Project Consortium
The LIFE-W2B consortium brings together universities, research institutions, engineering companies and industrial partners from Greece, Spain and Italy with extensive expertise in waste management, renewable energy and environmental innovation.
ENVIROPLAN MELETITIKI -SYMVOULOI ANAPTYKSIAKON & TEXNIKON ERGON ANONYMI ETAIREIA (ENV)
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Founded in Athens, Greece, in 1990, Enviroplan Consultants & Engineers S.A. is an internationally recognized environmental and engineering consultancy company specializing in environmental management, waste and wastewater infrastructure, circular economy, climate resilience, renewable energy, and sustainable development projects. With more than three decades of experience, the company has established itself as one of the leading environmental consultancies in Greece and the wider Southeast European and Mediterranean region, providing integrated advisory, engineering, technical assistance, and project management services throughout the entire project cycle, from strategic planning and feasibility studies to design, construction supervision, operational support, and institutional strengthening.
A core pillar of Enviroplan’s activities is research, development, and innovation (R&D&I), with the company actively participating in the development and implementation of innovative environmental technologies and sustainable infrastructure solutions. Enviroplan has extensive experience in the preparation, coordination, management, and implementation of European and nationally funded research and innovation projects under programmes such as LIFE, Horizon Europe, Interreg, UIA, and RIS3, often in collaboration with universities, research institutions, SMEs, industrial stakeholders, and public authorities. Through its participation in research and demonstration projects, the company combines scientific knowledge with practical engineering expertise, supporting the transition towards circular economy models, resource efficiency, climate resilience, and low-carbon development.
Enviroplan has implemented projects in more than twenty countries across Europe, the Balkans, Eastern Partnership countries, the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, working with major international financing institutions and organisations including the EIB, the European Commission, the UNDP, the World Bank, and the EBRD, ADB, as well as national governments, municipalities, public utilities, and private sector stakeholders.
The company employs highly specialised engineers, environmental scientists, economists, planners, and technical experts, combining international expertise with strong regional understanding and implementation capacity. Enviroplan is certified according to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standards and maintains professional liability insurance of indefinite duration, ensuring high standards of quality, environmental responsibility, occupational safety, and information security.
Its long-term strategy focuses on maintaining a leading position in environmental consultancy and waste management, strengthening innovation and applied research activities, and expanding involvement in the operation and management of circular economy and environmental infrastructure projects.
Key Persons
Theofanis Lolos
Chemical Engineer, Vice President and Managing Director of ENVIROPLAN S.A.
Project Coordinator (PC) and coordinator of the ENVIROPLAN team, with more than 30 years of professional experience in solid waste management, water and wastewater infrastructure, and environmental engineering projects. He has successfully managed numerous international projects as Project Director and Team Leader for major donor organizations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs).
Christos Tsompanidis
Chemical Engineer, Vice President and Managing Director of ENVIROPLAN S.A.
Christos Tsompanidis has more than 30 years of experience in environmental management, specializing in waste management, energy systems, and treatment technologies. He has contributed to numerous research and engineering projects related to composting, anaerobic digestion, energy recovery, and integrated waste management systems across EU Member States and accession countries.
Hellenic Mediterranean University
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HMU is the largest higher education institution on the Island of Crete, Greece, operating in 6 different campuses, with over 18,000 students and 1,000 staff members. The Special Account of Research Funds (ELKE-HMU), which is the body responsible for the management of research activities, has invested over 15 M€ in infrastructure during the past 10 years and has managed funding of over 40 M€ during the past 5 years.
The Laboratory of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering (NRMAE) of the Department of Agriculture of HMU is directed by Professor T. Manios. Since his appointment as head of the laboratory in 2005, NRMAE has implemented over 50 research projects with a total funding of more than 12 M€, including 4 Life / Life+, 1 FP7, 1 Horizon, 5 EEA Grants, 4 Interreg, 1 Urban Innovation Actions, 12 National from the Greek Secretary for Research and Technology (as partner), 5 from GSRT as Subcontractor to SME, 4 from Municipalities and Regions and numerous from private companies. As a result of these projects, NRMAE has a joint record of over 150 publications with over 4,000 citations in the wider field of agricultural science and applications. NRMAE currently occupies 2 post-docs, 3 PhD candidates, 4 graduate students and 3 technicians.
Key Persons
Thrassyvoulos Manios
Professor
Coordinator of HMU team, Thrassyvoulos has over 23 years of experience in scientific and applied research and innovation in waste management.
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Ioannis Daliakopoulos
Assistant Professor
Deputy Coordinator of W2B, Ioannis has over 18 years of experience in scientific and applied research and innovation.
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The University of Valladolid (UVa) is a public higher education institution in Spain, founded in the 13th century. It has four campuses and hosts around 20,000–26,000 students, with approximately 2,000–2,300 academic staff and about 1,000 administrative personnel. The university offers a wide range of undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programmes and includes over 180 research groups and several research institutes, maintaining strong collaboration with more than 300 companies and managing numerous national and international research projects.
The Institute of Sustainable Processes at the University of Valladolid (ISP-UVa) is a research institute established in 2018. It is dedicated to addressing environmental issues and optimizing industrial processes through the development of sustainable technologies, as well as control and automation tools. Its activities focus on interdisciplinary research and highly specialized training for the generation of innovative knowledge. ISP-UVa is composed of 140 multidisciplinary scientists, including 43 faculty researchers, 23 postdoctoral researchers, 58 predoctoral researchers, 11 research assistants, and 4 R&D&I managers. Since its creation in 2018, ISP-UVa has published a total of 444 scientific articles in journals indexed in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), with 88% of these articles appearing in first-quartile journals and 65% in first-decile journals in their respective categories. The institute has also contributed to the publication of 44 book chapters and the editing of 2 books. In addition, 42 PhD students from the institute have successfully defended their doctoral theses.
Key Persons
Raúl Muñoz Torre
Full Professor
Coordinator of UVa team, Raúl has over 25 years of experience in scientific and applied research and innovation in biogas upgrading and microalgae Technology.
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María del Rosario Rodero Raya
Assistant Professor
Co-coordinator of UVa team, María del Rosario has over 9 years of experience in scientific and applied research and innovation in the field of gas bioconversion and wastewater treatment.
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UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI NICCOLO CUSANO TELEMATICA ROMA
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University Niccolò Cusano (in short UNC) is non-state public university (funded by Ministry of Education Decree of May 10, 2006). Its mission is to provide an excellent all-round university and post-graduate education and to carry out extensive research activities. The institution offers over 50 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and 150 master’s and advanced training courses, with more than 30,000 enrolled students. The UNC Department of Engineering consists of 11 laboratories covering an area of approximately 550 m², encompassing various scientific fields and different areas of engineering, including civil, industrial, and information engineering. Three doctoral courses are active: Advanced modeling, materials and technologies, Energy transition and digital transformation and Territory, innovation and sustainability. UNC is actively involved in 20 national projects and 10 international projects, including 2 Life, 1 Interreg, and 2 Horizon projects, as well as more than 26 completed projects. The research group involved in this specific project is an interdisciplinary one and integrates knowledge and experiences in the fields of waste management and treatments, and in particular energy recovery from waste by thermochemical and biological processes, energy and exergy analysis, environmental sustainability and in particular Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), economics, Life Cycle Costing, and Social Life Cycle Assessment.
Key Persons
Lidia Lombardi
Associate Professor
Coordinator of the UNC team. She is associate professor in “Environmental Engineering” at Niccolò Cusano University of Rome (IT) since 2014. She graduated as environmental engineer in 1997 at the University of Florence (IT), where she also obtained her PhD in “Energy” in 2001. Her research interests include: waste management, energy recovery from waste and biomass by thermal and biological processes, CO2 removal processes, renewables, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and LCA-oriented methodologies for environmental analysis applied to processes, systems and products. Since 2018 she is one of the associated editors of Waste Management Journal.
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Carmine Boccia
Post-doc
Carmine Boccia is a post-doc at Niccolò Cusano University of Rome (IT) since 2026. He graduated in Environmental Science in 2019 at obtained is PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2023. His research interest includes waste management, energy and substance recovery by thermochemical and biological processes, and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
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DEPA COMMERCIAL SMSA
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DEPA Commercial is the company that introduced natural gas to Greece and has played a significant role in the development of the Greek energy market and related infrastructure. Since its establishment in 1988, the company has contributed substantially to the development of the national natural gas system, the enhancement of energy security, and the promotion of international and cross-border energy cooperation.
DEPA is active in the supply and trading of natural gas and electricity, while progressively expanding its activities in projects related to the energy transition and renewable gaseous fuels. In this context, the company is developing initiatives related to biomethane, hydrogen, and new low-carbon energy technologies.
At the same time, DEPA participates in national and European co-funded research and innovation projects supporting the objectives of the energy transition, circular economy, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Through its participation in such initiatives, DEPA strengthens its collaboration with research and industrial stakeholders, contributing to the development and evaluation of innovative energy applications and solutions.
Key Persons
George Polychroniou
Senior Management Advisor & Corporate Secretary
Senior Management Advisor & Corporate Secretary, Phd Chemical Engineer with extensive experience in energy planning, business development, and energy market regulation.
Dimitrios Tamvakis
Executive Director of the Strategy & Development Business Unit
Executive Director of the Strategy & Development Business Unit, MSc Production and Management Engineer with experience in corporate strategy, business development, and renewable energy projects.
Kyriaki Karakitsou
Division Head of Subsidiary Companies
Division Head of Subsidiary Companies, PhD Chemical Engineer with extensive experience in commercial policy, project management, and the development of energy projects related to LNG, hydrogen, biomethane, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and e-mobility.