Good starts to build circular economy systems are based on ideas and economic availability. Innovative solutions are discovered by the dozen every week, but when they are born in young and dynamic environments they have a higher value. 750 million euro made available by a pool of institutions and banks including Cariplo, Intesa San Paolo, Federico II University of Naples, for bioeconomy projects, broaden the horizons of research and Italian enterprise. Naples is trying to make a qualitative leap in a growing sector.
Seven Startups have been selected for the third batch of the Terra Next programme, as part of the initiative CDP Venture Capital. The chosen companies participate in a 3-month course in the San Giovanni a Teduccio Campus of the Federico II University, in Naples. It is not the first edition but perhaps it is the most full of developments. The bioeconomy is a energy transition segment that moves capital and international partnerships. It is a form of economy that exploits the natural resources of the earth, the sea, the rivers, producing energy. It needs trust, to be explained, because everything is linked to nature and to a responsible use of goods. The available goods are limited and the repetitive theories of geological eras help us understand current phenomena up to a certain point.
Bioeconomy, projects for 1 million euros
The startups that participated in the selection presented projects on artificial intelligence, on the construction of supply chains to establish the origin and quality of consumer products, on the recycling of materials. In a world that every year celebrates theovershoot day – the day of the planet's depletion of resources – experiments are the main way to keep social and economic systems afloat. The seven startups selected in Naples will not do it all alone.
As in a passing of the baton, there is also a need to transmit industrial culture. In the field there will be consolidated companies such as Pastificio Garofalo, the Getra energy group, the Nestlé Group, Novamont, the Fondazione per il Sud. It is also known that the best projects will have access to further investments for approximately 1 million euros. Terra Next has received more than 450 applications from Italy and Europe and has so far granted funding for 1,5 million euros. It is certainly money well spent.
