Welcome to the first newsletter of the year! 📆

January 29^th, 2026

Dear BGI Community,

Welcome to the first newsletter of the year! We start 2026 with a strong focus on acceleration, collaboration and real-world impact, bringing you new programs, open calls and opportunities across agrifood innovation, AI, sustainability and entrepreneurship. We are also proud to have been recognized by ANI as an eligible entity for R&D activities!

From the launch of AI4Agrifood 2026 and startup acceleration journeys to pitch training, this edition is packed with ways to get involved and stay ahead.

Dive in, explore what’s open, and stay connected with everything shaping the future of innovation and sustainable growth.

Wishing you a great start to the year! 🚀

The BGI Team

🚀 AI4Agrifood Acceleration Program 2026

Secure your spot by 20 February 2026!

Applications are open for the AI4Agrifood Acceleration Program 2026, a global, free and online program designed to turn AI-powered agrifood innovations into real-world solutions. The program brings together startups, corporates and investors to develop, test and scale breakthrough technologies for more resilient and sustainable food systems. It targets startups with AI-based agrifood solutions and corporates ready to pilot innovations, offering expert guidance, pilot preparation, investor visibility and access to a strong agrifood innovation ecosystem.

Apply here!

Get Involved

💡 Técnico Innovation Summit

The annual innovation summit of Instituto Superior Técnico is happening on February 3rd! Make sure to attend BGI's panel, presented by Gonçalo Amorim, with the topic “Advanced Materials, Circular Economy and Green Buildings.”

Don't forget to visit our booth in the exhibition space

Learn more!

🎤 Pitch Training avançado

EEN-ANI is hosting a free advanced online pitch training for deep tech SMEs on 12 February (10:00–13:00 CET), led by Sheila Schenkel (Best3Minutes). The session focuses on building a strong pitch and aligning it with EIC criteria.

Don't waste this opportunity to take your business to the next level!

Secure your spot!

🌾 Tech4RegenAg – Startup Acceleration Programme (2^nd Edition)

Following last week’s official kick-off, the Startup Acceleration (2nd Edition) continues with another acceleration set of sessions bringing together startups, experts and the BGI team.

Over the coming weeks, startups will engage in an intensive journey focused on:

Business Model Foundation

Ecosystem Strategy

Scaling and Customer Engagement

Pilot Design & Partnership Activation

Get to know Tech4RegenAg!

🦄 ViennaUp The Startup Festival

Vienna will host ViennaUP’26 from 18 to 22 May 2026, an international startup festival bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and companies to foster networking, learning and business opportunities. Through the Discover ViennaUP programme, international startups may receive up to €500 in travel and accommodation support, reimbursed after confirmed participation. The initiative is open to startups under five years old with impactful, innovative solutions beyond the prototype stage and already launched in their home market, and includes the opportunity to pitch to international investors.

Interested parties should contact een-portugal@ani.pt.

Learn more!

Highlights from the BGI team

⭐BGI recognized by ANI as an eligible entity for R&D activities

This recognition marks a 5 year effort in BGI’s technical, scientific and operational capacity to deliver R&D projects with economic relevance and structural impact, leveraging our AmpliAqua® test infrastructure, representing a €3.6M investment connecting science, industry and territory.

Contact us!

Follow us on LinkedIn

🔬 AquaMicrobiomeDB Consortium Meeting

BGI held the consortium’s scientific meeting, focused on strategic alignment and brainstorming key aspects for the project’s implementation. Partners also took part in a guided visit to AmpliAqua®, the infrastructure where the project’s pilot phase will be carried out.

Contact us!

Follow AquaMicrobiomeDB on LinkedIn

Highlights from the BGI Eccosystem

🌟 EWA — Susplus Success Story

Co-founded in Portugal in 2024 by Inês Vasconcelos Luís, Susplus is tackling one of the most complex sustainability challenges faced by companies today: transforming fragmented Scope 3 emissions data into real, scalable decarbonisation across value chains.

Through an intuitive, AI-powered platform that combines ESG data management, blockchain-enabled traceability and in-value-chain collaboration, Susplus reframes sustainability from a compliance burden into a strategic driver of efficiency, competitiveness and long-term value creation.

With a growing and diversified client portfolio, national and international recognition in the climate-tech ecosystem, and participation in leading innovation programmes, Susplus is well positioned to scale its impact and support businesses in building transparent, low-carbon and resilient value chains.

Opportunities & Open Calls

📢 Test Farms Startups Call
Deadline: 2 February

The EIT Food Test Farms call invites TRL 6–9 agritech and aquatech startups to validate and scale their solutions through real-world testing with farmers and aquaculture sites.

Contact Us!

View details

📢 Flagship Accelerator
Deadline: 10 February

The Flagship Accelerator Open Call by EIT Urban Mobility seeks organisations or consortia to implement a European acceleration programme supporting pre-seed urban mobility startups.

Contact Us!

View details

📢 Strategic Innovation
Deadline: 12 February

Last call for the Strategic Innovation Open Call, targeting pre-market innovators, as well as cities and corporates interested in co-developing and validating new solutions.

Contact Us!

View details

📢 LILAS4SOILS MRV Providers
Deadline: 7 February

Join LILAS4SOILS and pilot your technology with farmers across Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, contributing to reliable carbon farming and climate-smart agriculture.

Contact Us!

View details

📢 Financial Support to Startups
Deadline: 23 February

The Financial Support to Startups Open Call 2026 offers up to €2 million per company to accelerate high-impact mobility ventures shaping the future of European urban mobility.

Contact Us!

View details

📢 RAPTOR 2026 Open Call
Deadline: 12 March

The RAPTOR Open Call 2025 supports startups and SMEs developing innovative urban mobility solutions that require real-world testing to address concrete city challenges.

Contact Us!

View details

📢 Delivery of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Module in MFS

Deadline: 17 February

EIT Food invites contributors to join a consortium delivering the Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Food Systems module within the KAVA Master in Food Systems.

Contact Us!

View details

Open Innovation

EU Skills Academies

EIT Food is launching the EU Skills Academies to address critical skills gaps and drive workforce transformation across Europe’s agri-food sector. These industry-led, action-oriented alliances bring together businesses, educators, policymakers, and funders to build future-ready skills through training, skills intelligence, and experimentation.

Focusing on Biotechnology and Resilient Agriculture, the Academies aim to upskill and reskill talent, strengthen competitiveness, and support the green and digital transitions needed to future-proof Europe’s food system.

For any enquires, contact us.

We are pleased to share the 2nd Newsletter of CoVE PT – the Portuguese Centre of Excellence in Vocational Education and Training, coordinated by Food4Sustainability. This quarterly newsletter features the latest agri-food sector insights, updates from the AgriFood4Future Erasmus+ project, and initiatives from the CoVE PT network.

👉 Register with CoVE PT to join a growing community shaping the future of vocational training and sustainable, digital and resilient agri-food systems in Portugal, and stay connected through upcoming newsletters, opportunities and collaborations.