Valencia’s innovation ecosystem continues to gain international recognition. Alejandro Aymerich and Hugo Lluch, students from the Universitat Politècnica de València, were named national winners of Red Bull Basement, the entrepreneurship competition powered by Red Bull, held last Saturday at La Harinera in collaboration with the GSIC Testing Lab and Valencia Innovation Capital.
The winning team will now represent Spain at the global finals in Silicon Valley on June 3rd, where they will compete for up to $100,000 in funding and access to meetings with international investors and corporations.
Their project, Biosoil Technologies, is a modular agtech platform using synthetic biology to regenerate agricultural soil. The proposal stood out among more than 2,000 applications across Spain thanks to its strong local relevance and global scalability potential.
The story behind the project also highlights the role of local innovation spaces in creating international opportunities. One of the winning students, a member of CDTM Valencia at La Harinera, first discovered the Red Bull Basement initiative just two months ago during a GSIC Testing Lab afterwork networking event focused on startups, entrepreneurs and innovation stakeholders.
The national final brought together emerging entrepreneurs, investors and leading voices from the tech and digital ecosystem. The jury included content creators Gotzon Mantuliz and Sergio Hidalgo, Alba Vilches (Chief Brand Officer at Sesame), Claire Cunha from AMD, and Juan Fuentes, Director of GSIC Testing Lab.
The event also featured world champion downhill skateboarder Diego Poncelet and was moderated by Nico de Vicente from RTVE.
Juan Fuentes, Director of GSIC Testing Lab Valencia and member of the jury, commented:
“It has been a pleasure to host this competition as part of a project driven by Red Bull, a member of the GSIC ecosystem. The level of the participants was outstanding, but Biosoil presents a particularly relevant value proposition for the Valencian agricultural context, with strong international scalability potential.”
The GSIC Testing Lab, developed together with the Valencian Region and the Valencia City Hall through their innovation strategy Valencia Innovation Capital, launched in Valencia in 2025 with the mission of operating an applied innovation sandbox and connecting local entrepreneurship with international opportunities, corporations and global innovation programs.
Hosting Red Bull Basement in Valencia further strengthens La Harinera and GSIC Testing Lab as a meeting point for emerging talent, technology and global opportunities.
