I3 Project Descriptions

The 3DOP (3D-Printing Optimized Production) project aims to accelerate the adoption of advanced 3D printing technologies across Europe, focusing on metal, electronics, dental components, and automation. By tackling challenges such as high costs, inefficiencies, and limited scalability in current additive manufacturing processes, 3DOP strengthens EU industrial competitiveness and supply chain resilience. The project brings together SMEs from More Developed Regions, Transition Regions, and Less Developed Regions, each contributing expertise in areas like advanced materials, automation modules...

The Alliance on Interregional Innovation Investments (Allon_I3) project primarily aims to enhance the capacity of Less Developed Regions (LDRs: Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal) to collaborate with transition and more developed regions by shaping and interweaving a cross-regional innovation ecosystem. The key capacity objective is strengthening the ability of Quadruple Helix (Q-helix) stakeholders to identify, set up, and secure financing for interregional innovation projects. The project is highly relevant to EU cohesion policy as it directly addresses regional disparities by integrating LDRs more...

The AMBITIOUS project advances the deployment of 5G-powered digital solutions across Europe, enabling seamless interaction among businesses, service providers, and consumers while fostering innovative business models. Leveraging a computing continuum that integrates Cloud, Edge, and IoT resources, the project provides a technological infrastructure for data aggregation, AI-driven analytics, and secure information exchange, with applications across sectors such as smart agriculture, water management, digital health, and safety. The consortium spans seven regions in Sweden, Finland, the...

AquaLoops4Med is a three-year project with 13 partners addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change and increasing water stress in the Mediterranean, a region where the agrifood sector is both highly vulnerable and economically vital. AquaLoops4Med will create an interregional network to foster an efficient and sustainable water management.The project involves partners representing the quadruple helix in four participating regions: Catalonia, Spain (MDR), Basilicata, Italy (LDR), Attica and Thessaly, Greece (TR and LDR, respectively), with shared and complementary S3 priorities and...

BalticMUPPETS (2023–2026) strengthens interregional collaboration to create new value chains for small Baltic Sea mussels (1–3 cm), focusing on their use in pet food and on innovative technologies for farming, harvesting, and processing. The consortium unites 13 partners from 5 countries, covering the entire mussel supply chain, from production to processing, product development, marketing, and financing. Business cases in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany test and scale novel approaches, supported by research institutions and business accelerators to develop market-ready products and sustainable...

BATMASS aims to implement the first EU Interregional Circular Battery Valley. It offers a portfolio of cross-regional investments in TRL6+ innovations in circular technologies and processes for battery materials. The aim answers to the challenge of a battery supply chain under pressure, with growing demand of supply and heavy dependence on foreign streams of critical materials. This is a crucial issue for EU competitiveness as exposure to price volatility and limited sovereignty is extremely high. BATMASS mobilises an integrated interregional ecosystem around 4 Demonstrators meant to scale up...

BIO-RED aims to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems and build the capacity of less developed regions to design, develop, and implement business cases for interregional innovation investments in the strategic sectors of red biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The project enhances institutional, innovation, and investment capacities through comprehensive actions, including mapping regional ecosystems and value chains, developing a Joint Strategic Interregional Roadmap, and implementing co-creation labs, hackathons, staff exchanges, and policy roundtables. A dedicated Biotech & Pharma...

Biotech4Food brings together 26 partners from eight EU regions, with a budget of EUR 4.36 million, including EUR 3 million from the I3 Instrument. Based on the S3 partnership ‘Ingredients for a Circular Economy’, it accelerates the development and market introduction of innovative ingredients and bio-based products through three new agri-food value chains. The project applies industrial (white) biotechnology and marine (blue) biotechnology to deliver cleaner processing technologies, circular use of biomass, and high-protein food solutions. In Central Macedonia (Greece), a Less Developed Region...

The project aims to strengthen regional capacity in biomanufacturing and biotechnology by fostering knowledge transfer, skills development, and interregional collaboration. Its core objective is to equip ecosystems in Campania (Italy) and Silesia (Poland) with the competences and connections needed to scale innovation, leveraging the advanced experience of Catalonia (Spain). Key activities include an ecosystem mapping benchmarked with Catalonia, the creation of Interregional Interest Groups, five regional roundtables and stakeholder interviews, an online training programme for 60 students...

The BRIDGE and SHIFT project's main objective is enhancing capabilities of regional automotive clusters and innovation intermediaries to support companies through the electric mobility transformation. Key activities include self-audit benchmarking using ESCA principles, interregional twinning programs connecting less developed regions (Ostrava, Nitra, Rzeszów) with advanced regions (Aragon, Heilbronn), value chain mapping and gap analysis, and skills enhancement workshops for cluster managers.

The project is highly relevant to EU cohesion policy as it bridges developed and less-developed...

The Circular Economy for Riga and Tartu Waste Management Facilities (CERITA) is an ambitious project that seeks to transform waste management practices through a circular economy approach. The project is led by a consortium of partners from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the Netherlands, including Hydrogen Architects BV (HYARCH), Getlini EKO SIA (GETLINI), Ekotikslai UAB, Latvijas Ūdeņraža Asociācija (H2LV), SIA ERNST&YOUNG BALTIC (E&Y) and Tartu City.

The CERITA project aims to analyse the waste composition, energy consumption, and renewable energy production potential of the waste...

CESAM (Circular Economy and Sustainable solutions for Agrifood in the Mediterranean, 2023–2026) invests in the scale up of innovative solutions in the agrifood value chain focusing on circular economy and sustainability. The partnership between Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and Occitania brings together 9 partners and 1 associate partner from the European Regions of Occitania, Catalonia and Balearic Islands around shared goals for the agrifood sector: promote Circular Economy and Sustainability. Among these partners, 4 are institutional partners from the Regional Innovation Ecosystems...