Wensday 13th of May 2026, the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA) hosted the kick-off meeting of the European project Valoriging Agrifood Wastewaters through advanced biorefining techniques for sustainable packaging solutions (VALORBIO), coordinated by ICRA's researcher Dr. Maite Pijuan.

The meeting moved memebers of the international consortium to Girona from TUDelft (Netherlands), Aarhus University (Denmark), INP-Grenoble (France),  KTH (Sweden) and the Imperial College of London (United Kingdom) and it served as the introduction of the project and the establishment of the initial work routes the different groups will follow, as well as to define key aspects in management and dissemination. It included a guided visit through the most relevant installations of the ICRA building.

One of the most relevant elements of VALORBIO is the implications of industrial collaborators in the agrifood sector and packaging, which very relevant  when transfering research knowledge to the market. In this path, the participation of Liquiats Vegetals and Anela Fruits is a must in upcomming meetings. As you might have seen in the website, these companies provide their wastewater for the bioprocesses at ICRA and will benefit as well from the bioplastics the project may produce as an outcome.

With this meeting, VALORBIO starts its way to develop innovative, circular and sustaible solutions in water treatment and biodegradable materials for the agrifood industry.