Trapani and West Sicily
BLUE ECONOMY
Lead: UNIPA
Co-Lead: APRE
TYPE OF HUB LAB
A regional innovation ecosystem around blue bioeconomy, having a quadruple helix structure (Applied science/Research, Education, local government, regional government, SMEs represented by the productive district). Activities will be implemented in Sicily.
HOW THE HUB IS ORGANISED
UNIPA is the central partner. Activities will be done with the whole network to design the targeted activities, thanks to its previous experience in the management of research project directed to experimental development and innovation in the sector of the blue growth. Education/training will be taken up together with the associate partners: District of fishery and blue growth (COSVAP) and Consorzio Universitario della Provincia di Trapani (CUPT), that have a significant experience in international cooperation and transfer of knowledge in this field. The associate partner FLAG trapanese (whose members are the nine municipalities of Trapani city), will adopt a local example of governance, thanks to its actions in run within the Special Economic Zone of Western Sicily, aimed to develop the sectors related to the blue economy, and to promote the ecological transition of the production facilities.
Local government, thanks to the involvement of FLAG, will support strengthening of network activities, entrepreneurship (smart specialisation). APRE will support the stakeholder engagement activity in the region, also leveraging on the contacts and current activities performed within the BioGoal project (a national project supporting bieconomy also in the Sicily region).
CENTRAL VALORIZATION ACTIVITIES IN THE HUB
Blue biobased products: Local production of marine biobased products, marine functional foods; contribution to circular economy and zero-waste goal by the recovery of by-products ad co-products from fish processing industries, and its utilization in industries devoted to the production of ingredients for food, feed, pharmaceutics and cosmeceuticals.
KEY PARTNER’S NEEDS
• Strengthening the awareness of local citizens of bioeconomy
• Strengthen activities of local entrepreneurs in marine biobased products.
• Educating the network and value chain partners.
ECONOMIC SECTORS,
CLUSTERS AND/OR VALUE
CHAINS INVOLVED
Agriculture, education, biobased processing SMEs, entrepreneurs in fishery, aquaculture, functional foods, pharmaceutics, cosmeceutics, circular businesses.
GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS
Province of Trapani, Palermo and western Sicily, Italy.
INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE
FOR ACTIVITIES/EXPERIMENTS/ACTIONS IN THE HUB
Research labs, productive district and its facilities, annual international EXPO on Mediterranean blue economy (Blue Sea Land) thanks to the involvement of COSVAP (center for testing, demonstration and transfer of technology in the fishery value-chain and The Mediterranean Fisheries Observatory).
The UNIPA staff could take into account facilities and experts that have experience in the area of research related to the blue-growth and training of students, PhD students, fishery and processing operators, for the transfer of the knowledge and technologies related to the field of marine biobased products.
GOOD PRACTICES, RESOURCES,
CAPABILITIES AND TOOLS AVAILABLE IN THE HUB
The Italian HUB could take into account the outputs obtained in previous projects related to blue- economy, that will drive the new governance activities. Good practices in the field of marine biotechnologies and sustainable marine productions, were signed within the project SUCCESS (HORIZON), BIOVECQ and SECURAQUA (ENPI-CBC-MED), while pilot procedures for valorization of marine by-products for realization of marine bioactive ingredients, were obtained in the projects with FLAGs. Furthermore, UNIPA is partner of the project FORTHEM alliance among Universities, aimed to reinforce specific training program for students among European Universities. The COSVAP, thanks to the projects BlueRev (HORIZON EUROPE) HELIOS Enhancing the Social Inclusion Of Neet (ENI CBC MED) and JOB MATCH 2020 – Italia Malta 2014-2020 will support the training actions in the sector of Blue & Circular Economy.
The Italian HUB is currently partner of three international projects relevant on these fields ARIBiotech, Bluerev and Mediet4all (Prima).
KEY POLICY DRIVERS
The project will increase the environmental and economic sustainability of local enterprises, also ensuring a retraining of the unemployed people through training activities. Activities and results will be presented to regional policy makers in order to re-address the regional strategies and increasing the role of the bioeconomy.
ACTIONS ORIENTED AND PARTICIPATORY AND ENGAGEMENT METHODS IN USE/TO BE USED
Thanks to the existing network, the stakeholders of the local communities will be actively engaged in the hub. In particular:
Companies will be involved to assess their needs for skills, to co-create training activities (to improve their knowledge of the bioeconomy, re-skill their employees, etc.);
Unemployed and marginalised people will be involved in training activities and re-skilling programmes;
Feedstock owners will be invited in raising awareness campaign on the opportunities offered by the bioeconomy.
Raising awareness campaigns targeting the general public will be organised in order to explain the benefits about the consumption of bio-based products instead of the fossil-based ones.
PHASE OF THE HUB IN TERMS OF
INNOVATION LIFE CYCLE (INITIATIVE,
GROWTH, MATURITY)
For most of the activities proposed, the HUB start from TRL 6 – technology demonstrated in relevant environment (industrially relevant environment) and TRL 7 – system prototype demonstration in operational environment, thanks to previous innovation projects completed by UNIPA, in the sectors of nutraceutics and pharmaceutics. Thanks to 3 previous project with FLAGs, UNIPA was able to gain also TRL 8 – system complete and qualified – and TRL 9 –by contributing to the realization of a marine biobased cosmaceutic line proven in operational environment.
BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABILITY
ASPECTS OF THE HUB
Pharmaceutic, Cosmaceutic, Nutraceutic.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THE HUB,
CONTRIBUTION TO OVERALL LEARNINGS IN ENGAGE4BIO
Regional and international networks of actors and Hubs;
Innovative formats for bioeconomy (education, skills and knowledge);
European network of good practices exchange.
