SIXFOLD Horizon EU project

Project information

Projects official name:
SIXFOLD -Stimulating Innovation eXperiments in Food prOcessing Live Demonstrators (GA 101158281)

Project period:
1.9.2024 – 31.8.2026

Funding:
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) 100 %

Project budget:
989 673,13 €

SeAMKs part of the budget:
169 320 €

CORDIS:
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101158281

Overview of the project

SIXFOLD unites partners from the ‘Smart Sensors 4 Agri-food’ Partnership, and its network of Living Labs with a clear
aim, Stimulating Innovation eXperiments in Food prOcessing Live Demonstrators.

The twin transition stands at the heart of the Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy. The agri-food sector plays a critical
role in the realisation of these ambitions. The nature of deep tech innovation also shows the need for a transition via
responsible regulatory frameworks. Living Labs are looking for more experimentation by engaging societal stakeholders
and addressing innovation barriers experienced by agri-food companies. SIXFOLD aims to facilitate implementation of
deep tech within the agri-food sector, by building a robust network of Living Labs across the EU. This network will
support a dynamic and regionally embedded ecosystem thriving with deep tech innovations relevant for the agri-food
industry such as AI and machine learning, robots and co-bots, biotech, etc. throughout the food system.

SIXFOLD builds on an existing framework. Nevertheless, a careful assessment of the current state of play through
interviews and study visits is made after which assessed barriers to innovation is tackled by a tailor-made co-creation
process. This ensures maximum participation of external experts, regulators, and broader societal actors on regional
and European levels and in turn generates a more complete and validated Action Plan adapted to real-world needs. The
network of Living Labs will in this way facilitate collaborative knowledge exchange by actively engaging stakeholders
from various regions and ensuring inclusivity and diversity in participation. Amongst other objectives, the updated
Operational Handbook of the network of Living Labs will form the basis of a successful transition towards sustainable
food systems across Europe.

Concrete objectives include:

• Producing a research analysis of the current state of Living Lab environments
• Creating the SIXFOLD co-creation methodology
• Updating and improving the operational handbook for the Living Lab network
• Developing the SIXFOLD Action Plan
• Raising awareness of existing Living Lab environments

Workplan

• WP1  – Asses & select
• WP2 – Connect & expand
• WP3 – Development and validation of the Action Plan
• WP4 – Communication, dissemination & exploitation
• WP5 – Coordination & management

Target groups

• Companies & Living Labs from the agri-food industry
• Deep technology solution providers
• Innovation intermediaries, networks, partnerships & EDIHs, european funding agencies
• Universities, RTOs, research & knowledge community
• Consumers & civil socitety
• Media

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