We were pleased to welcome 20 students from the Laboratory Operations training program at Institut Montilivi (Girona), who visited our partner LEQUIA as part of the SPORE-MED project PRIMA Partnership.
During the visit, LEQUIA researchers showcased their work on validating an innovative electro-precipitation process to recover struvite, a mineral with valuable fertilizing properties.
Exciting milestone for the SPORE-MED project! PRIMA Partnership
We are proud to announce that the LEQUIA team (Jesus Colprim, Alba Ceballos-Escalera & Emma Company Masó) has officially started operations with its pilot plant in Terrassa to recover (through electrochemical crystallization) phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) as struvite from the sludge line of the Terrassa WWTP – turning waste into valuable resources ♻️.
🔬 This marks a key scale-up step, building on successful laboratory-scale research and bringing our innovation into real-world conditions.
🔎We look forward to sharing insights and results as the project progresses under real conditions.
We are pleased to announce a training workshop entitled: A Wastewater Surveillance System for Public Health Monitoring
– Monitoring pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in urban wastewater
This workshop will be organized by researchers at ISBS – University of Sfax within the framework of the SPORE-MED project, in collaboration with the University of Cyprus and the University of Sfax, and in partnership with ONAS.
Dates: March 24–26, 2026
Location: ISBS, Sfax – Tunisia
The training will introduce the principles and laboratory methods of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for monitoring pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in urban wastewater. Participants will gain hands-on experience in sample processing, nucleic acid extraction, and qPCR analysis.
Trainer: Stavri Karasiali
MSc in Toxicology and Environmental Health
Nireas International Water Research Center – University of Cyprus
This workshop is organized within the SPORE-MED project, funded by PRIMA and the European Union, and aims to strengthen scientific capacity in wastewater surveillance for public health monitoring.
Feel free to share this announcement with colleagues and researchers interested in environmental monitoring, public health, and wastewater-based epidemiology.
LEQUIA Universitat de Girona showcased one of Spore-Med’s Key Exploitable Results at 4YFN26, part of MWCBarcelona 2026 in Barcelona.
🔬 The featured innovation: an electrochemical struvite recovery technology that enables nutrient recovery from wastewater, supporting circular economy solutions and sustainable agriculture.
By bringing this technology to 4YFN, we accelerate market uptake and cross-sector collaboration.
We are completing the installation of the pilot plant of LEQUIA for struvite recovery from wastewater treatment sludge at the Terrassa WWTP.
This milestone marks an important step within the SPORE-MED project, bringing us closer to demonstrating sustainable phosphorus recovery and circular economy solutions in real operating conditions. 🌱♻️
Looking forward to the next phase!
📣 1st SPORE-MED Dissemination Day – University of Sfax
We are delighted to announce the first SPORE-MED Dissemination Day, hosted by Ksibi Mohamed from the Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Sfax, within the framework of the SPORE-MED Project (PRIMA Partnership).
🗓 Date: November 4th, 2025
📍 Venue: Hotel Concorde, Sfax, Tunisia
🎯Theme: Advancing Circular Economy and Water Sustainability through Academic–Industrial Partnership
This event will gather academics, industry experts, and policymakers to exchange ideas and strengthen collaboration for a sustainable Mediterranean future.
Vincenzo Naddeo, the PI at the Univesity of Salerno, is proud to share a concise overview of their new editorial introducing the Special Issue in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (JECE), focused on climate- and energy-neutral wastewater utilities. It outlines practical routes aligned with the recast EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, from smarter biology and membranes to AI control and resource recovery. This work is one of the results of the SPORE-MED project and builds on the WaterEnergyNEXUS community.
Read the overview and dive into the full collection for more: LINK
This year as well PRIMA PROJECT DAY 2025 was organized by PRIMA AGENCY in Barcelona on October 1 and 2.
The event brought together PRIMA projects funded in the 2023 and 2024 calls, with the aim of focusing on networking, synergies, and shared learning. SPORE-MED participated in the poster exhibition, which provided an excellent opportunity to share our experiences thus far.
Our partner, LEQUIA (Universitat de Girona), participated in the European Researchers’ Night in Girona. This event connects science with society and inspires the next generation of innovators.
As part of the SPORE-MED project, which is funded by the PRIMA Partnership Program, LEQUIA is helping us rethink the role of wastewater treatment plants in the Mediterranean region. Rather than being the end of the water cycle, these facilities can become centers of sustainability and resilience by recovering valuable resources, enabling safe water reuse, and supporting health surveillance.
The SPORE-MED PRIMA Partnership consortium held its Work Package Leaders’ meeting on September 9th🧩
A productive session to align progress, exchange insights, and reinforce collaboration across all teams. Together, we are advancing towards impactful outcomes for the project’s mission.
