Entrepreneurs and the Cajamar Cooperative Group want to highlight agri-food innovation and have selected around twenty Spanish projects with significant potential in this area.
At Smallops, they offer an all-in-one solution. They begin by utilizing the 10 million tons of waste derived from olive oil production, such as vegetable water and olive pomace. These wastes are then used to produce iron nanoparticles, which they then apply to the fields as a non-toxic fertilizer. They also convert them into biogas as a clean, lower-cost source of energy for agricultural tasks requiring machinery.
Improving water treatment and manufacturing fuel cell electrodes for hydrogen generation are other interesting applications of the technology developed by this Badajoz-based startup founded in early 2020 by Íñigo Monreal (CEO), Rubén Escudero (CTO), and María Jara (COO). The founding team is now joined by R&D engineer Lola Hernández, and a doctor will soon join them.
Smallops focuses its mission on finding innovative solutions to address climate change through nanotechnology. “We are dedicated to the valorization of olive oil waste for its transformation into biogas and carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles using a zero-waste method,” they explain. Along these lines, the OPS or encapsulated iron nanoparticles they manufacture constitute a product that meets the requirements of the circular economy, as both the raw materials used and the product and byproducts are sustainable and offer high added value. The business idea originated in the final degree project in Chemical Engineering by Rubén Escudero from Elche, aimed at designing a nanoparticle production plant, an idea that he continued to develop through his final master’s project focused on the application of iron nanoparticles in anaerobic digesters. Already in 2018, Rubén and Iñigo saw the opportunity to combine their experience and knowledge to develop a process for managing olive oil waste and producing nanoparticles for environmental purposes and decided to incorporate María as an expert in the development of environmental projects.
