HApi – Hyperthermia in Apiculture focuses on the introduction of a new machine for treating honey bees against the Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) by means of hyperthermia. Since currently no specific treatment exists to deal with the DVW infestation, we believe our company can play a role in breaking this downward spiral of collapsing colonies, ruined beekeepers, and the endangered regional pollination. With HApi we want to turn this spiral upwards, and offer beekeepers a new method for integrated pest management, with a high quality machine to care for their hives without any chemicals and avoid colony losses. This has to be understood in the light that Europe has 13 million less honeybee colonies than would be needed to properly pollinate all its crops, keeping healthy bees is fundamental for pollination, sustainable agriculture, and ultimately for our food security. The European honey bee plays a vital role in agro‑ecosystems by mastering the pollination of one third of the world’s food crops. In total apiculture generates an annual value added of 1 billion Euros, but more importantly, it contributes to the total amount of at least 22 billion Euros delivered by pollinators to European agriculture. If we manage with HApi to reduce the rate of hive losses by 3% only in DE, AT and CH, this alone will mean that about 39,750 hives are rescued, with an average economic benefit between 19.9 Mio. to 39.8 Mio. Euro in avoided losses.

Methanol is a crucial commodity in the chemical sector and a potential building block of the future sustainable chemical industry. To date, the majority of methanol is produced from fossil fuels (either natural gas or coal) with associated CO2 emissions of 0.3 Gt/year (about 10% of total chemical sector emissions). Biomass is a sustainable alternative to conventional hydrocarbon feedstocks. However, due to its high carbon and oxygen content, conventional second-generation biomass-to-methanol processes achieve 40-45% of carbon efficiency and result in venting most of the carbon back to the atmosphere as CO2. BeBOP is a 4-year project that aims to develop a novel versatile, disruptive, and multi-product biomass and power to methanol plant, that can transform the methanol industry. Thanks to the integration of an electrolysis cell within the syngas conditioning line, the BeBOP concept can double the methanol productivity ans achieve >95% of total carbon efficiency and recover high value components from biomass gasification residues. The BeBOP project will showcase a first-of-a-kind TRL6 pilot plant ready to be scaled-up and replicated by the European biomass-based industry. BeBOP will enhance market opportunities in the short to medium term bringing the methanol production costs below 250 €/t (with long-term low-cost renewable electricity and including 150 €/tCO2 carbon credits) and shifting the 10% of the production from fossil-based to BeBOP configuration allowing to avoid the emission of more than 30 Mt of CO2 per year (3% of CO2 emissions in chemical industry). Preserving the quality of the end product at competitive costs, decreasing the GHG emissions, decreasing the costs of methanol production and creating new direct and indirect jobs, BeBOP will have a decisive impact in increasing the circularity of the European chemical sector.

"Project was implemented since September 2015 till the end of February 2018 and was implemented by all project partners.Aim of the project was to help to bridge the disparity between basic and cross-cutting skills in the fields of electrical engineering and energy, to propose measures for improvement quality of institutions involved in the system of dual education and to develop a methodology for instructors working in companies who are preparing pupils in VET. Another objective was to update 6 text books for secondary vocational schools (SVS). All project goals were met in full. We see the impact of our project already at present, as our outputs are of particular interest to the professional public.All 3 planned project outputs were created: O1 - Proposed concept for the development of a system of dual system for small and medium-sized enterprises. The methodology of O1 creation consisted of qualitative and quantitative surveys (questionnaires and personal interviews) in SMEs, employers, professional associations of electro-technical and energy industries in SK, AT & CZ. The intention was to propose concrete measures and constructive proposals to amend the existing VET Act of 2015. Many of our proposals were accepted by the Ministry of Education SR during the commenting process to this Act.O2 - Updating of six secondary technically-oriented textbooks in terms of content and form in the form of e-books. EkoFond, together with the CZ partners and ŠIOV, successfully managed the update 6 textbooks for SVS students in the electrical engineering and energy fields. The following textbooks were created: Technology 1, 2, 3, 4, and Energy Resources and Equipment 2 and 3.O3 - Creation and testing of the methodology for instructors working with pupils in VET in companies – 20 methodologies & 84 working sheets were prepared in SK & CZ languages to be used by instructors in companies.The target groups were primarily SMEs in energy and electrical engineering fields, their professional organizations, as well as SVS, which together play a decisive role in efficient functioning of the system of dual education. The target group did not change during the project and we managed to address it through activities and implementation of intellectual outputs.The project and budget management was executed by the main partner-EkoFond. All project partners managed their parts of the project, including budgets. During the project, various managerial and organisational activities were implemented, including 6 transnational meetings as well as meetings with experts to implement individual outputs.All project partners involved experts proposed in the application form. Project management was performed by experienced managers. Mainly internal staff of the partners worked on the individual project outputs. EkoFond, ŠIOV and SEES involved in O2 output - updating and creation of learning texts - many teachers from SVS and expert for examination of the texts. The reason was the need to combine practical experience of teachers and practitioners. Project dissemination: EkoFond has prepared a dissemination plan. A project website in SK and EN was created www.edes.ekofond.sk, which provides all information about the project, its partners and the project outputs. The section “Documents” lists all internal documents - minutes from all transnational meetings together with invitations, programs, photos, presentations and attendance lists, as well as invitation, program, lectures, attendance list from the final project conference. This part can only be accessed via: login: ecofond, password: Ekof2016.As part of project sustainability, partners will continue to use all project outputs:O1 - In SK there is currently running a commentary to amendment of Act No. 61/2015 Coll. on VET. Recommendations to the key partners and comments on the proposal for the amendment of the above Act were made in a joint opinion with the AZZZ at the Ministry of Education SR.O2 - one of the target groups of the project were secondary vocational technical schools, which will use the created e-textbooks for teaching. E-textbooks will make an important contribution to improving the quality of education, as many textbooks for these fields of study have been absent for many years. We plan to initiate a launch for a competition at the Ministry of Education SR for these textbooks to obtain the status of the national textbook approved by the Ministry - ""the approval clause of the Ministry"", thus becoming available for each school in SR. Availability of created materials will be secured through the created project website.O3 - developed 20 methodologies and 84 worksheets will be used by the target groups also after the end of the project. The community of professionals involved will be able to update their content, which will lead to the creation of quality educational materials in line with the current knowledge and practice and will improve the employability of graduates."

SUSTAINEXT is led by Natac and brings together 21 partners from Europe and Spain, 7 of them from the Extremadura region. The project will start in June 2023 and will last four and a half years. In summary, the technological objective of the project is to implement on an industrial scale a digital, dynamic, versatile, disruptive and multi-product biorefinery, with a processing capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year and following a NetZero Carbon strategy. This first-of-its-kind flagship will transform the plant-based ingredients sector, while showcasing and deploying a first-of its kind model likely to be replicable by the whole European bio-based industry. SUSTAINEXT aims to transform Natac's current production plant, located in Hervás in the north of Extremadura, into the most modern, digital, innovative and sustainable plant extracts factory in the world, placing the company and the region at the forefront of the sector at a global level. The model is based in the integration of the whole supply chain - from feedstock to end users - applying a disruptive circular model based on a smart dynamic analytical biorefinery (DYANA): a smart dynamic biorefining process for the cascade valorisation of feedstocks which is optimized batch-wise according to the initial composition of the feedstock to deliver maximum value with minimum environmental impact and ensure resource efficiency. DYANA will allow to achieve the complete valorisation of the processed feedstock with a zero-waste and zero-emissions ambition. SUSTAINEXT will be industrially deployed with six sustainably and locally sourced European feedstocks. Three medicinal and aromatic crops (rosemary, camomile, and lemon verbena) will be cultivated in Extremadura in disused tobacco fields as an alternative towards healthier crops, and also between solar panels (agrivoltaics) enhancing soil use. Three agro-industrial side streams (olive, artichoke/cardoon, and pomegranate) will showcase how biomass upcycling represents an opportunity to give a new life to certain underexploited bio-based feedstocks. SUSTAINEXT flagship will deliver 46 plant-based healthy extracts and functional ingredients out of which 13 are totally new on the market and 12 are newly produced in Europe. It will generate a revenue of 271 M€, will create more than 5,000 new green jobs (direct and indirect) and will have a decisive socioeconomic impact in Extremadura.

"All European honey bees are highly exposed to various negative stress factors. Our society is witnessing a changing situation for bees that has dramatically worsened their living conditions. As a consequence of the reduction of the bee pasture quality and the increased use of pesticides, either from the side of the farmers or the producers of pesticide-based veterinary drugs, which are steadily increasing, we observe that the colonies are constantly losing their ability to cope with pests and various bee diseases. A new era of problems started and there is a need to start treating the bees in a different way, because if beekeepers and farmers continue constantly to increase the doses of pesticides, honeybees no longer can support them and honey products lose their reputation of natural products „good-for-health“.The overall project goal was to improve the teaching content in the project partner organizations with a nationwide outreach and to strengthen the competences and professional skills of beekeeping teachers in Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The project coordinator was the Secondary Vocational School Pod Banosom (Slovakia), which is the main educational institution for beekeepers in Slovakia. The Slovak Association of Beekeepers and the Czech Association of Beekeepers, which associate more than 90% of all registered beekeepers in these countries, participated in the project through communication activities during pilot training courses and conferences. The Austrian partner Ecodesign Company GmbH played a unique role in the project as this organization owns the high quality expertise in the new chemical-free treatment methods of bees and also owns the efficient, tested and scientifically approved device, Varroa Controller, which has been applied in Austria for almost 10 years now. The other Austrian project partner Mehrdafon-Bienenliebe Imkercentrum GmbH supported the project with experience in vocational dual education system and trainings for not only hobby, but also master beekeepers.The BLESABEE project helped to increase the competences and skills of teachers involved in the beekeeping vocational education and training in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Austria. The project involved 40 beekeeping teachers and indirectly more than 800 beekeeping trainers and technicians of veterinary doctors and beekeepers in the Czech and Slovak Republics who participated in multiplication events and seminars taking place within the project.The main outputs and achievements of the project are new educational materials for beekeeping schools and centers available in a form of a new educational website (www.blesabee.online) and a textbook “HOW TO MANAGE AND MAINTAIN HEALTHY BEES"", which was awarded by the Gold Medal at the International Congress Apimondia 2019 in Montreal, Canada. This textbook briefly discussed both, the stress factors threatening the bees and the key aspects contributing to their well-being. Moreover, it focuses especially on strategies to keep healthy bees by avoiding chemicals in the bee hives. The interested users can read, watch and share the best beekeeping practices from this textbook for free. The learning material contains QR codes for easy access to short beekeeping training videos and testimonials. The innovative part of the project in relation to other existing beekeeping projects was the process of creation of new course, which brought together scientists and practitioners and which has been expanded from a regional to a global context via international beekeeping congress and competition in Montreal (Canada) Apimondia 2019.The second output is the approval of new veterinary methods of treatment bees against bee diseases and pests, which were successfully submitted and integrated by the state veterinary authorities into a legal system in the Czech and Slovak Republics. At the same time, a new veterinary device, Varroa Controller, has been certified by the veterinary authorities in both countries, which was necessary for enabling of safe and effective non-chemical treatment of bees.The third output created within the project is PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR BEEKEEPING INSTRUCTORS, which describes the Austrian beekeeping education system, including the dual vocational system, with particular emphasis on the training of apprentices and beekeeping masters. The guide can serve as an inspiration and blueprint for the next upper education level for beekeepers in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.To provide sustainability of the project the new funding schemes for education and training were already put at place within the national beekeeping programmes of the EU in Czech and Slovak republic for the years 2019-2021. This project created solid basis for an ongoing cooperation among beekeeping organizations involved, it has significantly increased the number of knowledge exchange among the experts involved and it also established the foundations to extend activities to other European countries."