Abstract
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 a focus on less developed regions. With a budget of EUR 3.6 million, including nearly EUR 2.8 in I3 Instrument funding, the project invests in the demonstration, scale-up and commercialization of innovative, sustainable and circular solutions from SMEs, addressing the water value chain in the agrifood sector. The project includes six demonstration and investment-ready cases with the involved LDR hosting two demonstration sites.
AquaLoops4Med brings together 13 partners from the quadruple helix: one cluster, six SMEs (five technology providers and one end user), four research and technology organisations (RTOs), and two public administrations (a municipality and an environmental protection agency). The project spans four European regions—Catalonia (ES), Basilicata (IT), Attica and Thessaly (EL)—with shared and complementary Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) focused on agrifood, green economy, and sustainable resource use. This interregional cooperation seeks to overcome fragmented innovation ecosystems by scaling SME-driven solutions in water and agrifood through coordinated action. Collaboration will be strengthened via two demonstration sites in Basilicata and Thessaly—the two less developed regions—where innovative, sustainable water management technologies will be tested. In parallel, a cascade funding scheme (FSTP) will support SMEs, promote entrepreneurship and enhancing competitiveness with the ultimate aim of creating new water value chains tailored to the agrifood sector. The consortium builds on a strong history of collaboration through R&D and innovation projects such as HYDROUSA (H2020), PRIMA SAFE, Accelwater (H2020) and CARDIMED (Horizon Europe), ensuring synergies and knowledge transfer across regions.
The AquaLoops4Med project fosters product and service innovation, targeting TRL progression from 7 to 9 in flagship projects developed by SME consortium members. Simultaneously, the FSTP scheme will support additional product innovation in the TRL 6 to 9 range to develop new investment cases. Focusing on sustainable and circular water management, AquaLoops4Med supports the green transition and is fully aligned with the European Green Deal by promoting industrial innovation and clean technologies. Its emphasis on the agrifood sector further reinforces alignment with the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy. The project addresses critical water management challenges in agrifood and offers high potential for replication across Europe. Given its ambition to tackle shared environmental and economic issues in the Mediterranean, all countries in the region will be engaged in replication activities. Countries with particularly strong potential for uptake include Croatia, Cyprus, Spain, and France. Although not in the Mediterranean, Portugal faces similar water-related challenges and will also be included. AquaLoops4Med aims to reach 10 regions through its transferability efforts, with at least 5 of these being less developed or in transition. The project will contribute significantly to the resilience and sustainability of water systems in agrifood across Europe.
The AquaLoops4Med project includes 6 flagship interregional innovation investment cases and plans to support at least 15 additional SMEs through cascade funding. The six main demonstration and investment-ready cases are led by the SMEs in the consortium: AERIS, AGENSO, BIOINNOVA, HYDRASPIS, FRESH MILK, and WE&B. These cases cover innovative technologies and services, such as rainwater harvesting, advanced wastewater treatment and reuse and precision irrigation. Two collaborative demonstration pilots are being implemented in two locations in the less-developed regions targeted by the project: nearby Trikala in Thessaly (Greece) and the province of Potenza, Basilicata (Italy). In these locations, pilot installations will demonstrate rainwater harvesting, wastewater reclamation, reuse in livestock farms, and fertigation in nearby agricultural plots, with strong support from research and public sector partners. The project results apply to the agrifood and water management sectors, aiming to increase circularity, resilience and sustainability in water use. Contributions vary across the consortium: SMEs provide technologies and lead pilots, RTOs (like ICRA, IRTA, NTUA and UNIBAS) offer validation and scientific expertise, CWP, as a water cluster, facilitates interregional coordination, and public authorities support replication and policy alignment.
The planned budget for FSTP sums up to 850,000€, and will be distributed through two open calls for collaborative interregional sub-projects, the first of which will be launched in Q3 of 2025. AquaLoops4Med aims at supporting at least 15 SMEs in at least 5 collaborative subprojects.