Third SUSFERT consortium meeting held in Ljubljana, Slovenia
After successful consortium meetings in Vienna (Austria) hosted by RTDS in May 2018 and St. Malo (France) at Roullier in November 2018 the SUSFERT consortium is once again meeting. This time around we are coming together in lovely Ljubljana, hosted by partner Acies Bio. Together we are reviewing how the project was advancing in the last half year, discussing the various ways to proceed during the upcoming half year and deciding on the next meeting.
Fig 1: Group foto of SUSFERT partners at the Ljubljana castle ((c) D. Fichtenbauer, RTDS Group).
SUSFERT is a BBI-JU and EU funded bioeconomy project with 11 partners developing new fertilisers based on completely sustainable sources. We develop multifunctional fertilisers for phosphorus and iron
supply combining bio-based and biodegradable coatings for controlled release, probiotics to increase nutrient availability and the renewable phosphorous source struvite (for more information please see the SUSFERT factsheet).
News from the project work packages and outlook
Several interesting announcements are made at the meeting, starting with a confirmation for Marc Spillers (UA) abstract for the 9th International Phosphorus Workshop which will be held in July 2019 at the ETH Zürich. Spiller will present the newest progress on their work on struvite and the SUSFERT project there.
Moreover, Spiller is showing partners a useful tool – the LandGIS website – an open source tool for for instance for checking PH levels of soils on the surface and in deeper strata. This could come in handy for preselecting the exact location of potential test sites for our field trials in later stages.
Fig. 2: Marc Spiller (UA) presenting LandGIS to consortium ((c) N. Miljković (RTDS Group).
Work package 7 leader, Natascha Miljković (RTDS) is announcing the upcoming first edition of the SUSFERT newsletter for end of April. If you are interested in being kept in the loop on SUSFERT consider registering for the newsletter on our main page. Also, concerning dissemination and communication of the BBI-JU and EU-funded SUSFERT project, a series of short blog posts are announced giving insights into the lives and work of SUSFERT consortium members.
The next update to look out for is a public deliverable on struvite – “Recommendations for struvite producers to make their products suitable for use as P source in fertilisers”.
The next consortium meeting will be held end of November 2019 in Austria with our partner BOKU as hosts.
Guided tour through the high-tech labs of Acies Bio
Our hosts for this meeting, Slovene biotech company Acies Bio, invited the consortium for a guided tour at their facilities in Ljubljana. Acies Bio presented the full process of optimisation of a biotech process they offer their customers: from strain development to optimisation of fermentation processes and up-scaling from lab to pilot scale, including isolation and further chemical derivatisation of natural products.
Fig. 3: SUSFERT consortium partners visiting Acies Bio labs ((c) D. Fichtenbauer, RTDS Group).
Ljubljanas rich historical background
Linking Adriatic and Mediterranean areas with northern Danube regions, Ljubljana has long been an important local centre. Historically, from 2000 b. C. Ljubljana was the “place to be”: the oldest preserved wood wheel was discovered here proving innovative and industrial people used to live – and are still living – here. Also, legendary Jason and the Argonauts are said to have fought monsters in the surroundings of Ljubljana when bringing the “Golden Fleece” to Greece.
Fig. 4: Impressions from Ljubljana, Slovenia ((c) N. Miljković (RTDS Group).
Modern day Ljubljana is a bustling metropolis displaying a charming combination of historical buildings, greeneries throughout the city and many opportunities for modern business venues.
