CIRSEAU. BUILDING A WATER-SMART ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

Project Information

CIRSEAU

Grant agreement ID: 101135403

DOI

10.3030/101135403

EC signature date 28 August 2024

Start date 1 September 2024

End date 31 August 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 1 999 989,38

Coordinated by

FCC AQUALIA SA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CIRSEAU (CIRSEAU. BUILDING A WATER-SMART ECONOMY AND SOCIETY)

Reporting period: 2024-09-01 to 2026-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Europe faces increasing pressures on water resources due to climate change, population growth and industrial demand, requiring a shift from linear water management towards a circular, water smart economy. In this context, the European Commission funded five large Horizon 2020 projects (B WaterSmart, WIDER UPTAKE, REWAISE, ULTIMATE and WATER MINING) to demonstrate innovative solutions for water reuse, resource recovery, digitalisation and climate resilience. CIRSEAU builds on the collective results of these projects by structuring and amplifying their impact through coordination, knowledge integration and market oriented actions.
CIRSEAU is a Coordination and Support Action whose overall objective is to consolidate and expand a permanent European ecosystem for the circular water economy, enhancing collaboration among research, industry, utilities, policy makers and citizens. The project aims to overcome remaining barriers to market uptake and policy implementation by aligning business models, regulatory frameworks, impact assessment methodologies and education programmes around successful circular water solutions.
Specifically, CIRSEAU seeks to (i) accelerate market uptake of Key Exploitable Results through innovative business and financing models; (ii) support the development of EU harmonised end of waste and standardisation frameworks; (iii) strengthen social acceptance of water reuse and resource recovery; (iv) provide robust evidence of environmental, social and economic impacts; and (v) ensure long term sustainability of the CIRSEAU cluster beyond the project lifetime.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first reporting period (RP1), CIRSEAU focused on structuring the technical, analytical and governance foundations of the action. A comprehensive Project Handbook and Data Management Plan were delivered, establishing procedures for coordination, IPR handling, data security, FAIR data principles and impact monitoring.
Major technical achievements include the creation of a large scale Case Study Inventory, expanding the initial dataset to 77 EU funded projects and more than 400 case studies, covering over 280 technological, organisational and policy interventions. This inventory underpins exploitation, impact assessment and policy workstreams.
CIRSEAU developed harmonised methodologies and KPIs to assess environmental, social and economic impacts of circular water solutions and their contribution to EU policies. These KPIs were validated through stakeholder engagement and tested across representative European case studies, providing a common reference framework.
On the regulatory side, a structured gap analysis of EU and national frameworks on water reuse and materials recovery was carried out, complemented by interviews in six European countries. This resulted in actionable roadmaps and policy recommendations towards EU harmonised end of waste criteria.
Market oriented activities delivered analyses of Key Exploitable Results, business and financial models, and recommendations for accelerating innovation uptake. The foundations of a Circular Water Accelerator Funnel were established, connecting circular water innovators with incubators, utilities and investors.
In parallel, CIRSEAU designed and validated a novel interdisciplinary education and training programme on Circular Water Economy, covering seven competence domains and prepared for deployment across multiple EU universities. Two Memoranda of Understanding were developed to support the long term operation of Education & Training and Policy & Long Term Impact Working Groups.
Outcomes of the action to date include consolidated analytical tools, policy ready evidence, validated education material and a structured pathway towards a self sustaining CIRSEAU ecosystem.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

CIRSEAU goes beyond the state of the art by integrating technical performance, economic viability, regulatory readiness and social acceptance into a single, coherent ecosystem framework. Unlike previous projects focusing on isolated demonstrations, CIRSEAU delivers cross project harmonisation of impact metrics, business modelling approaches and policy analysis.
The project provides a scalable model for transforming successful pilots into market ready solutions, supported by financing mechanisms and standardisation roadmaps. Its results enable further uptake through additional demonstration, alignment with investors, continued education programmes, and engagement with European standardisation bodies.
Key future needs include: continued operation of the CIRSEAU cluster, deployment of solutions in additional living labs, support for certification and market access, and sustained policy dialogue to implement proposed regulatory changes.
Overview of results: harmonised KPIs, validated policy roadmaps, expanded case study repositories, business acceleration pathways, and ready to deploy education material serving long term replication.