Tec4Green in the Spotlight at the Association of Engineers Conference in Setúbal

On 15 October 2024, Alcochete in Setúbal was the setting for an important conference organised by the Setúbal District Delegation of the Portuguese Engineers' Association - Southern Region. The event focused on the impact of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) in the areas of social and economic development, both at regional and national level.
The session's keynote speaker was Pedro Dominguinhos, President of the PRR's National Monitoring Committee, who addressed the progress already made under the plan and its effects on modernising infrastructures, as well as promoting innovation and sustainability. The speaker also emphasised the importance of the digital and green transition in strategic sectors for the country's future.
The event continued with a panel moderated by Carlos Mineiro Aires, representative of the Construction Foundation, where various business projects under development in the context of the PRR were discussed. Among the guests on the panel were António Sequeira, Project Director at The Navigator Company, José Luís de Sousa, Pro-President of the Setúbal Polytechnic Institute, and Josué Clemente, Open Innovation Lead at ASCENZA and representative of the Tec4Green consortium.
Josué Clemente presented ASCENZA's contribution through its leadership of the Tec4Green consortium, an initiative involving 18 strategic partners. This consortium, which includes eleven companies, four research and development (R&D) organisations, three business associations and a collaborative laboratory, has received funding of 15 million euros from the PRR. Tec4Green's mission is to develop a new generation of products for the protection and nutrition of agricultural crops, based on the principles of the bio-circular economy.
The focus of the projects is on sustainability, the digitalisation of agriculture and agronomic decarbonisation, promoting the efficient use of resources such as water and agro-industrial by-products to generate green energy.
The conference emphasised the importance of collaborations between the private sector, educational institutions and the government for the success of the PRR's objectives. Initiatives such as Tec4Green exemplify how such partnerships can boost innovation and economic growth in essential areas such as agriculture.