Brussels, 9 June 2020 – The municipality of Coria del Río (Seville, Spain) launches the Accelerathon Coria del Río with the challenge of Circular economy and rice straw. It is an open innovation programme organized by the Startup Europe Accelerator of Finnova Foundation. It will start next Tuesday, 16 June at 17:00 (CEST) with an informative webinar about the different possibilities of funding for innovative project and ideas related to rice straw, and the competition rules for participation. The winners of the Accelerathon Coria del Río will receive a European acceleration ticket in order to access funding from the LIFE Programme of the European Commission. Around €2 million could be granted for each project.

The Accelerathon Coria del Río is enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. It is focused on finding innovative solutions for the treatment of subproducts containing rice straw used as a resource and not labelled as waste. This way circular economy is fostered.

As an example, in 2019 more than 788,000 tons of rice, as well as rice straw and rice husk, were produced in Spain. When in contact with water, rice straw provokes a decrease of oxygen, rot and it can cause the death of birds and fishes. This is the reason why farmers burn rice straw, releasing greenhouse gas emissions. Rice husk is also considered as waste that should be eliminated because if not, it tends to accumulate due to its low level of degradability. As a general rule, producers get rid of it thanks to a controlled combustion process that generates as a subproduct rice husk ash. These ashes represent a high percentage of silica that makes it apt for its use in sectors such as the cement industry.

This programme counts with the institutional support of the DG CONNECT of the European Commission. It is addressed to civil servants and policymakers at municipalities, organizations and government agencies, trade unions, institutes of technology, universities, innovative companies with patents and corporations with environmental challenges that could be faced through LIFE Programme funding and a technological push.

You can register at the informative webinar by filling the following form:

About:

Accelerathon

Accelerathon is an acceleration programme for innovative projects fostered by Finnova Foundation. It is also a methodology designed by Finnova that consists of looking for solutions and funding through an applied, online open innovation system that binds together all the actors from the innovative ecosystem.

The Accelerathon also works under the methodology of the LIFE Programme of the European Commission. The challenge follows the SDG of the United Nations and brings support to other programmes related to the fight against COVID-19 and legionella, among others.

What is Startup Europe Awards?

It is an initiative of the DG CONNECT at the European Commission implemented by Finnova Foundation. It counts with the support of the European Parliament, some members of the European Committee of the Regions, and the European Economic and Social Committee.

What is Startup Europe Accelerator?

It consists of a European, second-level acceleration programme specialized in the support of incubation programmes linked to regional and national entrepreneurship. The aim is to help startups access EU resources in order to internationalise their project, and break into the market through European projects, mentoring, networking, lobbying, legal advice and international communication.

Coria del Río

Coria del Río is a city 12 km away from Seville and strategically located besides the Guadalquivir river. This riverside town with thousands of years of history keeps under its streets the remains of important civilizations that settled here, such as Tartessos, Romans and Arabs, who turned Coria del Río into an ideal place for the promotion of culture, social development and economy through services such as livestock farming, agriculture and fishing. Over the years, the Corians had developed new techniques, and boosted riverside carpentry and sturgeon fishery, some things that made it the only place in Western Europe to have a caviar factory. It is also worth noting the close relationship that this town has had with Japan since 1614, when the Keicho Embassy led by the Samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga landed here and united both cultures. He left a legacy that more than 400 years later is still alive in more than 700 Corians who have inherited the surname “Japan” from that expedition. Nowadays, Coria del Río has more than 30,000 inhabitants and a tourist offer that makes thousands of visitors come to the town every year, attracted by its gastronomy, its rich landscape, its history, its festivities or its peculiar relationship with Japan.

Finnova Foundation

Finnova is the European foundation for innovation funding. Its main goal is to promote the cooperation between public and private sectors through the best low-cost, technological solutions, in order to address social challenges such as employment, entrepreneurship, the SDG of the United Nations, circular economy, waste recovery, sustainable tourism, and the fight against climate change.

http://finnova.eu/

Contact:

• For any question, please contact:

Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation.

Email: info@finnova.eu.Telephone: +32 475 97 42 77

• Press Head contact details:

Lola Bordás, Head of Communication and Marketing at Finnova Foundation. Email: cmo@finnova.eu. Telephone: +34 619 11 02 66

• Contact in the municipality of Coria del Río:

Francisco Javier Sosa, Head of Communication (municipality of Coria del Río).

Email: comunicacion@coriadelrio.es. Telephone: +34 682 07 27 87