Esther Molina Peñate is a Biotechnologist and holds a PhD in Environmental Science and Technology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona since 2023. She completed the Master’s Degree in Sustainability (2018) at Aalborg University (Denmark), where she worked with the company Carlsberg on the production of aromas through fermentation with non-conventional yeasts. Her doctoral thesis was carried out within the Industrial Doctorates programme of the Government of Catalonia in collaboration with the company AERIS Tecnologies Ambientals. It focused on the use of solid-state fermentation for the production of biopesticides from the solid residue resulting from the enzymatic hydrolysis of OFMSW, and was part of the European SCALIBUR project (HORIZON2020). During her PhD she undertook transversal training in entrepreneurship and took part in the Ideas Generation Programme (a four-month challenge organised by the UAB Research Park).
She is currently a postdoctoral researcher with an Investigo fellowship in the GICOM group. Her research focuses on the valorisation of municipal-type solid organic waste through solid-state fermentation for the production of biopesticides or biostimulants, and anaerobic digestion.