Today’s urgent challenges are inherently complex and systemic and will not be solved by individual actors or territories in isolation. To foster enabling innovation ecosystems across the EU, a systemic approach that is inclusive and collaborative is required. Diverse actors from separate regions ensure an equitable diffusion of benefits and maximise the value of innovation for all. This project aligns with EIE’s aims to create more connected, inclusive and efficient innovation ecosystems that support the scaling of companies and spur innovation to address important challenges in a responsible way. Previous projects and collaboration (i.e. WST, S3P) are used as the foundation for this further development. Proposal topics The project will focus on digitalisation within water-heavy sectors as an enabler to create a water smart society. Concept The project will take a threefold approach to driving cross-regional innovation with the water-smart focus area. These are: 1) Prioritisation of key innovation areas Regionally, the project will generate a base of qualitative and quantitative data on existing capacities, gained from partners' experience and knowledge, and through engagement of quadruple-helix stakeholders. This process will drive the identification of innovation priority areas regionally. 2) Cross-regional actions Through cross-regional workshops, key innovation areas and gaps will be identified with a focus on formulating cross-regional action plans that generate a pipeline of specific ideas / concepts for future projects. The workshops will analyse gaps in the competences of each of the regions to foster cross-regional collaboration. 3) Idea generation and partner matching Based on the cross-regional workshops, the partners will select / match key innovation ideas and stakeholders through workshops, webinars, and digital co-creation. The focus will be to develop a pipeline of concepts for future collaboration ( E.g. EUREKA, Water4All, Horizon Europe)

GALATEA is not just one of Neptune’s satellites or a marine nymph in Greek mythology, it is also the continuation of the ‘NEPTUNE, INNOSUP-1, the Blue Growth Accelerator’ which has successfully proven both its concept and method by achieving significant results in terms of SMEs supported, cross sectoral and cross border projects implemented and new value chains created. GALATEA aims at promoting cross-border and cross-sectoral collaborations between innovation actors, notably SMEs, in 4 key domains of Blue Growth with great potential of development and uptake of innovative solutions by businesses: Smart port, Smart ship, Smart shipyard, maritime surveillance. The construction of new value chains by the integration of technologies and know-how from ICT and aerospace communities is essential for the modernisation of those key economic sectors to be more efficient, greener and safer and to enhance their competitiveness at a global level. The EC has established ‘Blue Growth’ as the long-term strategy to support sustainable growth in the maritime sectors and as a means for achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. This strategy focuses on both emerging and traditional maritime activities including those addressed by GALATEA. GALATEA brings together a strong network of clusters from 9 regions, representing ICT, aerospace and maritime industries, experienced in promoting and implementing cascade funding schemes. They cover 3 sea basins: Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean Seas. GALATEA will implement an open innovation environment to facilitate the emergence of ideas based on the identification of customer’s needs and will provide direct support for SMEs developing innovative projects addressing identified challenges, through targeted financial mechanisms and services. GALATEA will act directly on the industrial competitiveness of those sectors, with positive and sustainable impacts on EU growth and jobs in Blue Growth.

In the last years, extreme weather patterns of water scarcity (droughts) and water abundance (floods, rapid showers) are becoming more frequent and prolonged in the EU. If we do not remedy this situation, by 2050 water scarcity will lead to €12,2 billion losses per year and affect 17% of EU population. RAINS will contribute to improve the resilience of EU agriculture to water scarcity by demonstrating 10 solutions (irrigation practices, technologies and tools) that will increase the efficiency of water and nutrient management in agriculture and reduce the impact of extreme weather events. RAINS solutions include alternative forms of water supply, combined use of water and biofertilisers, improved soil water-retention, water-N/P modelling and some smart solutions (Optifangs-IA, WaterIQ) to contribute to decision-making and to integrated irrigation management across farm systems. Solutions will be demonstrated at 10 demo-farm systems representing agroecology, organic production, conventional, intensive and urban agriculture, replicated in Greece and Spain. We will also develop a hydrological and N/P model to optimised agriculture production at catchment level. A well, we will conduct co-creation workshops, knowledge transfer activities and create materials such as guidelines (2), White Papers (2) and Practice Abstracts (40). Policy focused sessions will deliver 3 sets of policy and incentives recommendations, engaging quadruple helix agricultural stakeholders, to pave the way for the uptake of sustainable irrigation and fertilization management solutions in practice in the EU. In the long term, RAINS will contribute to improve water efficiency by 50% in 12,700 ha. in more than 20 EU regions, and support >500 farmers in the transition to a more sustainable irrigation. And by 2050, the implementation of the RAINS project will save up to €6.1 billion, 244.348 million litres of water and 35.4 t CO2 eq. avoided emissions.

SEA4VALUE wants to deliver a Multi-mineral Modular Brine Mining Process (MMBMP) for the recovery of valuable metals and minerals from brines produced in sea-water desalination plants. The project will proof the feasibility of the next generation technologies (including advanced concentration and crystallization processes and highly selective separation processes) for recovery of Mg, B, Sc, In, V, Ga, Li, Rb, Mo and set the basis for their future assimilation in already existing SWDP and those yet to come. The EC and national public officials are well aware of the economic importance and supply risk of CRM and non-CRM, and are promoting new solutions for the recycling, exploration and mining of raw materials needs. SEA4VALUE puts together an industrially and user-driven consortium of 15 members that represent the whole value chain (from Water Infraestructure Operator to Processing Industry) who will extensively work during four years to proof that the measures presented are competitive, technically feasible, contribute towards circular economy strategies and sustainability goals. SEA4VALUE will upscale 10 technologies by developing novel selective membranes; producing new 3D printed selective adsorbents; applying advanced metallurgical solutions including solvometallurgy, ionic liquids and supported liquid membranes; improving membrane crystallization; and, developing thermally-conductive polymer composite materials for the heat exchangers to be used in multi-effect distillation while building confidence for the market uptake of the recovered elements, and therefore considerably reducing the arrival into the market and its uptake of brine as new source of raw materials.

The overwhelming scientific evidence provided by the academic corpus indicates that to tackle the origin and negative impacts of nutrient pollution on water, soil and biodiversity, a wide landscape-river-sea system approach needs to be used. This should work on sustainable land management practices (especially, agricultural ones), improved wastewater treatment, and feasible nature restoration strategies. The project SEACURE will aim at demonstrating, scaling up and replicating effective innovations for the systemic prevention and reduction of nutrient pollution in the Mediterranean Sea basin, in line with the innovation ecosystem framework provided by the ongoing Mediterranean Lighthouse projects (as BlueMissionMed) and in close cooperation with related activities implemented by regional soil health living labs in the area. The project is dedicating resources for the regional upscale and replication of successful nutrient management strategies devoted to: i) reduce soil pollution and enhance its restoration; ii) reduce fertilizers use and nutrient losses; and iii) prevent, minimize and remediate nutrients pollution in freshwater and marine ecosystems, in six territorial units (Mar Menor and Central Catalunya in Spain, Po delta and Esino river in Italy, and Axios river delta and Thessaly Plain in Greece). On one hand, the viability and impact will be evaluated. On the other hand, partners will act on innovation levers: policy uptake, societal awareness, capacity building and funding availability. Regional business plans for upscaling the effective strategies in the territorial units will be crafted, taking advantage of the regional mobilisation of innovation ecosystems already carried out during the project. Finally, the replication of knowledge will be encouraged thanks to the technical assistance to Associated Regions through FSTP grants. In summary, the project is embracing the Missions’ impact-driven approach, working with actors to maximise its results’ uptake.