Bridging the gap and opportunities for the management of contaminated agricultural land
29 April 2025, 9.30-13.30
Centro Residenziale Universitario of the University of Bologna, Bertinoro Italy and online
Soil pollution poses a significant global challenge. In Europe alone, an estimated 2.5 million potentially contaminated sites exist, and approximately 650,000 hectares of land are unsuitable for food and feed production due to excessive concentrations of organic and inorganic pollutants. Over the past four years, the GOLD project has conducted research and innovation to cultivate industrial crops on these contaminated sites. This innovative approach aims to revitalize polluted agricultural land while simultaneously producing clean biofuels. This final event will showcase the project’s results and explore strategies for developing and deploying synergies between phytomanagement and clean biofuel production. Presentations will cover trial results, biomass processing techniques, methods for mapping contaminated land, and integrated value chain assessments. Attendees will gain insights into optimizing energy crops for pollutant extraction, advanced pre-treatment and conversion processes, and the economic and environmental benefits of the integrated value chains. The agenda includes international sessions, panel discussions, and a roundtable specifically designed for local stakeholders. The event will be held in a hybrid format, offering both in-person and online participation, free of charge upon registration.
Registration
Preliminary agenda
8.30 Welcoming of participants and registration
8.50 International Session
Welcome address and introduction Andrea Monti – University of Bologna, Efi Alexopoulou, CRES Greece and GOLD project coordinator
European policy and support for renewable fuels innovation –Maria Georigadou – European Commission DG RTD
Industrial crops optimized for phytoremediation: results of 4-year trials in contaminated areas across the EU – Eleni Papazoglou, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece
Biomass pre-treatment, processing and upgrading of clean biofuels – Marcel Dossow, Technical University of Munich, Nicolas Abatzoglou -University of Sherbrooke
Mapping EU contaminated land and scenarios for phytoremediation – Berien Elbersen, Wageningen University
Biofuels from contaminated land:Integrated value chain assessment, economic and environmental aspects – Edoardo Miliotti, RE-CORD
10.25 – Coffee Break
10.40 – Are we ready to implement phytomanagement systems with biomass crops in contaminated soils?
Pietro Peroni – University of Bologna
10.50 – Discussion with local stakeholders: Analysis of the potential applications of GOLD systems in Italy
Moderated by Andrea Monti, University of Bologna
Experts: Guido Bonfedi (ENI Rewind), Maria Georgiadou (EC DG RTD), Efthymia Alexopoulou (CRES), Igor Villani (Regione Emilia-Romagna), Giacomo Zaccanti (ARPAE Emilia-Romagna), ARPAE Modena, Andrea Sconocchia (ARPA Umbria).
12.05 – International roundtable: Developing synergies between phytomanagement and clean biofuels. Lessons learnt and recommendations from R&I projects,
Panelists: Maria Georgiadou (EC DG RTD), Stefano Capaccioli (ETA Florence, Phy2Climate project), Athanasion Rentizelas (National Technical University Athens, Ceresis project), Rocio Diaz-Chavez (Imperial College of London, GOLD), Myrsini Christou (CRES, ICARUS project), Edaphos project.
12.40 Questions and closing remarks
13.00 Networking lunch
