About
With its 687 years of history, Università degli Studi di Camerino is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Over the years, its deep roots have allowed the University to rise high, becoming an established, nationally acclaimed institution, and increasingly expanding its international relevance. It is a thriving international community that combines excellence in research with a vibrant entrepreneurial culture. Research and teaching are at the heart of the University’s mission, and account for its international reputation.
UNICAM has five University Schools – responsible for Research and Training with scientific and educational autonomy:
- School of Architecture and Design;
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine;
- School of Law;
- School of Pharmacy;
- School of Sciences and Technologies.
Each School manages its activities in an integrated and culturally oriented international environment and has a wide range of cutting-edge research units.
Role in the project
With the global population expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, managing the planet’s limited resources is becoming increasingly urgent. Despite significant advancements in alternative protein sources, fibres, and carbohydrates to reduce the environmental pressures on food and feed systems, a critical need for sustainably sourced bio-based food and feed ingredients still remains.
MARMADE seeks to tackle this challenge by pioneering the future of food and feed ingredients. The project will promote sustainability and ensure rigorous safety standards for both human and animal health, thereby paving the way for future market acceptance. It aims to harness the potential of marine biomass, transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for sustainable development while advancing the circular economy across Europe.
Università degli Studi di Camerino (UNICAM) is the leading entity and coordinator of the MARMADE project, with Professor Sauro Vittori serving as Project Coordinator. In addition to overall project coordination, UNICAM leads Work Package 2 and Work Package 8.
Work Package 2 – “Advanced biorefineries: sustainable processing of marine biomass”, led by Professor Serena Gabrielli, focuses on developing and optimizing comprehensive biorefinery processes for recovery of building blocks for food and feed from marine biomass. The core expertise within WP2 includes advanced extraction and separation techniques for isolating and purifying target compounds from complex biomass matrices, such as solvent extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, membrane separation, chromatography, and distillation.
WP2 also encompasses the physico-chemical characterisation of bio-based feedstocks, which is essential for assessing biomass composition, monitoring process performance, and quantifying the purity and yield of recovered compounds. This includes the use of chromatographic, spectroscopic, and mass spectrometric techniques. In addition, expertise in biorefinery engineering supports the design, optimisation, and scaling of integrated processes, including process modelling, simulation, and techno-economic considerations. Particular attention is given to process safety and regulatory compliance, ensuring that biorefinery operations meet relevant food and feed safety standards.
Work Package 8 – “Project Management and Coordination”, led by Professor Germana Borsetta, aims to ensure the smooth execution and efficient operation of the project through effective coordination of all technical, economic, administrative, and contractual aspects. WP8 implements strategic project and quality management measures to guarantee the timely delivery of high-quality results within budget, while also ensuring proper research data management in line with best practices and regulatory requirements.
These objectives are achieved through five core activities: administrative, financial, and legal management; scientific quality assurance and technical monitoring; data management; risk management and ethics; and reporting to the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU).
Team leader
Prof. Sauro Vittori
PI and Project Coordinator