On 18 September, Portogruaro hosted the first of four final events planned under the BioTech2Agri project, organised by Venetian Cluster: "Agrifood che innova: biotecnologie, territorio e nuove opportunità per le imprese" ("Innovating agrifood: biotechnology, territory and new opportunities for businesses").
On Friday 18 September 2026, the Biblioteca Antica of the Collegio Marconi in Portogruaro hosted an afternoon dedicated to dialogue between businesses, researchers and institutions, with a clear goal: turning research outcomes into concrete opportunities for innovation, sustainability and competitiveness in the agrifood sector.
The event opened with institutional greetings from the Mayor of Portogruaro, Luigi Toffolo, and the Director of Venetian Cluster, Sergio Calò. Also present was Patricija Štor of the ROD Agency, Lead Partner of the project, whose participation underlined the value of cooperation between Italy and Slovenia.
During the meeting, the project's results were presented, along with the work carried out to bring research and businesses closer together in the cross-border area.
Three presentations followed, offering complementary perspectives on biotechnology applied to agrifood:
- Prof. Lorenzo Favaro (University of Padua, DAFNAE): microbial biotechnology, by-product valorisation and the circular economy;
- Dr. Fabrizio Sibilla (founder of S&C BEST): challenges and opportunities in bringing biotech innovation from the lab to the market;
- Dr. Maurizio Polo (CEO and founder of Bioenologia 2.0): yeasts, fermentation and bioprotection for agrifood businesses.
Following a Q&A session with the audience, the meeting closed with a networking aperitivo, an opportunity to build new connections between businesses and the research community.
BioTech2Agri supports biotechnological innovation in the agrifood sector for the benefit of SMEs in the Italy-Slovenia cross-border area. The results-sharing journey continues with the final regional conference on 23 September at Villa Russiz (Capriva del Friuli).
The BioTech2Agri project is co-financed by the European Union under the Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia Programme.
