More than 200 researchers from all over the world will meet in May in Alcalá to share the latest advances in bioelectrochemistry.

The XXVIII International Symposium on Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics (BES2024) of the Bioelectrochemical Society will be held from 19 to 23 May at University of Alcalá (UAH), Spain. Organised together with the Autonomous University of Madrid and the CSIC, the conference focuses on topics such as electroporation, microbial bioelectrochemistry, bioelectrosynthesis, studies of fundamental electrochemical enzymes, enzymatic bioelectrochemistry for analytical purposes and bioelectrochemistry for energy conversion and storage.

The opening ceremony will take place on Sunday 19th in the Corral de Comedias (old theatre) in Alcalá de Henares. More than 200 experts from all over the world will gather to share research, ideas, and perspectives on the latest advances in bioelectrochemistry. From cutting-edge technologies and innovative applications to fundamental principles and theoretical frameworks, the conference will provide a platform to explore the full range of our dynamic and interdisciplinary field.

The Bioelectrochemical Society (BES) is an international scientific association founded in 1979 to promote the understanding and cooperation between interested scientists and scientists in the application of concepts and electrochemical techniques to the fundamental study of living systems.

Daniela Torruella, Mario Jiménez and Fernando Muniesa, pre-doctoral researchers from our team, have won the thirteenth edition of the EDPR University Challenge international competition, held on Wednesday, October 25 in Madrid, Spain. Contestants have reached the final with a project that fuses solar energy and biotechnology to capture carbon and create value-added products.

The winners have been chosen by the jury in the predoctoral student category with their proposal Fusion of solar power and biotechnology: Use of energy surplus for production of added value products and carbon capture through Purple Photrophic Bacteria (PPB). These bacteria constitute the largest group of photosynthetic microorganisms that inhabit aquatic and terrestrial environments. They are very versatile microorganisms due to their complex metabolism since they can convert light energy into chemical energy through anoxygenic photosynthesis (in the absence of oxygen). To do this, they are capable of using very diverse substrates and producing materials with high added value such as bioplastics and certain proteins of industrial interest.

“Microbial electrochemical technologies require a multidisciplinary approach that, in the winning project, has been achieved thanks to the different profile of the contestants,” says Abraham Esteve-Núñez, principal investigator of the Bioe group. And he emphasizes: “To achieve this, we try to train researchers in technology transfer processes that integrate engineering, electrochemistry and microbiology.”

EDPR University Challenge is an international competition organized by the EDP Renováveis company, one of the world’s leading producers of wind energy. Its objective is to encourage the creativity of university students in the application of academic knowledge for the development of projects in the areas of marketing, business administration and engineering in the field of renewables. The projects are evaluated by an independent jury of university professors, company staff and specialists in these fields.

The METland technology has been recognised with the Innovation Award, as announced last 14 September during the European Meeting of the International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology (EU-ISMET2020). The purpose of this award is to acknowledge the best technical innovation within the field of microbial electrochemical technologies as published between July of the previous year and the nomination deadline​.

“This recognition represents the support of the community for the technology developed by Bioe Group throughout more than a decade of multidisciplinary work”, Abraham Esteve Núñez said.

METland allows to treat wastewater in a sustainable way without energy costs and high efficiency to remove organic pollutants, nitrogen, and phosphates from urban wastewater. Different units already operate at different locations worldwide and can be integrated into small communities or isolated households, with a plant-based solution that increases their visual attractiveness.

The purpose of this award is to acknowledge the best technical innovation within the field of microbial electrochemical technologies as published between July 1st of the previous year and the nomination deadline​. Nominations for the awards are judged on a competitive basis by an awards committee and selected based on the quality and impact of the research or discovery.

The H2020 iMETland project has been chosen among the top three in Europe by experts at KETBIO, a funded initiative for the transfer of biotechnology research results. The proposal, that ranked in the second place, has been coordinated by Bioe Group.

The three winning projects have been chosen by KETBIO experts together with a commercial committee. To this end, more than 300 projects financed by European programs have been analysed, of which 79 have been thoroughly examined to select the ten finalists. According to the evaluators, iMETland is a “great application”with” a good growth potential in the environmental biotechnology markets”.

The iMETland project has shown that urban wastewater can be cleaned in a sustainable way and it is suitable for irrigation, without energy costs, by using bacteria that produce an electric current from pollutants.

IMETland units already operate at different locations and can be integrated into small communities or isolated households, with a plant-based solution that increases their visual attractiveness. The concept is ready for commercialization through the METfilter company, founded for this purpose by IMDEA Agua and the CENTA Foundation.

Biotechnology as the engine of the economy

KETBIO is an EU-funded coordination action under HORIZON 2020 for key enabling biotechnology research. The initiative has a goal to raise the European innovation capacity.
Biotechnology research is seen as a main driver in the circular economy by offering key tools for different fields, such as biorefining, marine and freshwater technologies, energy and waste conversion, food, feed and textile production, agriculture, among others.

KETBIO flagship projects interactive brochure

Abraham Esteve Núñez is interviewed in the Spanish magazine Aguasresiduales.info

Prof Esteve explains what microbial electrochemical technologies are, what advantages they offer when applied to traditional wastewater treatment systems and what METland® technology consists of, the only one that has hit the market so far. 

Dr Abraham Esteve Núñez, Bioe group’s principal investigator, participated on 21 October in a TEDx conference, the meetings of divulgation that gather experts from different subjects to expose in an accessible way their research or personal experiences.

In his presentation, Dr Esteve explained how the decontamination of natural environments through microorganisms contributes to the sustainability, especially when dealing with wastewater treatment. “We are witnessing a cycle change in the way we interpret the microbiology of our natural environments, but also how to exploit applied technologies like those used in our treatment plants,” he said.

Under the motto Watching the Future, the independent event, organised by TEDxRivasVaciamadrid together with the city council of Rivas Vaciamadrid (Madrid, Spain), gathered almost five hours and experts in robotics, virology, climate, photography, blockchain (chain of blocks on databases) and crypto-currencies and even a magician and a poet. The speakers addressed the social, environmental and economic changes that will have to be faced in the short and medium term.

This talk followed the TED format. You can watch it here.