Research

AI4AD - Sviluppo di un sistema predittivo basato su intelligenza artificiale per migliorare il processo di digestione anaerobica e carbon reuse su scala industriale

Project acronym and name: AI4AD - Sviluppo di un sistema predittivo basato su intelligenza

artificiale per migliorare il processo di digestione anaerobica e carbon reuse su scala industriale

Project ID: - 

Funding organization: Fondazione Cariverona

Call: 2023

Project website: -

Timeline: January 2025-December 2026

Grant recipient: Dr. Guido Zampieri and Prof. Laura Treu, University of Padova

UNIPD project members: Dr. Nicola De Bernardini and Dr. Luca Francescato

Short summary of project topic: The project develops an AI-based predictive system to optimize the anaerobic digestion of agro-industrial feedstocks, improving biogas and biomethane production through CO₂ conversion with renewable hydrogen. By analyzing real-time process data, the system predicts performance variations and supports intelligent control of industrial plants. This innovation enhances efficiency, stability, and sustainability, reducing CO₂ emissions and promoting a circular, low-carbon economy.

FLEX-UP: Flexible integration of physicochemical and biological pathways for biogas upgrading under intermittent renewable energy supply

Project acronym and name: FLEX-UP: Flexible integration of physicochemical and biological pathways for biogas upgrading under intermittent renewable energy supply

Project ID: - 

Funding organization: Centro studi di economia e tecnica dell’energia Giorgio Levi Cases

Call: 2025

Project website: -

Timeline: Sett 2026-March 2028

Grant recipient: Dr. Guido Zampieri, University of Padova

UNIPD project members: Prof. Stefano Campanaro

Short summary of project topic: FLEX-UP aims to optimize biogas upgrading by combining physical CO₂ removal with biological methanation using H₂ from water electrolysis, leveraging intermittent renewable energy. The project will use dynamic microbial models to ensure stable methane production under fluctuating H₂ supply and assess the influence of operational and environmental factors on performance. Through techno-economic and sustainability analyses, FLEX-UP will identify cost-effective strategies for carbon capture and utilization, offering a flexible, scalable solution for low-carbon biofuel production aligned with EU Green Deal and UN SDGs.

GREEN-BIOSILAGE: Biotechnological innovation for sustainable silage with low environmental impact

Project acronym and name: GREEN-BIOSILAGE: Biotechnological innovation for sustainable silage with low environmental impact

Project ID: - 

Funding organization: Fondazione Cariverona

Call: 2024

Project website: -

Timeline: 2026-2028

Grant recipient: Prof. Stefano Campanaro, University of Padova

UNIPD project members: To be defined

Short summary of project topic: The GREEN-BIOSILAGE project aims to develop a biotechnological approach to optimize silage fermentation by combining advanced genomics, bioinformatics, and metabolic modeling with established microbiological and biochemical monitoring techniques. Its main goal is to select high-performing microbial strains that enhance silage quality and stability, reduce losses, and minimize environmental impact, particularly methane emissions from ruminants.

SIGMA - Single-Cell Genomics and Metabolic Modelling for tailored microbial consortia design

Project acronym and name: SIGMA - Single-Cell Genomics and Metabolic Modelling for tailored microbial consortia design

Project ID: -

Funding organization: University of Padova

Call: Supporting TAlent in ReSearch@University of Padua STARS@UNIPD

Project website: -

Timeline: 2024-2025

Grant recipient: Dr. Laura Treu, University of Padova

UNIPD project members: - Dr. Filippo Savio (Research Assistant)

Short summary of project topic: single-cell genomics and metabolic modeling for tailored microbial consortia design has the purpose to discover the metabolic potential of non-culturable anaerobes and their interactions in the community, both with Bacteria, Archaea and Phages, within the anaerobic digestion (AD) microbiome. The ultimate goal is to pursue high-value applications of the AD microbiome and to develop appropriate techniques to achieve highly productive and specialised consortia.

Availability of master thesis positions and respective topics: - 

Representative Publication: manuscript under preparation

CRONUS - Capture and Reuse Of biogenic gases for Negative-emission - sustainable biofUelS

Project acronym and name: CRONUS - Capture and Reuse Of biogenic gases for Negative-emission - sustainable biofUelS

Project ID: 101084405

Funding organization: co-funded by the European Union 

Call: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03

Project website: https://cronushorizon.eu/

Timeline: 2022-2026

Grant recipient: Dimitris Malamis, National Technical University of Athens

Partners: NTUA, ELGO DIMITRA, DTU, Biotech Pro ApS, UNIPD, CIRAD, CATIF, AlgEn, NEVIS Imperial College London, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Madisi Ltd., UT SEMIDE

UNIPD project members: Dr. Laura Treu (Associate Investigator); Prof. Stefano Campanaro (Associate Investigator); Dr. Guido Zampieri (Researcher); Dr. Alessandro Satta (PostDoc); Dr. Davide Sanguineti (PhD student)

Short summary of project topic: CRONUS aims to accelerate on the path to sustainable bioenergy and play an important and constructive role in achieving the UN SDGs by incorporating in the biofuels value chain carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CUS) techniques promoting the decarbonisation of the EU economy in accordance to European Green Deal goals. The spectrum of considered CUS technologies includes enzymatic capture of CO2, autotrophic algae cultivation, biological CO2 hydrogenation, syngas biomethanation, in-situ biomethanation, and biogenic carbon storage by biochar production. The proposed technologies are being validated in lab-scale (TRL4) and will be upscaled to 5 functional prototypes that will operate in relevant environments of biofuels production plants (TRL5).

Availability of master thesis positions and respective topics: a pivotal part of CRONUS focuses on the combined application of genome-centric metagenomics and genome-scale metabolic modelling in the context of the investigated CUS technologies. One or more internship projects are available over the use of these computational techniques on the data generated within CRONUS. The main part of these proposed projects involves the development of models to reconstruct the cross-feeding exchanges occurring within heterogeneous microbial populations sustaining relevant biological processes such as biological CO2 hydrogenation and syngas biomethanation.

Representative Publication: 10.1016/j.cej.2025.167574

CO2toCH4 - Demonstration of a mobile unit for hybrid energy storage based on CO2 capture and renewable energy sources

Project acronym and name: CO2toCH4 - Demonstration of a mobile unit for hybrid energy storage based on CO2 capture and renewable energy sources

Project ID: LIFE20 CCM/GR/001642

Funding organization: Co-funded by the European Union

Call: LIFE20

Project website: https://co2toch4.eu/

Timeline: 2021-2025

Grant recipient: Dr. Apostolos Antoniadis, PUBLIC POWER CORPORATION RENEWABLES S.A. - PPCR

Partners: ELGO Dimitra; PPC renewables; NEVIS; NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS – NTUA; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - AUTH

UNIPD project members: Dr. Laura Treu (Associate Investigator); Prof. Stefano Campanaro (Associate Investigator); Dr. Gabriele Ghiotto (PhD student)

Short summary of project topic: LIFE CO2toCH4 aims at developing and demonstrating an innovative, integrated, and sustainable industrial process for simultaneous energy storage and CO2 capture and utilization (CCU). The ultimate goal of the project is to construct, test and operate (TRL8) a smart mobile unit for hybrid energy storage able to be installed in remote energy systems that commonly have low capacity (e.g., remote areas or islands that are not interconnected with the central energy grid). The technology relies on the fact that the RES (Renewable Energy Sources) will be used for water electrolysis, and subsequently the produced H2 will be biologically converted into methane (as a non-fossil biofuel) together with CO2 from exhaust gasses.

Availability of master thesis positions and respective topics: This internship focuses on unraveling strain-level fluctuations within CO2-fixating microbiomes through cutting-edge metagenomics and single-cell approaches. Interns will delve into the intricate dynamics of microbial communities, employing advanced genomic tools to decipher the genetic diversity at the strain level. By exploring metagenomic data and utilizing single-cell resolution techniques, interns will contribute to understanding the mechanisms governing microbial interactions in CO2-fixating environments. This immersive experience offers a unique opportunity to advance knowledge in the burgeoning field of microbiome research and gain valuable insights into the genomic intricacies shaping microbial responses to CO2 fixation.

Representative Publication: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.149824, 10.1016/j.xgen.2025.100949 

Multi-omic exploration for characterizing oenologically relevant yeast strains

Project acronym and name: Multi-omic exploration for characterizing oenologically relevant yeast strains

Project ID: - 

Funding organization: Italiana Biotecnologie S.r.l.; MUR

Call: DM 117/2023 

Project website: - 

Timeline: 2023-2026

Grant recipient: Dr. Laura Treu, University of Padova

UNIPD project members: Dr. Laura Treu (Associate Investigator); Prof. Stefano Campanaro (Associate Investigator); Davide Santinello (PhD student)

Short summary of project topic: Saccharomyces cerevisiae is extensively employed in the vinification industry to perform fermentation in a controlled manner. Different characteristics of the substrate matter and specific product requirements can be accommodated by the use of strains with suitable traits, which are currently investigated mostly through biochemical and empirical analyses. This project aims to apply next-generation and third-generation sequencing technologies to obtain insights into genomics and transcriptomics of oenological S. cerevisiae strains, correlating gene content, mutations and gene expression with specific metabolic capabilities and biotechnological applications. Ultimately, techniques perfected in this project and the results obtained will be instrumental to perform efficient screening of strains of interest, identifying their applicability in the oenological industry.

Availability of master thesis positions and respective topics: One position for a Master student is available. The student will help with sample preparation for sequencing, bioinformatic analysis through pre-existing tools and analysis of results, highlighting the relevance of identified features in pathways and metabolisms relevant to vinification. Although programming skills are not strictly required, a bioinformatics background and knowledge of basic NGS and bioinformatics workflow will be favored.

Representative Publication: 10.1016/j.fm.2021.103753

MICS - Made in Italy Circolare e Sostenibile

Project acronym and name: MICS - Made in Italy Circolare e Sostenibile - Spoke 3

Project ID: PE000004

Funding organization: European Union - NextGenerationEU 

Call: within the scope of the Italian Progetto Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR)

Project website: https://www.mics.tech/

Timeline: 2023-2025

Grant recipient: Marco Taisch, School of Management, Politecnico di Milano - 

UNIPD project members: Dr. Laura Treu (Associate Investigator), Dr. Guido Zampieri (Researcher)

Short summary of project topic: The activity of the group in the project involves the exploration of (meta)genomic datasets and gene databases for the identification of new enzymes for the depolymerization of plastic materials. The functional mechanisms related to enzymatic activity and gene regulation will be studied with artificial intelligence, genomic and transcriptomic approaches. Moreover, activities of characterization and validation of the depolymerization potential of the identified enzymes are planned. Finally, the different potential types of degradation intermediates and monomers derived from depolymerization will be evaluated with predictive algorithms, considered as a selection parameter of the enzymes and verified in vitro.

Availability of master thesis positions and respective topics: One position for a master’s thesis project is currently available. The objective of the project is to characterize microbial communities possibly involved in the degradation of various plastic materials by means of metagenomic data analysis and biochemical assays. Basic knowledge of bioinformatics workflows is recommended and interest in carrying out wet lab activities is a plus.

Representative Publication: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157017

MICRO-BIOfuels - Development and characterization of a microbial inoculum for use in the valorization of hard-to-degrade by-products through the production of biohydrogen and biogas. 

Project acronym and name: MICRO-BIOfuels - Sviluppo e caratterizzazione di un inoculo microbico da impiegare nella valorizzazione di sottoprodotti difficilmente degradabili tramite produzione di bioidrogeno e biogas

Project ID: -

Funding organization: University of Padova, MarcoPolo Engineering

Call: Uni-Impresa

Project website: -

Timeline: 2023-2025

Grant recipient: Prof. Stefano Campanaro, University of Padova

UNIPD project members: Prof. Maria Cristina Lavagnolo (Associate Investigator); Dr. Laura Treu (Associate Investigator); Maria Chiara Valerin (Research assistant)

Short summary of project topic: The MICRO-BIOfuels project aims to characterize microbial species present in an inoculum developed by the company MarcoPolo using next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques. This will enable the precise identification of species potentially relevant for the production of biohydrogen and biogas. Subsequent analyses will be conducted to assess the inoculum's potential for generating these energy carriers under various conditions and with different substrates. Lastly, the primary goal is to adapt the microbial consortium to extreme conditions, thereby expanding its use in biogas production from challenging substrates.

Availability of master thesis positions and respective topics: - One project for a master thesis is available in the context of inoculum adaptation to harsh conditions, such as high ammonia concentrations. The student will focus on the management of anaerobic inocula and on basic metagenomics analysis.

Representative Publication: 10.1016/j.biteb.2019.01.011