FoodLab’s blog, the agri-food hub run by CTAEX, has devoted an article to Smallops’ technology and its role as a lever for the circular bioeconomy in the primary sector.
The piece reviews the Smallops model — an Extremadura-based startup headquartered in Valdetorres (Badajoz) and a participant in the first edition of the FoodLab programme — which has developed its own thermochemical process to turn olive-grove residues into high-value products.
At the heart of that technology are OPS: zero-valent iron nanoparticles encapsulated in a graphitic carbon matrix. This core-shell structure protects the reactive iron from premature oxidation while maintaining its conductivity, solving one of the main limitations of metallic nanomaterials.
From alperujo (olive mill waste), Smallops generates two value streams: OPS nanoparticles for industrial applications (including improving biogas and biomethane production) and a fulvic acid concentrate marketed as an agricultural biostimulant — an idea the company sums up in its motto “from the olive to the olive tree”: returning nutrients to their source.
Within FoodLab, Smallops is working on a new B2B line of functional ingredients for animal feed derived from alperujo, aimed at the poultry, swine, aquaculture and petfood sectors through prebiotic formulations and their industrial standardisation.
The article highlights the project’s circular bioeconomy approach, capable of turning a regional environmental liability — the large volumes of by-products generated by olive oil extraction in Extremadura — into a driver of industrial competitiveness, under a zero-waste model.
FoodLab is a Hub for the Development of Agri-food Processes and Products, managed by CTAEX and funded by the Regional Secretariat for Economy, Business and Trade of the Regional Government of Extremadura, focused on technology transfer and local impact.
You can read the full article on the FoodLab (CTAEX) blog.