOLIVE will bring to fish farmers and the industry need for this type of solution, we see in the AQUOLIVE project a clear investment opportunity, in which we seek entering the fast-growing aquaculture feed market. This market was value globally at €156 Billion in 2015 and project to €209 Billion by 2019. More precisely, AQUOLIVE will target the salmon feed market, with a global production of 7 MTon in 2017 and that accounts for a total of 11% share of the total production of aquafeed products globally. In this growing market scenario, our 3-years business plan after this Phase 2 project will mean a 3-years cumulative cash flow of €9.02 Million meaning a 3-years after-tax ROI of 362% for a total investment of €2.49 Million in the Phase 2 project (€1.74 M of EU contribution).