On October 7–8, 2026, Athens hosted the kick-off meeting of the European project CIRC4FOOD, an initiative aimed at reshaping the food sector into a more circular, sustainable, and innovative ecosystem, characterized by reduced food waste and lower energy consumption.
The 4-year project, funded under the Horizon Europe framework, aims to strengthen research capacities in widening countries, advancing sustainable food systems while bridging the gap between scientific research and industry requirements.
Driven by this shared vision, 19 participating organizations across 10 countries convened at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)—the project coordinator—for a two-day meeting dedicated to initiating their collaboration and mapping out strategic next steps toward achieving CIRC4FOOD’s core objectives.
Two Days in Athens
During the meeting, partners discussed the project’s strategic goals and priorities, establishing a clear roadmap for the execution of individual tasks and the attainment of joint milestones.
Key topics addressed included:
The vision, overarching objectives, and anticipated impact of CIRC4FOOD.
Work packages, planned activities, key deliverables, and critical milestones.
The establishment of multidisciplinary research centers and the development of a joint Research and Innovation Agenda.
Digital transformation driven by Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twins.
Pilot deployments in real-world industrial environments.
Governance, overall project coordination, and performance monitoring frameworks.
Communication, dissemination, and exploitation strategies for project outputs.
The primary objective of the two-day gathering was to lay solid foundations for the operational launch of CIRC4FOOD, enabling partners to effectively transition from planning to execution—a milestone achieved with complete success.
From By-Products to Store Shelves
The European food ecosystem faces pressing challenges: reducing waste, optimizing energy consumption, and accelerating innovation. Addressing these issues requires stronger research institutions, upskilled talent, and significantly closer collaboration among academia, industry, and society.
CIRC4FOOD addresses these challenges through five interconnected pillars:
Institutional Modernization
Capacity Building and Upskilling
Research Excellence
Digital Transformation
Ecosystem Outreach and Engagement
Key Research Directions:
Upcycling food industry by-products into high-value functional ingredients.
Developing novel functional ingredients and probiotics.
Enhancing energy efficiency across food processing workflows.
Deploying Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twins across the entire food value chain.
All solutions will undergo pilot testing where they matter most: in operational industrial environments.
Furthermore, CIRC4FOOD aims to deliver a lasting legacy beyond its four-year lifecycle through the establishment of three permanent entities:
The Center for Circular Functional Food Systems (National Technical University of Athens)
The Institute for Food Resilience and Green Energy (University of Peloponnese)
The Circular Food Innovation Living Lab (USAMV Cluj-Napoca)
The Consortium
The consortium brings together a diverse alliance of universities, research organizations, industrial leaders, and innovation hubs:
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece – Coordinator
University of Peloponnese (UoP), Greece
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca (USAMV), Romania
Agricultural University – Plovdiv (AUP), Bulgaria
Yildiz Technical University (YTU), Türkiye
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STUBA), Slovakia
Faculty of Agriculture – University of Belgrade (UBG), Serbia
LUT University, Finland
Aarhus University (AU), Denmark
Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), Germany
TÜBİTAK, Türkiye
YIOTIS S.A., Greece
BIOZOON GmbH, Germany
KETMarket GmbH, Germany
ena Development Consultants, Greece
INOE 2000 – National Institute of Research and Development for Optoelectronics, Romania
EIT Food, Belgium
Business Technology Incubator of Technical Faculties Belgrade (BITF), Serbia
Competence Centre Agrifood Systems and Bioeconomy (CoC-AgriFood), Bulgaria
The Role of ena Development Consultants
Through its participation in CIRC4FOOD, ena Development Consultants will drive the project's communication and dissemination activities while accelerating the digital transformation of agrifood small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Leveraging its expertise in digital innovation solutions, ena will empower SMEs to integrate tailored digital tools aligned with their operational needs.
Next Steps
Following the successful completion of the kick-off meeting, the consortium enters the primary implementation phase. Grounded in a strong foundation and a unified vision, CIRC4FOOD embarks on its mission to bridge academic research with commercial application, driving a more competitive and sustainable agrifood sector.