Hubs of Innovation: Inside the RECONNECT Study Visit in Rovigo

On 17 September 2026, t2i hosted a RECONNECT study visit in Rovigo dedicated to the blue circular economy: a morning among businesses, laboratories and research centres exploring how aquaculture waste becomes a new resource for design, materials and craftsmanship.

From the Delta to Design: Businesses Open Their Doors

The day begins with registration and an institutional welcome from Enrico Segantin, t2i’s RECONNECT Project Manager, who introduces the goals of the visit and the day’s itinerary.

The first stop features Mark & Mors, a t2i-incubated startup: founder Federico Marchesini shows how mollusc shells are turned into sustainable design materials (“From Shells to Sustainable Design”).

The visit continues at Sacca degli Scardovari, a UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserve, where Alessio Greguoldo presents La Perla del Delta: ten years of experimentation that, through the “solar tide” method developed with Florent Tarbouriech, gave rise to the Ostrica Rosa (Pink Oyster), now served in Italy’s top restaurants.

Participants at the RECONNECT study visit: La Perla del Delta oyster beds, Mark&Mors, Mitilla la cozza di Pellestrina, Matec

The morning continues with Mitilla, the Busetto family’s mussel-farming business from Pellestrina, presented by Genny Busetto, showcasing a fully traceable model built around “the mussel that needs no purification”. Materials engineer Eva Tenan (R&D MaTech, Galileo Visionary District) then shows how the universal materials database and PopLab’s matchmaking tool connect marine and river waste to new circular industrial applications: from reclaimed river wood and marine leather made from fishing-industry offcuts, to international cases such as the “Shellmet” helmet made from discarded scallop shells.

After the coffee break, the group moves to t2i’s accredited Product Laboratory in Rovigo, where Arch. Alessandro Cibin presents testing and certification services for innovative materials and products. The morning closes with Prof. Stefania Bruschi (TeSi Lab, University of Padova) on advanced materials research for the blue economy, before a closing light lunch offering further networking opportunities.The study visit reflects RECONNECT’s core mission: connecting artisanal enterprises, startups, research labs and public bodies to turn aquaculture and marine-chain waste into innovation opportunities, through an Open Innovation approach and industrial symbiosis at the heart of the project.

“This study visit shows in practice how territory, business and research can work together to turn waste into a resource – exactly the spirit of RECONNECT.”

Enrico Segantin
RECONNECT Project Manager
t2i – Technology Transfer and Innovation