5th Interregional Meeting in Košice, 26-27 March 2025
Our meeting in Košice (26–27 March 2025) brought partners together not only to share updates but to experience firsthand the regional context of Eastern Slovakia. Košice and its surrounding rural areas show high potential in circular bioeconomy, but as we saw during our visits and exchanges, implementation is often slower, fragmented, and faces obstacles — from limited attention at the political level to lack of structural support or stakeholder alignment.
Day 1 – Field Visits: Seeing Circular Bioeconomy in Practice
Participants visited several Slovak initiatives showcasing innovative urban-rural bioeconomy collaboration:
- Biogas Plant, Trebišov – Demonstrated energy production from organic waste by Trebišov Energetic Company.
- Composting Facility, Trebišov – Presented municipal composting processes and a geothermal energy project.
- KlimaPark Kysak – Showcased advanced biowaste technologies, including:
- Smart composting and collection systems (JRK Slovensko)
- Bio Leach technology for mineral/soil remediation using bacteria (Ekolive)
- Renewable energy and system management data tools (NeoEnergia)
- Sustainable agriculture innovations from Agrokruhy farm.
We were shown real potential, but also real constraints. Some projects are well-developed but lack the visibility or integration needed to truly scale. Others face basic technical and institutional barriers despite years of preparation.
One of the highlights was Ekolive, a Slovak innovation in bioleaching and regenerative agriculture, which has global relevance. This is a rare case where local actors are leading on the international stage. Their patented eco-bioleaching technology restores degraded soils and boosts yields without chemicals, and it’s already in use across Europe and Africa.
The Agrokruhy project in Pribeník is another example of quiet excellence. Built around sustainable vegetable farming and circular soil care, it combines education, social responsibility, and low-tech innovation in a way that’s replicable across Europe. Yet even this project — despite its awards and impact — struggles to break into mainstream support frameworks.
Day 2 – Knowledge Sharing and Policy Exchange
Held at UVP TECHNICOM in Košice, the second day focused on presentations and strategic dialogue:
- Education & Innovation:
- Introduction of a circular economy study program (Prešov University)
- Bioeconomy partnerships and networks (BioEast Initiative)
- EcoCocon’s sustainable hemp/straw-based construction solutions
- Partner Policy Presentations: Partners from Finland, Slovenia, Belgium, Greece, Spain, and Slovakia shared updates on local challenges, urban-rural integration strategies, and emerging good practices.
- Joint Workshop:
- Key themes: stakeholder engagement, systemic gaps, certification/regulatory barriers, and infrastructure needs.
We turned the focus to policy and education, with valuable insights from Prešov University and the BioEast initiative. Each region presented its current status, showing that although we’re aligned in direction, we're at different stages and speeds of progress.
The workshop Defining and processing the joint challenges on the system-level and stakeholder level in the afternoon helped surface a common truth: across the partnership, many of our most innovative actions remain isolated or disconnected from actual policy shifts and systemic mapping of drivers and barriers is needed to see stronger and weaker linkages and therefore synergies. This holds especially true in regions like Košice, where talent and ideas exist but need stronger political backing and cross-sector integration.
Conclusion
The Košice meeting reminded us that real change happens on two levels: through persistent local actions, and through smart policy evolution. We saw great examples of both — but also recognized the need to better connect the two.
Moving forward, we need to advocate more strongly for these emerging Slovak and partner-region solutions, ensure they are not only seen but supported, and keep pushing for alignment between innovation, communities, and decision-makers.