Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RHE-MEDiation (RHE-MEDiation - Responsive hub for long term governance to destress the Mediterranean Sea from chemical pollution)
Période du rapport: 2023-06-01 au 2024-11-30
The RHE-MEDiation project, under the EU's Horizon Europe initiative, addresses chemical pollution in the Mediterranean Sea caused by several pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, and PFAS. Decades of unsustainable practices have put the region under ecological stress. In alignment with the EU’s “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” Mission, the project aims to establish a responsive hub for long-term governance to reduce pollution in key hotspots by preventing and removing pollutants from fresh and wastewater. Key activities include developing micro-algae-based remediation technologies, implementing a cooperative monitoring system with smart drifters and chemical detection chips, and integrating data from remediation plants with platforms like EMODnet and the Digital Twin of the Ocean to enhance marine governance. The project will validate its solutions through pilot sites in Italy, Greece, and Türkiye, assessing technology efficiency, community responsiveness, and the RHE-MEDiation local communities approach. Five additional replication sites will be funded through a cascade funding mechanism. The project aims to achieve significant environmental and societal impacts by improving marine ecosystem health and public well-being. Social sciences and humanities play a key role in involving local communities to foster trust and cooperation. Success will be measured by pollutant reduction, technology effectiveness, and community engagement.
The RHE-MEDiation project has achieved significant progress in addressing chemical pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. The RHE-MEDiation project developed a comprehensive network strategy for demonstration sites in Italy, Greece, and Türkiye, ensuring stakeholder engagement through targeted mapping and GDPR-compliant data management. Collaborative actions with local stakeholders, including workshops and surveys, shaped tailored remediation strategies for each demo site. Engagement with authorities and policymakers started the alignment of local efforts with national frameworks, supporting the upscaling of solutions. Detailed site chemical and logistical characterisation has been completed for each demo site, providing a clear understanding of environmental and logistical conditions and needs to optimise and customise the remediation plant design and operation. During the project, the microalgae-based remediation technology has undergone an accurate and refined design phase, ensuring its suitability for removing key pollutants like heavy metals and PFAS while adapting to the different specificities of each site. Advanced monitoring systems and data ingestion systems, for real-time pollution management, have been developed and integrated with platforms like EMODnet. Key milestones include the installation of a photobioreactor (PBR) plant at the Greek demo site and the manufacturing of all remediation PBR units for deployment across the three sites. Moreover, the experimental plans and protocols for sampling and analysis, to be used during the validation phase, have been defined. Additionally, the performed Social Freedom to Operate assesses societal acceptance and feasibility, while the Technology Outreach Report highlights the technological advancements of the project. The established risk and ethical management plan ensures compliance with ethical standards and effective risk mitigation throughout the project. These achievements provide a strong foundation for further deploying innovative remediation solutions, advancing sustainable development, and restoring the Mediterranean’s ecological health.
In the M01-M18 the RHE-MEDiation project designed, developed and implemented a tailored microalgae-based technology to cost-effectively bioremediate chemically contaminated waters. The project designed and developed innovative monitoring systems for real-time detection of diverse chemical contaminants, enabling automated on-site measurements. In particular, the RHE-MEDiation project advanced the state of the art by integrating microalgae-based technologies into wastewater treatment plants to reduce key pollutants like heavy metals and PFAS. The project also developed and integrated advanced monitoring systems and a data ingestion platform to provide precise, real-time pollution data for marine ecosystems. Key achievements include the accurate design of remediation technologies, the chemical and logistical characterisation of three demonstration sites, and the manufacturing and installation of photobioreactor (PBR) systems, notably operational at the Greek site. The project partially developed and deployed integrated measurement stations with autonomous and cooperative capabilities to assess chemical types and concentrations. The project designed and successfully tested the integration of measured data with the Digital Twin Ocean and Water Knowledge management platforms. These results partially enhance pollutant removal capabilities and establish a scalable model for marine remediation. Moreover, the project established participatory stakeholder groups for each demonstration site to co-create market, policy, environmental, and social acceptance frameworks, creating the basis for scaling from local to national and EU levels through an evolutionary model. Also, the integration of localised socio-environmental data ensures site-specific solutions, while monitoring systems improve the detection and tracking of chemical contaminants. These innovations directly contribute to achieving European regulatory goals, such as the Zero Pollution Action Plan and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. To ensure uptake and scalability, the project must address key tasks, such as: finalising the plant installation in the remaining 2 demo sites, successfully validating the efficiency of the technologies in the 3 demo sites, scouting how the technologies can be adapted for diverse environmental conditions, strengthening regulatory frameworks for water remediation, expanding data-sharing via EMODnet and select and fund 5 replication sites. Stakeholder capacity-building and the development of long-term governance models are essential to sustaining the deployment of these solutions.