EU project

Project summary

GEORGIA (Green dEal cOmpliant iRriGation Increasing Europe’s Agriculture resilience to drought) is bringing together 16 partners from 9 countries to enhance agricultural resilience to drought and water scarcity. Led by Synelixis SA, the project integrates nature-based solutions, AI-driven irrigation, and recycled water systems to optimize water use, improve soil health, and support sustainable crop production. GEORGIA assesses barriers and drivers of innovative irrigation techniques, such as sewage sludge and biowaste recycling, biological water-absorbing geocomposites, and circular water management. The project employs drone-based and geospatial monitoring, Crop Digital Twins, and an AI-powered decision support system to test and refine these solutions. With seven pilot sites across six countries, GEORGIA engages over 1,200 farmers directly, driving a climate-smart transition in European agriculture while aligning with the EU Green Deal objectives.

Expected outcomes

EO#1: Solutions and Prevention Tools for Smart Irrigation
EO#2: Facilitating the Uptake of Innovative Irrigation Solutions
EO#3: Unlocking the Potential of Recycled Wastewater and Sludge
EO#4: Increasing the Socio-Economic and Environmental Potential of Irrigation Innovations
EO#5: Reduced Agricultural Water Demand and Soil Health Enhancement

The role of alchemia-nova

Alchemia-nova plays a key role in developing circular and nature-based water management solutions within GEORGIA. The focus is on efficient rainwater collection, storage, and reuse, wastewater and biowaste valorization, and soil health enhancement at both farm and catchment levels. Alchemia -nova leads efforts in nature-based solutions (NBS) and circular approaches, including treating and repurposing wastewater and sludge for irrigation. These innovations are integrated with AI-driven monitoring and smart irrigation to optimize water use and improve agricultural resilience. Alchemia -nova works closely with the Austrian pilot site at Cambium, ensuring the implementation and validation of sustainable practices in real-world settings. By scaling up these solutions, alchemia -nova supports the transition to regenerative, climate-adaptive agriculture, contributing to GEORGIA’s mission of delivering sustainable, scalable, and economically viable water management strategies for European farmers.

Partners:

Project Coordinator:

SYNELIXIS LYSEIS PLIROFORIKIS AUTOMATISMOU & TILEPIKOINONION ANONIMI ETAIRIA 

Partnership Consortium:

NETCOMPANY-INTRASOFT SA, FOS SPA, TERRA LITTERA DOO

INSTITOUTO AGROTIKIS KAI EL SYNETAIRISTIKIS OIKONOMIAS INASO PASEGES

CAMBIUM LEBEN IN GEMEINSCHAFT

THE CYPRUS PHASSOURI PLANTATIONS CO. CY LIMITED, AGROVAR SS,

ALCHEMIA-NOVA RESEARCH & INNOVATION GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBH,

REFRAME FOOD ASTIKI MI KERDOSKOPIKI ETAIRIA,

WATER EUROPE

Gruppo FOS

Terra Consulting

Project status:
Start date: 1st of February 2025, Duration: 36 months
Call: HORIZON-CL6-2024-CLIMATE-01 (Land, oceans and water for climate action)
Topic: HORIZON-CL6-2024-CLIMATE-01-1 (Improving irrigation practices and technologies in agriculture)
Grant Agreement Number: 101181572
Overall costs:  5.029.881 €
EU contribution: 4.970.932 €

Project summary

ProCleanLakes – Integrated Action for the Restoration and Protection of European Natural Lakes
ProCleanLakes aims to deliver a dynamic, flexible, and science-based initiative for the long-term remediation and protection of European Natural Lakes (ENLs). By combining cutting-edge digital tools, nature-based solutions (NbS), and stakeholder co-creation, the project will define and implement an ENL Action Plan that is both technically sound and socially grounded. This will be achieved through a “learning by observing and proving by doing” approach, ensuring that all solutions are tested, validated, and scalable.
ProCleanLakes focuses on five strategic objectives: improving the ecological and chemical status of ENLs, supporting biodiversity restoration, enabling circular economy-based business models, applying 4.0 digital solutions for ecosystem monitoring, and fostering citizen engagement and capacity-building. These are supported by a clear set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure effective monitoring and verification of impact.
A core value of the project is continuous dialogue between the scientific and societal communities, ensuring that knowledge, values, and public perspectives shape the development of lake restoration strategies. The resulting Action Plan and Guidelines will not only target improvements during the funding period but will also establish a strong foundation for long-term ecological resilience, inclusive governance, and economic innovation. ProCleanLakes comprises a consortium of 18 partners from 11 countries, including:​ academic and research institutions, public authority​, non-governmental organization (NGO)​, service provider companies.

Expected outcomes

• Development of tailored nature-based solutions (NbS) for restoring and protecting European Natural Lakes.
• Improvement of the ecological status of demonstration lakes and creation of a pan-European Action Plan.
• Integration of remote sensing tools and digital platforms for water quality monitoring and decision support.
• Identification of innovative business models aligned with the circular economy.
• Enhanced collaboration and stakeholder engagement, including citizens, municipalities, and lake managers.
• Education and capacity-building through co-design of NbS and e-learning modules.
• Replication and scaling of solutions in associated regions via tailored roadmaps.

The role of alchemia-nova

The role of alchemia-nova is to develop tailored nature-based solutions (NbS) for the project’s demonstration lakes, focusing on improving ecological status and supporting biodiversity recovery. In addition, alchemia-nova contributes to the co-design and implementation of NbS pilots, supports the integration of circular economy principles, and helps create replicable models for scaling NbS across associated regions. The work is closely aligned with stakeholder engagement, ensuring that the developed solutions are practical, inclusive, and adaptable to different European Natural Lake contexts.

Partners:

Project Coordinator:

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU)

Partnership Consortium:

University of Zagreb
Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences
Agricultural University of Athens
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Dunarea de Jos University
Arctic University of Norway
Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development
Altfactor
Catalan Institute for Water Research
Paris School of Business
Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature
Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin
Public institution Nature Park Vransko Lake, Croatia
Statskog
Cintech Solutions Ltd

Project status:

(Start date: June 1, 2024​; Duration: 48 months)
Project website: https://procleanlakes.eu/
Call: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01
Topic: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-04
Grant Agreement Number: 101157886
Overall costs: € 4,207,312.50
EU contribution: € 3,969,226
ANRI budget: € 280 215

Project summary

The CARDIMED project, funded by the European Union, addresses the urgent need for coordinated climate adaptation in the Mediterranean biogeographical region. Despite numerous EU and local initiatives promoting sustainability, efforts to implement nature-based solutions (NBS) often remain fragmented. CARDIMED tackles this challenge by creating a structured framework for collaboration and knowledge exchange across regions, sectors, and stakeholder groups.

At the core of the project are 9 demonstration sites located in 10 regions and 20 locations, engaging 28 communities and implementing 19 nature-based solutions (NBS). These include interventions in urban greening, agroforestry, decentralised water systems, and circular resource use. Altogether, the demo sites support 83 targeted interventions that tackle climate change impacts, biodiversity loss, and resource inefficiencies.

To enable replication and policy impact, CARDIMED also develops a comprehensive digital infrastructure, supporting open data sharing, standardised evaluation methods, and smart modelling tools. The integration of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus approach ensures that the complex interdependencies of socio-ecological systems are considered in both local and regional planning processes. In parallel, the project empowers communities through digital tools for citizen participation, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and capacity building.

The long-term goal is the establishment of the CARDIMED Resilience Alliance—a transnational network that will expand the impact of the project beyond the demonstration phase. Through replication and upscaling, CARDIMED will engage at least 28 regions and 70 communities by 2030, aiming to create over 8,000 jobs and mobilise more than €450 million in climate-related investment.

The role of alchemia-nova

alchemia-nova plays a central role in ensuring the replication and transferability of CARDIMED’s nature-based solutions to Central European regions, with a particular focus on Austria and neighbouring countries. This includes tailoring Mediterranean-tested solutions to the bioclimatic, social, and governance conditions of Alpine and Central European contexts together with the identification and development of feasable financing and business models options.

A key partnership in this effort is with BABEG, the Carinthian Agency for Investment Promotion and Public Shareholding, which leads the replication region in Carinthia. Together, alchemia-nova and BABEG work to assess regional needs, engage stakeholders, and prepare the ground for the adoption of suitable NBS through strategic planning and knowledge transfer.

Additionally, alchemia-nova contributes to Demo Site 1 (“Non-conventional water loops on Aegean Islands”), where it leads the implementation of agroforestry-based interventions that showcase integrated water and land management in insular, resource-scarce environments.

Through these activities, alchemia-nova ensures that CARDIMED’s innovations are not only demonstrated but also translated into real, replicable solutions across Europe’s diverse biogeographical regions.

Partners:

Project Coordinator:

The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Athens, Greece

Partnership Consortium:

Utrecht University Heidelberglaan, Utrecht, Netherlands

BIOAZUL, Málaga,  Spain

CORE Innovation Centre, Athens, Greece

CETAQUA, Water Technology Center, Barcelona, Spain

AQUATEC, Barcelona, Spain

ICLEI EUROPEAN SECRETARIAT GMBH (ICLEI EUROPASEKRETARIAT GMBH), Germany

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION ECOLOGICA Y APLICACIONES FORESTALES, Spain

LIBRA AI TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE IDIOTIKI KEFALAIOUCHIKI ETAIREIA, Greece

ALEA SRL, Italy

ASOCIACION EMPRESARIAL DE INVESTIGACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DE LA CONSTRUCCION REGION DE MURCIA, Spain

MESOGEIAKO INSTITOUTO GIA TI FYSI KAI TON ANTHROPO – ASTIKI MI KERDOSKOPIKI ETAIREIA, Greece

YDRASPIS O.E., Greece

PERIFEREIA VOREIOU AIGAIOU, Greece

ELVALHALCOR ELLINIKI VIOMIHANIA HALKOU KAI ALOUMINIOU ANONYMOS ETAIREIA, Greece

INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE ARAGON, Spain

PERIFEREIA STEREAS ELLADAS, Greece

GKONELAS K. – PATELIS M. O.E., Greece

UNIVERSITA POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHE, Italy

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA, Italy

IRIDRA SRL, Italy

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CATANIA, Italy

COMUNE DI CATANIA, Italy

Regione Sicilia, Italy

SVI.MED. – CENTRO EUROMEDITERRANEO PER LO SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE – ETS, Italy

UNITE TECHNIQUE DU SEMIDE GEIE, France

UNIVERSITE D’AIX MARSEILLE, France

MOREAU LAURE, France

CONSEIL REGIONAL PROVENCE ALPES COTE D’AZUR, France

FUNDACION CIRCE CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION DE RECURSOS Y CONSUMOS ENERGETICOS, Spain

FUNDACIO UNIVERSITARIA BALMES, Spain

DEPARTAMENTO DE MEDIO AMBIENTE Y TURISMO – GOBIERNO DE ARAGON, Spain

UNIVERSIDADE DE EVORA, Portugal

CIMAC – COMUNIDADE INTERMUNICIPAL DO ALENTEJO CENTRAL, Portugal

EBOS TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED, Cyprus

T.L. GARDENS OF THE FUTURE, Cyprus

LEFKOSIA MUNICIPALITY, Cyprus

IZMIR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Türkiye

IZDOGA IZMIR BUYUKSEHIR BELEDIYESI CEVRE KORUNMASI IYILESTIRILMESI MUSAVIRLIK VE PROJE HIZMETLERI TICARET VE SANAYI ANONIM SIRKETI, Türkiye

IZMIR BUYUKSEHIR BELEDIYESI, Türkiye

DOGA DERNEGI, Türkiye

IZMIR SU VE KANAL IDARESI GENEL MUDURLUGU, Türkiye

ENERGY AND WATER AGENCY, Malta

KÄRNTNER BETRIEBSANSIEDLUNGS- UND BETEILIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT M.B.H., Austria

SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA DE ORNITOLOGIA SEO, Spain

AYUNTAMIENTO DE MURCIA, Spain

EMPRESA MUNICIPAL DE AGUAS Y SANEAMIENTO DE MURCIA SA, Spain

IRENA – ISTARSKA REGIONALNA ENERGETSKA AGENCIJA ZA ENERGETSKE DJELATNOSTI DOO, Croatia

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON, United Kingdom

Project status
Start date: 09/202310/2022, Duration: 54 months
Call: HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01
Topic: HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-06 – Testing and demonstrating transformative solutions on climate resilience, mainstreaming nature based solutions in the systemic transformation
Type of Action: HORIZON-IA – HORIZON Innovation Actions
Grant Agreement Number: 101112731
Overall costs: € 20 806 271,44
EU contribution: € 19 307 911,25

Project summary

The SYMBIO project provides European regional communities with tools and methodological approaches to building bio-based business models based on circularity by-design and industrial symbiosis. Thanks to tools for integrating big data and artificial intelligence, SYMBIO shapes 10 symbiotic business models with high-profitability sustainability replicable at the EU level to increase bio-based products on the market and provides a system to modelling, measure and monitor symbiosis and its social, economic and environmental impacts. SYMBIO methodology will be designed, tested and validated in 12 EU pilot regions (Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Carinthia, Slovenia, Croatia, Andalusia, Bruxelles Capital, Wallonia, Flanders) that have been selected based on the estimation of their bio-based resources defined by raw material availability, socio-economic indicators, intangible networks and infrastructures and potential for development of CBE close-to-market supply chains and current trends. Involving all supply chain actors in a quadruplex approach will help unlock and stimulate local development potential by promoting sustainable, innovative, tangible and participatory pathways to the green transition through an inclusive bottom-up CBE nexus.

Expected outcomes 

Goals and objectives

SYMBIO unlocks local bioeconomy by promoting sustainable and innovative paths towards the green transition, following these strategic objectives:

• Identifying and evaluating secondary resources and technical solutions for enabling industrial symbiosis in the bio-based ecosystem.
• Shaping symbiotic value chains using a zero-waste approach through big data and artificial intelligence tools.
• Developing an integrated reporting system to measure and monitor industrial symbiosis.
• Demonstrating zero waste’s economic, social and environmental impacts of SYMBIO models.
• Engaging multiple stakeholders in accelerating local value chains and training of circular practitioners.

The role of alchemia-nova

As  WP3 “Building methods for measuring industrial symbiosis and monitoring circularity by design across regional communities” lead , alchemia-nova applies a multi-criteria approach to identify promising, high-value symbiotic business models by evaluating environmental, social, and economic indicators. It will further identify key enablers, barriers, and real-world implementation requirements for these business models to enhance the uptake of bio-based products across the EU. These insights will directly inform the development of a tailored monitoring framework designed to support industrial stakeholders in adopting, operationalising, and monitoring circular bio-based business models across diverse regional contexts.

Partners:

Project Coordinator:

LOMBARDY GREEN CHEMISTRY ASSOCIATION

Partnership Consortium:

ANTEJA ECG D.O.O.

FUNDACION CORPORACION TECNOLOGICA DE ANDALUCIA

ALCHEMIA-NOVA RESEARCH & INNOVATION GEMEINNÜTZIGE GMBH

KÄRNTNER BETRIEBSANSIEDLUNGS- UND BETEILIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT M.B.H.

STARTUP EUROPE REGIONS NETWORK

STEEM, obrt za intelektualne usluge

CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Project status:
Start date: 01/202410/2022, Duration: 36 months
Call: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-01
Topic: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CircBio-01-7 – Symbiosis in the bio-based industrial ecosystems
Type of Action: HORIZON-CSA – HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Grant Agreement Number: 101135166
Overall costs: € 1.301.318,75
EU contribution: € 1.301.318,75

Project summary

The ATRIUM Project is a 42-month Innovation Action (IA) dedicated to ensuring the sustainable use of bio-based materials to produce bio-composites. These bio-composites will be utilized in the development of five new consumer-oriented products specifically designed for the construction sector.
This project pioneers new scientific frontiers by integrating multidisciplinary research fields. The consortium, formed by 14 partners, brings together experts from engineering, chemistry, biology, materials science, data engineering, and environmental science.

The building and construction sector is a key area that has significant impacts on the economy and environment. This sector contributes to the economy and is one of the main consumers of resources. The products produced will be developed following the SSBD methodology which promotes the cascading use of biomass for material sources, combined with an emphasis on reusing and recycling of components (where possible).

The project aims to bring sustainability and circularity into the building sector thereby reducing the ecological footprint of individual construction materials.

Project targets

• to reduce the energy consumption of a historical building
• improve indoor air and humidity quality
• reduce renovation waste by 50%
• enhance water efficiency with a greenwall system,
• cut the building’s carbon footprint

To demonstrate the full potential of the 4 novel biomanufacturing processes, the 5 final products (terrace decking, flooring tiles, acoustic panels, green walls, and building blocks) will be demonstrated and validated at 3 different Demo Sites. Alchemia will use the developments of this project to improve the materials of its GRETA Greenwall and further improve its outstanding sustainability characteristics.

Partners

Project Coordinator:

FUNDACION AITIIP

Partnership Consortium:

Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH – Wood K plus

Hartika Sp. z o.o.

© Tecnopackaging

ENCO – Engineering and Consulting

© SQIM.bio.

CIRCE – Centro Tecnológico

Moses productos

Instytut Techniki Budowlanej

© Materiom

Ibercivis

Centexbel

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Project status:
Start date: 01/07 2024 End date: 31/12 2027
Funding Programme: Horizon Europe
Grant Agreement Number: 101135031
Overall Cost: € 5 310 375,00
EU Contribution: €4,813,575

Project summary

As climate disruptions become more frequent and intense, the protection of discrete elements of critical local infrastructure across diverse landscapes and institutional frameworks in Europe turns crucial for a more resilient society, increasing economic stability, life safety, human well-being and environmental protection. This situation entails a challenge and shifting point for approaching differently infrastructure management by integrating the services provided by nature-based approaches, turning human-made systems more flexible, adaptive and resilient. The project covers critical sectors (e.g.: transport and energy) and engages an alliance of infrastructure owners, scientists from industry and academia as well as public authorities, delivering methodological frameworks that will be tested by 5 demonstration sites.

NATURE-DEMO implements four actions

• Create

NATURE-DEMO will create an advanced digital decision support platform that integrates climate projections, asset exposure, nature-based solutions catalogue portfolios, and advanced simulations to optimize the efficiency of selected nature-based solutions implementations that protect critical infrastructure from climate hazards while enhancing resilience and co-benefits services.

• Validate

Will validate its methodological frameworks on nature-based solutions site-specific design and risk assessment, through real-world application in 5 demonstration sites for an optimised planning process. Successful nature-based solutions will then be scaled as replicators in more than four other sites in the Alpine and other Biogeographic regions.

• Scale

By pioneering a scalable, digitally-enabled, and validated framework for implementing nature-based solutions, the project will support EU’s vision for a climate-resilient and sustainable economy, adaptable to diverse site-specific conditions while aligned to 21st century global demands in face of Climate Change – a vision for posterity.

• Sustain

To sustaining its solutions beyond its timeframe, the project will assess exploitation pathways that include tailored guidelines to disseminate nature-based solutions knowledge across infrastructure professions, a Task-Force available to provide technical expertise, and a financial observatory for nature-based solutions funds.

A total of 23 Collaborating Organisations are working together in 14 European Countries to address 4 Climatic Threats with the help of 6 Supporting Authorities and 30 Stakeholder Organisations working together to create a unique impact. These large-scale operation works are conceived to support the mainstreaming of NbS-implementation towards climate-resilient critical infrastructure.

The role of alchemia-nova

Alchemia-nova works on developing a site-specific nature-based solutions design framework that supports critical infrastructure protection against climate hazards, and its integration into an advanced digitally-enabled methodology. ANRI has developed a comprehensive portfolio of NbS types factsheets and a decision-making methodology, all assembled in a practical guide that will be publicly available for stakeholders. Moreover, the methodology application through validation workshops in the 5 pilot demonstrations is helping to gather robust evidence on the practical performance of this framework across different European contexts. Detailed application, replication and upscaling guidance will be disseminated while engaging with local communities for effective knowledge transfer.

Partners:

Project Coordinator:

DigInnoCent S.R.O.

Partnership Consortium:

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

Technical University Of Ostrava

The University of Rostock – Traditio et Innovatio

German Centre for Rail Traffic Research at the Federal Railway Authority

Democritus University of Thrace

Fundación Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de Cantabria

Advanced Centre for Aerospace Technologies

“Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University, Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology

Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Transilvania University of Brasov

ProPak-Foundation for Protected Areas

Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering at the University of Ljubljana 

Technicka Univerzita Vo Zvolene

Bundesministerium Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Regionen und Wasserwirtschaft

IBM Research GmbH

Telespazio UK

Dark Matter Laboratories

Direkcija Republike Slovenije Za Vode

Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Project status:
Starts 1 May 2024, Ends 30 April 2028
Topic: HORIZON-MISS-2023-CLIMA-01-02 – Testing and demonstrating transformative solutions to protect critical infrastructure from climate change, mainstreaming nature based solutions.
Type of Action: HORIZON-IA – HORIZON Innovation Actions
Grant Agreement Number: 101157448
Overall costs: € 8 162 693,94
EU contribution: € 7 761 769,38

Project summary

INSPIRE is a four-year project (2023-2027), funded by the European Union’s Horizon program, that will contribute to the Green Deal targets and Horizon Europe’s Mission to restore the ocean and waters by 2030. Its main objective is to contribute to the drastic reduction of litter, macro and microplastics in European rivers through a holistic approach, bringing together 20 technologies and actions for:

• Detection of pollution characteristics (type and level) for litter, macro-, meso- and microplastics, floating, in the water column and at the riverbanks.
• Collection of litter, macro and microplastics at the riverbank and in the river. This minimizes the lifetime of litter in the river, reducing its breakdown into fragments and microlitter, and preventing discharge into seas and oceans.
• Prevention of litter, macro and microplastics from entering rivers by (i) collecting litter from waste streams before it enters the river and (ii) developing biodegradable alternatives to currently non-degradable, polluting products to stop pollution at its source.

Solutions will be implemented and tested in 6 river use cases, as well as agricultural and festival test sites, and scaled up to additional European rivers through an open call process. The INSPIRE consortium comprises 26 partners with complementary expertise, balanced between academia, industry, and communication specialists, working holistically towards plastic-free rivers.

The role of alchemia-nova

alchemia-nova will primarily focus on preventing plastic pollution. Our main objective is to develop innovative pathways for replacing single-use plastics with reusable, recyclable, biobased, and biodegradable materials. We will identify additional zero-waste supply chain applications for the solutions developed, such as producing PHAs from non-food, non-feed feedstock for various applications, and deploying chitosan nanocoating to extend the shelf life of fresh products. We will thereby support circular solutions for plastic waste prevention across all demo sites. Additionally, we will support stakeholder and community engagement and citizen science activities, and assist in organizing a series of innovation events.

Parnters

Project Coordinator:

Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee

Partnership Consortium:

Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek N.V.
Univerza v Mariboru
Energ+ d.o.o. (Clera.one)
Mold Srl
Fishflow Innovations BV
123zero, d.o.o.
Hochschulen Fresenius gemeinnützige Trägergesellschaft mbH
Wageningen University
Bio-Mi drustvo s ogranicenom odgovornoscu za proizvodnju, istrazivanje i razvoj
Minds Technologies Kai Epistimes Perivallontos I.K.E.
Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan
Deligiannakis Georgios-Deligiannakis Dimitrios OE
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Foundation EXIT
Universidad de Cadiz
Archa Srl
Infordata Sistemi Srl
Circe Biotechnologie GmbH
River Cleanup
Waste & Water
Asociatia Romana A Apei
Asian Institute of Technology
Noria BV

Project status
Starts 06/2023, Duration 48 months
Call: HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01
Topic: HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-04
Grant Agreement Number:  101112879
Overall costs: € 9,983,780.50
EU contribution: € 9,983,780.50

Project summary

ReLEAF will formulate, produce, and demonstrate agronomic and environmental performance of safe, sustainable, and efficient Bio-based Fertilisers (BBFs) that can compete in the European and global fertilisers market by optimising, integrating, testing, and validating innovative technologies to efficiently recover and deliver agronomic added-value ingredients (nutrients and biostimulants) and other relevant products (biopolymers) from widely available bio-wastes, while creating new value chains and reducing the environmental impact linked to urban and agri-food wastes and the agriculture sector.

Role of alchemia-nova

As part of the ReLEAF consortium, alchemia-nova plays a key role in bridging technical innovation with stakeholder integration. Its responsibilities include the operation and coordination of the bioreactor demonstration site in Vienna, supporting the real-life testing of bio-based fertiliser production from food and agricultural waste. Moreover, alchemia-nova leads the social acceptance assessment of the project’s innovations. Through its interdisciplinary expertise, the team supports co-creation activities and the transition towards regionally adapted, sustainable fertiliser value chains.

Partners

Project Coordination: 

LEiTaT managing technologies

Project Consortium:

The University of Bologna (UNIBO)

RITTMO Agroenvironnement ®

The National Research Council (CNR) in Italy

Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT (NOVA.ID.FCT)

The University of Agriculture in Krakow

Aeris Tecnologías Ambientales

ISQ Group

The European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST)

Ecopesce

Tecnopackaging

Global Omnium

Anecoop

TIMAC AGRO Italy

Centre mondial de l’Innovation Roullier

The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL

INEUVO Ltd

Project status:
Starts 06 2024, Ends 05 2028
Call:
HORIZON.2.6 – Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON.2.6.6 – Bio-based Innovation Systems in the EU Bioeconomy
Topic: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-IA-02 – Production of safe, sustainable, and efficient bio-based fertilisers to improve soil health and quality
Type of Action: HORIZON-JU-IA – HORIZON JU Innovation Actions
Grant Agreement Number: 101156998
Overall costs: € 7 814 748,75
EU contribution: € 6 504 027,75

Project summary

RURBANIVE will develop 6 Rural/Urban Enablers (RUEs), innovations in six domains favouring bi-directional rural/urban synergies and a well-being economy. A digital space, the “Community Store”, the prominent result of RURBANIVE, will integrate the RUEs along with the “Community of Practice Suite” of policies, facilitating rural/ urban communities to create strong synergies.

The Community Store will make possible synergies and recommendations, online interaction, dialogue, collaboration, and participation of rural/urban stakeholders. Rural/urban immersiveness (RUI), exploiting the endless capabilities of immersion, will promote experimentation and innovation in rural/ urban areas. Immersive campaigns emerging from co-creation activities will be tailored to the potential of 7 Rural/ Urban co-Creation Labs (RUCLs) and will enable rural/urban interactions through enhanced social connectivity and experimentation. The 7 RUCLs will represent different geographical and socio-cultural EU contexts, and RUI will ensure that stakeholders across specificities are included in prototyping, testing, piloting, and demonstrating the RURBANIVE results.

A novel rural/urban innovation framework, supported by social and technical innovations, will enhance territorial governance and existing policy tools by equipping RUCLs with tangible outcomes on improving their rural/urban synergies. Participatory processes will support dialogue and cooperation, enabling stakeholders to assess and evaluate approaches and scenarios that contribute further to developing synergies and recommendations.

The Open Call will fund projects developing their own RUEs, based on the six RURBANIVE RUE domains, to be applied in other rural/urban areas and be available on the project’s Community Store and the RUI. An inviting and sustainable ecosystem will be created around RURBANIVE to maximize the project’s impact. The broad application of the project innovations will be enabled through the creation of business model.

Partners

Project Coordinator:

ICCS, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems

Partnership Consortium:

Agricultural University of Athens (AUA)

Fundación CARTIF

RISE, Swedish Research Institute

reframe.food

AEIDL, European Association for Innovation in Local Development

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU)

AgriFood Lithuania is a Digital Innovation Hub and Cluster

Imerys

The Lisbon Council for Economic Competitiveness and Social Renewal asbl

ANAPTYXIAKI ETAIREIA DIMOU TRIKKAION ANAPTYXIAKI ANONYMI ETAIREIA OTA E-TRIKALA

Kedainiu rajono savivaldybes administracija KDM

PERIFEREIA NOTIOU AIGAIOU

Innovation Campus Lemgo e.V. (ICL)

PREPARE (Partnerships for Rural Europe)

BioBASE GmbH

Project status:
Start date: 1st of January 2024, Duration: 48 months
Call: HORIZON.2.6 – Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Topic: HORIZON-CL6-2023-COMMUNITIES-01-2 – Improving rural future through better territorial governance and rural-urban synergies
Grant Agreement Number: 101136597
Overall costs:  5.596.030 €
EU Contribution: 5.495.530 €

Project summary

The VERNE project is committed to fostering the widespread adoption of systemic circular solutions for sustainable tourism, integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions to drive real-world impact. VERNE will establish a comprehensive approach to assessing sustainability costs and benefits, developing tailored circular solutions, deploying digital tools, fostering community engagement, and scaling best practices across Europe.
At the heart of VERNE’s mission is its One-Stop-Shop for Sustainable Tourism, a centralised virtual hub designed to serve as a single-entry point for best practices, innovative solutions, and success stories in circular tourism. This platform will consolidate the knowledge, tools, and methodologies from VERNE’s extensive research and pilot demonstrations, providing a practical guide for stakeholders looking to implement sustainable tourism strategies.

Expected outcomes

The One-Stop-Shop will strategically link to existing European initiatives such as the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative and the Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform and position itself as a key driver for knowledge sharing, innovation, and replication in the future. The One-Stop-Shop will serve as a Knowledge Nexus, bringing together methodologies, guidelines, policy recommendations, digital tools, and best practices at local, national, and European levels. Secondly, it serves as an Innovation Showcase, highlighting cutting-edge solutions and emerging trends in sustainable tourism, inspiring continuous advancements in the sector. Lastly, it is a Replication Catalyst, transforming complex data into practical and accessible knowledge that enables tourism destinations to replicate and scale sustainable initiatives.

The role of alchemia-nova

Through extensive research and integrating insights from five European pilot demonstrations – which cover key tourism services such as hospitality, transportation, cultural attractions, and nature-based activities, alchemia-nova will provide a tested and validated roadmap for sustainable tourism transformation. With a focus on energy efficiency, water and waste management, mobility, digital solutions, and food waste reduction, the platform ensures that circular strategies are both actionable and adaptable. The VERNE One-Stop-Shop will stand as an essential tool for stakeholders across Europe who are eager to drive sustainability within the tourism industry.

Partners

Project Coordinator:
PNO INNOVATION SL

Partnership Consortium:

AEI Re Think Tourism

CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy

inLab FIB UPC

Faculty of Social Sciences | Lund University

ITC – Innovation Technology Cluster

The University of Southern Denmark (SDU)

The Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP)

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

uni systems

IMPACT HUB ATHENS

APRE – Agency for the Promotion of European Research, IT

Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi

Atlantic Technological University (ATU)

Project status:
Start date: 1 November 2024 | End date: 31 Oktober 2027
Topic: HORIZON-CL6-2024-CircBio-01-4 – Systemic circular solutions for a sustainable tourism
Funding Scheme: HORIZON-IA (HORIZON Innovation Actions)
Grant Agreement Number: 101181941
Overall costs: € 5 332 978,75
EU contribution: € 4 985 111,13

Project summary

REHUBS aims to address the issues of climate vulnerability in rural areas and in rural and small-to-medium communities, which face risks like droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, floods, and biodiversity loss. The project’s goal is to empower rural and small/medium local communities to enhance their climate resilience, promote their twin green and digital transition and contribute to the broader goals of climate adaptation in Europe.
The methodology and activities of REHUBS are structured around four key pillars:

Climate Risk Assessment – Mapping vulnerabilities across hotspot rural areas to support place-based decision-making and provide comprehensive climate risk assessments.

Adaptation Solutions – Designing and implementing multi-level adaptation solutions for water management, wildfire prevention, and agricultural climate challenges. The project develops a suite of tailored tools and technologies based on rural communities’ specific needs, mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and circular economy principles.

Stakeholder Engagement – Facilitating community engagement through participatory activities, training programs, and capacity building initiatives. The project co-creates user-friendly ICT tools to support small local authorities and communities in climate adaptation planning and implementation.

Practical Implementation and Demonstration – Testing and validating REHUBS solutions across four key regions, ensuring collaboration and knowledge transfer to enable scaling up and bringing solutions closer to market application.

Strategic Objectives

The project pursues six strategic objectives: identifying climate-related challenges in rural hotspots, designing multi-level adaptation solutions, co-creating accessible digital tools, facilitating community participation, testing and validating solutions in partnership with multiple regions, and accelerating the adoption of climate resilience measures to support the EU Green Deal and the long-term vision for rural areas.

Expected outcomes

• Climate risk and vulnerability assessments for rural hotspot areas
• Multi-level adaptation solutions for water management, wildfire prevention, and agricultural challenges using Nature-based-Solutions and circular economy principles
• User-friendly ICT tools to support small local authorities in climate adaptation planning
• Enhanced community capacity through participatory training and stakeholder engagement
• Validated solutions tested across four demonstration regions
• Knowledge transfer framework enabling replication and scaling in other regions
• Support for EU Green Deal and long-term rural development vision
• Strengthened green and digital transition in rural communities

The role of alchemia-nova

The role of alchemia-nova in the REHUBS project is to lead the development of NbS for rural climate resilience, with a primary focus on designing circular water recovery and valorisation systems that leverage nature-based approaches for sustainable water management in rural communities. Alchemia-nova will develop comprehensive frameworks integrating NbS to enhance climate adaptation capacity. With an extensive expertise in NbS and circular economy principles, the organization translates climate adaptation concepts into practical, implementable solutions, while supporting stakeholder engagement, system design, demonstration activities, and the creation of best-practice guidelines for increasing rural resilience.

Partners

Project Coordinator:

DREVEN (Greece)

Partner Consortium:

LINKS Foundation (Italy)
UPC – Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain)
AGA – Agroapps (Greece)
Reframe.food (Greece)
EBOS Technologies (Greece)
ITC Agrifood (Spain)
Aquatec – Veolia (Spain)
Agrifood Lithuania (Lithuania)
LearnWorlds (Cyprus)
ARX (Spain)
VOST Portugal (Portugal)
ICLEI Europe (Germany)
AEIDL (Belgium)
Betavia (Lithuania)
Agbar (Spain)
NOVA (Greece)
Ajuntament de Manlleu (Spain)
TOEB Tavropou (Greece)
Municipality of Sofades (Greece)
CIMBB (Portugal)
Šakiai District Municipality (Lithuania)
Idalion (Cyprus)
RCMS (Slovenia)
REDEA (Croatia)
Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation

Project status:
Start date: 1 October 2025 | End date: 30 September 2029, duration 48 months
Call: HORIZON-MISS-2024-CLIMA-01
Topic: HORIZON-MISS-2024-CLIMA-01-07 – Demonstration of solutions specifically suited to rural areas and small/medium size population local communities
Funding Scheme: HORIZON-IA (HORIZON Innovation Actions)
Grant Agreement Number: 101214051
Overall costs: € 7,132,906.25
EU contribution: € 6,370,833.13