Clara Bilbao

The European SOILUTIONS project will validate and optimise four value chains to produce at least five bio-waste soil improvers.

The GAIKER Technology Centre, member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, BRTA, is one of the twelve partners participating in the European "Transforming underused bio-waste feedstocks into safe and effective market-ready soil improvers,SOILUTIONS" project whose objective is to reverse soil degradation by developing bio-waste improvers.

Around 70% of EU soils are degraded due to unsustainable management practices and the overuse of synthetic chemicals. This degradation is increasing and is endangering the fertility and productivity of the soil.

Therefore, in order to tackle this major problem and offer sustainable alternatives derived from bio-waste, using a circular economy approach, this project is funded by the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and will run for three years (2023-2026).

During this time, four value chains will be validated and optimised to produce at least five bio-waste soil improvers. Living Labs will also be set up in Flanders, Valencia and Murcia to work directly with stakeholders in real-life environments and hence, ensure that the soil improvers developed address market needs, have positive environmental, economic and social effects and meet social expectations and legal regulations.

The SOILUTIONS project is currently working on the chemical, biological and toxicological characterisation of the bio-waste that will later be transformed into soil improvers, and a review is being carried out of the different regulations that affect placing these improvers on the market.

GAIKER is responsible for the safety study of the bio-waste that will be used as a raw material for the development of the soil improvers, and will ensure that they meet the established quality and safety requirements. This study includes the assessment of the potential toxicological risks of the bio-waste and soil improvers to be developed, both for human health and the environment, by means of in vitro and ecotoxicity tests. In addition, a metagenomic analysis will be carried out to study possible changes in the structure of the bacterial communities in the presence of the developed soil improvers. The results of this safety study will be integrated and used to select safe soil improver formulations, following a safe and sustainable design (SSbD).

About SOILUTIONS

The SOILUTIONS project is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and will run for 3 years from June 2023 to May 2026.

The 11 partners working on the project are: S.A. Agricultores De Lavega De Valencia (Coordinator – Spain), NuReSys (Belgium), CETENMA (Spain), GAIKER (Spain), Draxis Environmental (Greece), Greenovate! Europe (Belgium), Collaborating Centre On Sustainable Consumption And Production – CSCP (Germany), Las Naves (Spain), Entomo Consulting (Spain), Ghent University (Belgium), Fertiberia (Spain).

The SOILUTIONS project is funded by the European Union.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Supported by the development of technological tools, the DIGITAP project aims to monitor, prevent and optimise the water supply system.

Five Basque companies and organisations have launched the DIGITAP project. Through the development and implementation of digital twins, DIGITAP aims to contribute to improving the integrated management of water supply systems. The monitoring and surveillance of the health of water bodies, based on the possibilities derived from innovative technological tools, will enable new methods to be implemented in order to facilitate the availability of early warning systems for the quality of water intake at supply plants.

This initiative, which will run until April 2026, addresses the major challenge of integrated water management in a scenario in which there are increasing uncertainties, and in which digitalisation will be a key tool to address the challenges, not only in relation to mitigating and adapting to climate change and improving the state of aquatic ecosystems, but also to improve the management of the water cycle in order to anticipate scarcity events that will become increasingly frequent.

Water is an indispensable resource for life, and its scarcity is a limiting factor for the development of any type of activity. This, along with the fact that its permanent availability and quality is increasingly uncertain, more than ever makes the assessment of water risk a strategic challenge. Water management must now be synonymous with risk management. Water service providers must be able to manage periods of scarcity, drought, floods, water quality, and a long etc. that is addressed through the concept of water security.

Extreme events are becoming more and more common as a result of climate change. With periods of prolonged droughts, along with periods of very intense rainfall that may even entail the risk of flooding, the integrated management of the water cycle must adapt to a new water reality and adapt management systems to guarantee a normal supply in terms of both quantity and quality due to its strategic importance for society as a whole.

The innovative nature of the DIGITAP project consists of the application of digitalisation and the development of technological tools that specifically address problems concerning the integrated urban water cycle and its interrelation with the water environment in order to achieve a prediction of water quality at source, as well as the prediction of water shortages and droughts. Within the framework of the project, a pilot case will be developed at one of AMVISA's (Aguas Municipales de Vitoria-Gasteiz) supply plants, in order to contribute to improving resource efficiency and decision-making.The DIGITAP project aims to develop technological solutions that offer a quantitative and qualitative analysis of water contingencies, which can identify and anticipate various situations leading to the minimisation of risk situations through decision-making based on data analysis.

The different work phases include the conceptualisation and development of the digital tool and a subsequent application for its validation which identifies the needs and requirements of the water cycle sector in relation to companies dedicated to the IoT (Internet of Things) and digitalisation, in addition to encouraging innovation.

Project consortium

The DIGITAP consortium is made up of Aclima, Basque Environment Cluster as project leader and coordinator and Agrupa Laboratorio, Aquadat, Cimas and the GAIKER Technology Centre.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism’s Support Programme for Innovative Business Clusters (AEI) through the EU-funded Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Mechanism – Next Generation EU.

GAIKER's work

GAIKER, as a technology centre of recognised prestige and extensive experience in the field of water, will contribute its knowledge of the water quality indicator parameters in water bodies, as well as their influence on the different treatments that make up the drinking water treatment process. All this will be integrated into the digital tool to be developed in the project.

At GAIKER, we carry out: – Ecotoxicological tests to ascertain the safety of compounds and products in the care of the terrestrial, marine and freshwater environment and to certify the absence of ecotoxicological effects. – Biodegradability tests to investigate the potential degradation of the environment caused by the biological action of the new products or compounds developed. We use alternative species and in vitro methods, following the 3Rs principle. In addition to standard methods, we also develop new methodological approaches in order to help reduce animal experimentation. >>See tests