17/07/2018

The CLH Group and the local government of Castile-Leon reward the best innovative projects in the community

  • The company recognises the initiatives presented by Ficoterra and Hilo Verde

This morning, the president of the CLH Group, José Luis López de Silanes, and Castile-Leon’s regional deputy government minister for Economy and Competitiveness, Carlos Martín Tobalina, presented the 9th CLH Prize to the companies Ficosterra and Hilo Verde, the instigators of the best projects presented at the twelfth edition of ADE 2020.

The ADE2020 “Accelerating Innovative Projects” programme is an initiative driven by the Institute for Business Competitiveness of Castile-Leon (ICE), which aims to help entrepreneurs to bring their new ideas to fruition and transform them into business opportunities. This initiative includes everything from training and coaching in business plan development and deployment to consultancy services and marketing support, including seeking public financing and securing private investment.

The CLH Group and ADE have maintained a collaboration agreement since 2014, which has allowed the business to reward the most outstanding projects at the last eight congresses of the ADE 2020 programme.

Winning Projects

The jury ruled that the two initiatives most deserving of the 9th CLH Prize were Ficoterra and Hilo Verde Innovación.

Ficoterra is a biotechnology business focusing on agriculture. It manufactures fertilisers and biological fortifying agents based on a combination of algae and micro-organisms, making it possible to regenerate the soil and stimulate crops, boosting their resistance and reducing water consumption and fertilisation costs. Its target clients are farmers, distributors and fertiliser manufacturers.

Hilo Verde Innovación is developing and marketing a monitoring system for crops and green areas, based on sensors and proprietary software using big-data technology.

The company has developed an integrated solution, comprising a network of ground-based sensors, intelligent software for analysis and remote detection of incidents, a mobile display app and an irrigation control module which activates and deactivates valves according to the needs of the crop.  The initiative is aimed at farmers, gardening and landscaping businesses and the sports sector.

Policy Support for Entrepreneurship

The collaboration between the CLH Group and the ICE is within the scope of the company's Entrepreneurship Support Policy, which aims to contribute to the development of innovative projects and stimulate a new spirit of entrepreneurship. This policy applies at the national level, particularly in the areas where CLH is present.

As part of this policy, the company maintains agreements to drive entrepreneurship with various institutions, such as the Murcia Regional Development Institute or the Iberus Campus, an entity which encompasses the main universities of the Ebro Valley.