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Last Friday, Sept. 29th, Spoke 2 - Green technologies and sustainable industry participated with a group of researchers from the University of Turin in the #UNIGHT event, the European Researchers' Night, at the picturesque Giardini Reali in Turin, animating, together with researchers from the other spoke Unito and Polito present, the NODES booth. This evening was an extraordinary opportunity to share our discoveries in the field of green technologies and sustainable industry with an audience consisting of adults and children, no longer just experts in the field.

Approaching the deadline of the NODES calls on October 31, Environment Park and Proplast - co-managers of the CLEVER and CGREEN Innovation Clusters and partners of Spoke 2 - will organize a business connection webinar on October 5, 2023, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The main goal of the event will be to give companies the opportunity to present their offer or request for innovative services in slots of only three minutes. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to leave their contact information to facilitate follow-up networking. If you work in the field of green technologies and would like to present your company, it is critical that you do not miss this unique opportunity. Let us know of your interest by sending an email by Sept. 29 to ilaria.schiavi@envipark.com or susana.remotti@proplast.it, and you will receive the template for your pitch, which will allow you to best highlight your proposal/request. And for those who plan to attend the event without submitting a pitch, don't worry! Mark the date and stay tuned for the registration link, which will be made available soon!  

Proplast - innovation hub partner of Spoke 2 - are offering a series of online training courses for businesses interested in learning more about plastics materials and industrial applications.   September:  Introduction to ecodesign Introduction to molding technologies October: High-performance thermoplastics  Introduction to elastomers November: Packaging in the cosmetics industry  Introduction to plastics  

Today the National Clusters had the opportunity to learn about the cascading calls Linea A, Linea B and Linea A for Southern Italy, presented during a digital event organised by Spoke 2 - Green technologies and sustainable industry of the NODES Ecosystem. The meeting, expertly moderated by Susana Remotti of Proplast and Ilaria Schiavi of Environment Park, illustrated the interesting funding and training opportunities for companies and researchers. Chiara Ferroni presented the NODES - Nord Ovest Digitale E Sostenibile project, while Prof. Cristina Prandi explained the functions of Spoke 2, focused on Green technologies and sustainable industry. Dr. Edoardo Braccio illustrated the cascade calls, expiring on 30 June, for research and innovation projects, and the training activities for companies. Dr. Marika Anzalone from Unioncamere provided valuable advice on how best to prepare applications for funding.   Prof. Cristina Prandi, Vice-Rector of the University of Turin and Spoke 2 Coordinator, highlighted the importance of seizing these opportunities to support the green transition of the production system and the development of green skills. During the Q&A, participants delved into the details of the calls, how to apply and were able to ask questions to the organisers.  

On June 12, the last stop of the Spoke 2 tour in Southern Italy was held at the Conference Room of the Chamber of Commerce Industry Handicraft and Agriculture North Sardinia in Olbia. The event, organized in collaboration with the University of Basilicata, the University of Sannio of Benevento - Partner of the South - Confindustria Centro Nord Sardegna, CNA Gallura and Confapi Sardegna, was aimed at presenting the cascading calls Line A - Mezzogiorno. These calls for proposals, dedicated exclusively to the territory of Southern Italy, have a total budget of €1,630,000 financed by PNRR funds. The objective is to support the implementation of industrial research and experimental development projects in the field of green technologies and sustainable industry. Event schedule. The event featured presentations on NODES and Spoke 2 - Green Technologies and Sustainable Industry projects, cascading calls for research and innovation, and training activities for companies, and concluded with a Q&A session dedicated to companies. During the Q&A session, the experts involved answered questions from interested companies, providing clarification on participation requirements, evaluation criteria, and timelines for implementation of the funded projects. Conclusions and next steps With the conclusion of the tour, interested companies are now asked to prepare and submit their project proposals to access funding under the calls for proposals. Companies are advised to consult the Calls section of Spoke 2 and carefully follow the guidelines for submitting proposals.  

The case of lab-grown "meat" (already approved and marketed outside Europe-for example, chicken meat in Singapore) is a hotly debated case in Italy, with strong opposition. Prof. Arlorio of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences - UPO and Spoke 2 Research Module Leader participated in the Thematic Table on Ingredients Obtained by "Precision Fermentation" as part of the 27th EFSA Colloquium scheduled on May 11-12 at the European Commission in Brussels. The EFSA Colloquia bring together by invitation international experts in the field of food safety, both in academia and industry, to set up working tables that enable the development of reference documents and guidelines that are used by EFSA or can be forwarded to the Commission, focusing on "hot" topics, just as in the case of this "new" type of food. "Considering the needs to address the new needs of mankind in terms of food sustainability, means considering the production and use of "novel foods" (novel foods, according to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283), always carefully evaluating the Risk Assessment process." began Prof. Arlorio. "The very definition of precision fermentations, to date without a regulatory cap," Arlorio continues, "is a globally accessed debate. For EFSA, precision fermentations would be ascribable to the use of genetically modified microorganisms; therefore, it becomes critical to define whether (and when) genetic material may remain in the finished product. These issues-including the risk analysis process-have long been widely considered in the pharmaceutical industry, where fermentations using genetically modified microorganisms are widely used for drug production. Certainly, "pharma" sector guidelines will be considered in the review of risk assessment processes typical of the food sector." Increasingly, therefore, EMA (the European Medicines Safety Authority) and EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) are finding points of contact in relation to these sensitive issues. For more information, you can consult the material published by EFSA.     

June 7, 2023, Catania - The second leg of the Spoke 2 - Green Technologies and Sustainable Industry tour was successfully held today at the Southeast Sicily Chamber of Commerce Industry, Crafts and Agriculture. The event, aimed at illustrating to companies the funding opportunities offered by the NODES Line A cascade calls dedicated to the South of Sicily, was organized under the patronage of the University of Catania, the Chamber of Commerce of Southeast Sicily and Confindustria Catania-in collaboration with the University of Basilicata and the University of Sannio, Partner of the South, and was attended by many companies interested in the issues of innovation and environmental sustainability. The Vice President of Confindustria Catania, Dr. Salvatore Gangi, stressed the importance of such opportunities for Southern Italy, as they contribute to innovative development and the creation of a favorable ecosystem for the next generations, who will thus be able to stay in Southern Italy and enhance local resources and territorial heritage. After introductory remarks by Prof. Romano of the University of Catania and Dr. Condorelli, Secretary General of the Southeast Sicily Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Raffaella Di Nardo of NODES presented the NODES Ecosystem to the entrepreneurs in attendance. Next, Prof. Pironti of the University of Turin explained the activities of Spoke 2, while Dr. Edoardo Braccio, Project Manager of the project, provided details on the funding and training opportunities available through the Line A calls, dedicated to businesses in Southern Italy. Finally, Dr. Sabrina Glionna, contact person for Unioncamere, explained to participants how to submit applications to access the 1.63 million euros made available by the NRP.

The first introductory kick-off meeting of Impact Deal, an accelerator program in its second year, was held today Impact Deal is a 6-month (June-November) data-driven accelerator program for impact businesses, companies and organizations, which acts as an agreement between disparate parties to generate positive and measurable social and environmental impact based on the use of data. The main target are companies pursuing (ex-ante) impact goals (according to the UN-defined SDGs) in addition to the usual financial KPIs. Thanks to the contribution of the NODES project, within the scope of Spoke 2 - Green Technologies and Sustainable Industry - of which OGR Turin is a partner - the 2023 edition of Impact Deal includes the introduction of specific accompanying activities to companies, focused on increasing and maximizing impact, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the initiative. Edoardo Braccio, Project Manager of Spoke 2, presented the NODES project to all kick-off participants today. Bin-e, Daedalus AI, Gocleer, Kreios Space, Mentessa, Opt/Net, Paperbox Health, Planet Watch, Relearn, The Predictive Company, Untap, Valuebin, Virtuleap, Volvero, and Xnext are the 15 impact enterprises selected for the second edition of Impact Deal that begin their journey today at OGR Turin. The Program is promoted by Fondazione CRT, OGR Torino and Microsoft and managed by TOP-IX, in collaboration with ISI Foundation, Ashoka and Impact Hub In addition, City of Turin, SNAM Foundation, BioEnerys, Sella, The Data Appeal Company - Almawave Group, Tim and WINDTRE are partners as Data Club Members (data providers)  

The first appointment of the Spoke 2 - Green Technologies and Sustainable Industry tour in Southern Italy was successfully held last May 16 at the prestigious Palazzo Partanna in Naples, organized with the aim of illustrating to businesses the interesting financing opportunities accessible through the NODES Line A cascade calls dedicated to the South of Italy. The event, hosted by Confindustria Campania and organized in collaboration with the University of Basilicata and the University of Sannio, Partner of the South, was attended by companies eager to learn more about issues related to innovation and environmental sustainability.