• The project has received support from the Valencia City Council through Valencia Innovation Capital

• The UPV team represented Spain in the global finals after winning the national round and placing among the top ten projects in an international competition involving more than 40 countries

BioSoil, the synthetic biology project led by recent graduates of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), has made it into the global Top 10 of Red Bull Basement 2026, whose international finals took place this week in San Francisco (U.S.).

The team, made up of Alejandro Aymerich, Clara González, and Hugo Lluch, represented Spain after winning the national final, held last May at La Harinera, a space linked to the Valencia City Council’s innovation ecosystem and the Valencia Innovation Capital strategy.

In the San Francisco finals, the team from the Polytechnic University of Valencia competed against 43 international projects selected for the global phase and managed to qualify among the ten finalists, who presented their proposals to a jury, investors, and representatives of the international technology ecosystem. In addition, it placed sixth in the public vote.

After winning the national final at La Harinera, the team also received support from Juan Fuentes, Director of the GSIC Testing Lab Powered by Microsoft in Valencia, who organized a workshop prior to the trip to San Francisco so the team could rehearse their presentation, refine their speech, and prepare to defend their project before an international jury, with the support of Paula Llobet, the Valencia City Council’s Councilor for Innovation.

The GSIC Testing Lab is located at the La Harinera facility and is part of the València Innovation Capital innovation complex. For City Councilwoman Paula Llobet, “the result achieved by BioSoil in San Francisco is a testament to the potential of the city’s innovation ecosystem. The fact that a Valencian team made it into the Top 10 of a competition with more than 40 participating countries shows that Valencia is already a leader in young talent and impactful innovation. “The City Council will continue to support initiatives that connect our entrepreneurs with the resources, spaces, and networks they need to grow and compete on a global level,” says Llobet.

A solution for regenerating agricultural soil

BioSoil proposes a solution based on synthetic biology to help restore degraded or contaminated agricultural soils. Its approach is based on the development of microbial consortia capable of performing two functions: reducing or transforming contaminants present in the soil while simultaneously improving soil fertility to promote crop growth.

The initiative arose from a local concern: the impact of the DANA on agricultural land in Valencia. Building on this local issue, the team developed a proposal with potential for international application, focused on the restoration of agricultural ecosystems and reducing dependence on chemical inputs.

“The project combines biotechnology, microbiology, mathematical modeling, and computer simulation. Our goal is to apply synthetic biology to the design of microbial systems that can contribute, in the future, to the restoration of degraded agricultural soils,” say Alejandro Aymerich, Clara González, and Hugo Lluch.

The project was mentored by Alejandro Vignoni and Yadira Boada, researchers at the University Institute of Automation and Industrial Informatics (ai2) at the UPV, and received support from the Office of the Vice Rector for Students and Entrepreneurship and the IDEAS UPV Entrepreneurship Unit. It has also received backing from the Valencia City Council through Valencia Innovation Capital.

Projects with a Real Impact

“BioSoil embodies an idea we believe in at the UPV: that when young talent, applied research, and a culture of getting things done come together, projects with real impact can emerge,” says Alberto Conejero, Vice Rector for Students and Entrepreneurship at the UPV. “Often,” he adds, “we talk about knowledge transfer in the abstract, but here, precisely, what’s interesting is the journey: how something that begins in classrooms and laboratories ends up evolving into an entrepreneurial initiative with social and environmental potential.”

Throughout this journey, the mentorship provided by Yadira Boada and Alejandro Vignoni has been instrumental; they highlight “the uniqueness of BioSoil, which integrates student training with a distinctive approach to synthetic biology and control engineering.”

For Hugo Lluch and Alejandro Aymerich, the experience in San Francisco also marked a personal and entrepreneurial turning point: “It was an opportunity to meet people, refine our idea, and it gave us the courage to make the project much bigger than we ever imagined. Without a doubt, it’s something we’ll never forget.”