The UAB is coordinating BrewSelBar, a European project to develop a selenium-enriched biostimulant using brewer's spent grain (BSG). The goal is to improve farming by favouring a more sustainable agriculture and advance towards a circular bioeconomy. Participating in the project are seven public-private partners, who meet on 29 and 30 January at the UAB for the official launch of the project.
BrewSelBar (Brewer's spent grains Bio-stimulant enriched with Selenium for Barley Stress Tolerance and Functional Beverages) will last four years and be coordinated by the GTS Centre (Grup de Tècniques de Separació en Química) of the UAB Department of Chemistry.
The project will optimise the extraction processes of BSG, a by-product of beer production which is usually discarded, enrich it with selenium, and then validate its effectiveness both in laboratory and in field conditions. The goal is to improve barley yield and its resistance to stress due to adverse environmental cultivation conditions.
"It is urgent to implement sustainable agricultural practices and improve resilience to climate change. The demonstrated ability of selenium to improve plant tolerance to stress and the benefits to human health underline the central role of this micronutrient in the innovative approach we propose", highlights María Jesús Sánchez, lecturer at the UAB and principal investigator of the project.
By valorising BSG as a high-value agricultural input, the project also takes into account the production of functional foods. In this sense, it will directly favour the production of selenium-enriched beverages, both beer and non-alcoholic products, which will simultaneously promote a circular bioeconomy and the reduction of industrial waste.
The project comprises the academic, industrial and innovative experience of five European and two Argentinian partners, and interdisciplinary collaboration, international stays, and knowledge exchange between all partners will be encouraged. In addition to the UAB, the project includes the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), National University of Mar del Plata (UNMDP), and the companies Semillas Batlle, Redinn SRL - Rete Europea dell'Innovazione, and Antares.
"We propose a holistic solution to global challenges in agriculture, climate change and food security, with results that are transformative for stakeholders, while being aligned with key strategies of the European Union, such as the European Green Deal and From Farm to Fork", concludes María Jesús Sánchez.
The project budget for BrewSelBar, with funding from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCAs) of the Horizon Programme, is €475,950.
