On 23 and 24 June, the fifth annual Smart Specialisation Community of Practice Conference took place in Brussels, bringing together stakeholders to explore how Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) can be better implemented through interregional collaboration and closer alignment between regional strengths and European priorities.

During the Forum on Industrial Modernisation and Energy Platform Partnerships, held as part of the conference programme, Rafael Castillo, Senior European Project Manager at CTA, presented the Advanced Materials for Batteries (S3 AMBP) European partnership.

In his presentation, Castillo highlighted CTA’s role in coordinating the partnership alongside the Lombardy Region. He explained how CTA has helped redefine the partnership’s strategic priorities and areas of work, while continuing to attract key stakeholders to the network, which now brings together more than 30 public and private organisations from across Europe, further strengthening its position.

Established by the European Commission in 2018 under the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3), the S3 AMBP partnership seeks to accelerate the production, deployment and uptake of advanced battery materials by fostering the development of sustainable and competitive technologies.

Biosolutions: innovation for the agricultural sector

Nathalie Chavrier, Senior European Project Manager at CTA, also took part in the meeting of the S3 Biosolutions for Sustainable Agriculture partnership.

CTA is a partner in this thematic smart specialisation partnership (TSSP), which is part of the European Commission’s S3 Agri-Food platform.

Officially launched in June 2025, the partnership is coordinated by the German cluster Wagralim. Its objective is to promote the adoption and scaling up of biosolutions for more sustainable agriculture, particularly in areas such as biofertilisers, biostimulants and biocontrol solutions.