Jobs        Find partners        Bamos+        Subscribe       Log in       

Find partners      Log in       

interreg-baltic-sea-region-is-a-source-of-eu-funding
Innovative societies Water-smart societies Climate-neutral societies 

Interreg makes
a difference!

Explore how people in the Baltic Sea region have been benefitting
from our projects.

#MadeWithInterreg solutions for

Cleaner waters

Cleaner waters thanks to viable monitoring system, new methods for removing micropollutants from wastewater and sharing knowledge

What are we doing?

Coordinated actions are the key to cleaning Baltic Sea waters efficiently. Interreg projects that bring people together across sectors and countries stand behind many of them. Not only do they introduce new systemic methods to clean wastewater, but also ensure the spread of knowledge of those methods in the region. Trust in project recommendations directly translates into new policies and investments. In a long run, cooperation in projects exceeds original partnerships and builds grounds for new initiatives and actions to respond to arising challenges.

Examples of #MadeWithInterreg solutions:
  • a platform collecting best practices in smart water operations
  • a risk assessment system to monitor concentrations of micropollutants
  • novel methods to clean wastewater from micropollutants, e.g. pharmaceuticals
  • new technologies to reduce phosphorus losses
  • enhanced water treatment to improve water quality in lakes

 

What we’ve achieved so far? 

The Baltic Sea is one of the most heavily eutrophicated seas in the world. Interreg projects helped improve wastewater treatment, which is one of the factors influencing eutrophication. At the beginning of the 2000s, more than 20 cities collected best practices in water management and shared them with other city administrations around the Baltic Sea region. In 2009-2013, projects showcased that it was possible to reduce discharges of nutrients from wastewater treatment facilities to the level set in the Baltic Sea Action Plan of HELCOM. The HELCOM Action Plan targets were stricter than the EU requirement.

In 2016-2021, projects in cities and villages focused on improving the treatment of wastewater from residents and industries. Partners in projects tested new technologies that increased nutrient removal and reduced energy consumption in cities such as Daugavpils, Gdańsk, Tartu, Jūrmala, Kaunas, and Grevesmühlen. Rural municipalities benefitted from solutions like septic tanks and soil infiltration in Kolgaküla, Gennarby, Ainaži, and Leitgiriai. In other projects, partners tested the pre-treatment of wastewater at poultry, meat, and dairy factories in Leszno, Doruchów, Põltsamaa, and Jelgava. Following this joint work, the partners synthesised more than a hundred examples of smart water operations. Using this knowledge, they helped develop the new Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy of HELCOM, and revise the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. These two strategic documents help achieve a healthy state of the Baltic Sea.

 

Ongoing projects

The ongoing projects explore new methods to clean wastewater more efficiently and better monitor concentrations of harmful substances and micropollutants in water environments. They address various stages of water management, starting from pollution prevention at its source, extending to robust monitoring and risk assessment practices, and culminating in the adoption of advanced wastewater treatment technologies. The projects aim to influence policy-making processes and implement practical measures for long-term improvements.

 

Supporting the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region 

Our projects play a vital role in achieving the ambitious goals of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) to save the Baltic Sea. In collaboration with the coordinators of the EUSBSR policy areas Nutri, Bioeconomy, Hazards, and Tourism, our projects make water and wastewater management more efficient and less resource-intensive in cities, rural areas, and tourist destinations. Together, our projects and the EUSBSR coordinators drive changes in water-related policies in our region, ensuring that the outcomes of our projects are integrated into legislation and continue to contribute to clearer, cleaner waters in the region.

 

Explore project solutions in more detail:

EMPEREST

Eliminating Micro-Pollutants from Effluents for REuse STrategies
The project EMPEREST tests advanced treatment technology that helps water utilities and companies better remove organic micropollutants such as PFAS or pharmaceuticals from wastewater.
Read more about the project

APRIORA

Improved risk assessment for strategic water management to reduce micro-pollutant emissions in the Baltic Sea Region
In the project APRIORA, environmental protection agencies and wastewater treatment plants get equipped with a GIS-based risk assessment system to monitor and model concentrations of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in order to improve water management and reduce emissions.
Read more about the project

BEACON

Application of biological effects methods in monitoring and assessment of contaminants in the Baltic Sea
In the project BEACON, public authorities and governmental organisations develop harmonised methods to assess contamination in the Baltic Sea waters, sediment and biota.
Read more about the project

AdvIQwater

Improving quality of BSR waters by advanced treatment processes
The project AdvIQwater tests photocatalysis, fungal treatment and biofilms methods to efficiently clean wastewaters from pharmaceuticals.
Read more about the project

NonHazCity 3

Reducing hazardous substances in construction to safeguard the aquatic environment, protect human health and achieve more sustainable buildings
The project NonHazCity 3 helps municipalities, entrepreneurs and individuals construct and renovate buildings with tox-free materials in order to protect health and the environment.
Read more about the project

TRUST ALUM

Building trust in target groups for ALUM treatment - an effective, yet misunderstood method for water quality improvement
The project TRUST ALUM helps public authorities in the Baltic countries make better use of ALUM water treatment and improve water quality in lakes.
Read more about the project

MUNIMAP

Baltic Sea Munitions Remediation Roadmap
The project MUNIMAP develops a legal and administrative framework for public authorities to initiate joint remediation of dumped munitions from the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak, which pose threats to the marine ecosystem and hinder the maritime economy.
Read more about the project

BSI_4Women

The Baltic Sea Initiative for the Development of Business Activity of Refugee Women
In the project BSI_4Women, public authorities and business support organisations help women refugees from Ukraine and beyond start their own businesses and become active community members.
Read more about the project

Green Small Craft

Green Cruising for High-speed Small Craft in The Baltic Sea
An increasing number of high-speed crafts (or fast ferries) in the Baltic Sea leads to the critical sea and coastal area pollution. The project contributes to pollution reduction and emission mitigation of small craft operation in the Baltic Sea, emphasizing on high-speed. Moreover, noise emission from these boats will be addressed. We plan to solve the problem by considering three different solutions related to hydrodynamic design, propulsion systems, as well as to digitalisation and control.
Read more about the project

ORMOBASS

Operational R-Mode Baltic Sea System to support resilient navigation
To ensure safer navigation at the Baltic Sea, the project ORMOBASS introduces a terrestrial R-Mode system that replaces global navigation satellite systems in case of disruptions, and warns ships about increased navigational risks.
Read more about the project

TRAC 4 SERIAL

TRAnsnational Cooperation for Serial Energy Refurbishment in BSR
The current pace of refurbishment of buildings is not enough to reach the EU goals of a climate neutral building stock by 2050. TRAC4SERIAL initiates the energy efficient refurbishment of multi-family residential buildings using prefabricated retrofits. This is not only more energy efficient but can also save time and costs. Costs can be reduced only by applying large quantities. Therefore, the TRAC4SERIAL aims to involve the necessary stakeholders to accelerate the process of serial refurbishment.
Read more about the project

InnoFruit

Advancement of non-technological innovation performance and innovation capacity in fruit growing and processing sector in selected Baltic Sea Region countries
The project InnoFruit created a sustainable network of fruit-growing companies to make them more successful and competitive across the Baltic Sea region markets thanks to the exchange of innovative solutions.
Read more about the project

INBETS BSR

Innovative Business Transfer Models for SMEs in the BSR
The project INBETS BSR enabled business support organisations to improve consultations in business transfer and ensure continuity in complex handover processes.
Read more about the project

CONTAR

Contaminated sediments in the Baltic Sea: assessment, remediation and management revisited
In marine coastal environments, sediments contaminated by anthropogenic activities are a significant source of hazardous substances. However, there is lack of harmonised assessment methodology or common management protocols for contaminated sediments among the Baltic Sea countries. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop guidelines to combine chemical and biological measurements to obtain reliable evaluations of sediment toxicity. The project aims at creating a platform for analysing state of the art in the current risk assessment of contaminated sediments in order to set the basis for the harmonisation of methodologies.
Read more about the project

MedRoPlan

Wood Biomass Production in Medium Rotation Plantations with Hybrid Aspen and Poplars
There is a growing interest in fast-growing tree species, such as hybrid aspens and poplars, especially in the context of bioeconomy approach becoming more popular. These trees have a great potential to constitute a significant share in the wood-based biomass in the near future. MedRoPlan aims to elaborate on developing and improving the production methods of the wood biomass with the use of hybrid aspens and poplars.
Read more about the project

NovelBaltic

Market driven authentic Non-Timber Forest Products from the Baltic region - focus on wild and semi cultivated species with business potential
NovelBaltic helps small and medium-sized enterprises to improve the market uptake of non-timber forest products from the Baltic Sea region.
Read more about the project

COMPLETE PLUS

Practical implementation of the COMPLETE project outputs and tools
COMPLETE PLUS equipped shipping companies, ports, environmental and maritime authorities with supporting tools to improve biofouling management.

Read more about the project

CASES BSR

Climate Adaptation Support for Enterprises in the Baltic Sea Region
Research show that four out of five small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) fear impact of climate change on their businesses. All regions in Europe are affected by climate change in some sense.

The project CASES BSR addresses the issue on how climate change affects SMEs and the increasing needs to adopt climate adaptation strategies for a long-term sustainability. The project raises the knowledge by research how various types of SMEs handle it today. The result by the research shall map the foremost needs of support among SMEs.

Read more about the project

MARA

Mobility and Accessibility in Rural Areas - New approaches for developing mobility concepts in remote areas
The project MARA improved accessibility and mobility for residents and tourists in remote touristic areas of the Baltic Sea region.
Read more about the project

R-Mode Baltic

Ranging Mode for the Baltic Sea
The Interreg project R-Mode Baltic launched a technical system for a safer ship navigation, and placed the Baltic Sea as a first operational navigation test area for maritime terrestrial navigation on the global map.
Read more about the project

We make transition!

Towards sustainable and resilient societies through empowered civil society and collaborative innovation
In the project We make transition! public authorities work on social and ecological initiatives with civil society, and co-create changes in the areas of consumption, mobility, energy and social life.
Read more about the project

CEforestry

Innovation in forestry biomass residue processing: towards circular forestry with added value products
The project CEforestry establishes cooperation among researchers, SMEs and large companies to support industrial symbiosis using forestry biomass residues in a more efficient way.
Read more about the project

PPI4cities

Supporting BSR cities to implement public procurement of innovation while providing practical tools created using AI technologies and gamification methods
In the project PPI4cities, public authorities learn how to build a smart city by designing innovations already at the procurement level.
Read more about the project

MainPotRe

Maintenance and scaling up potato growing and consumption heritage in Northern Baltic region to build up resilient communities
In the project MainPotRe potato breeders, gene bank holders, research institutions, authorities, and NGOs work together to enhance the self-sufficiency of communities and food security in the region by improving access to planting material of local potato cultivars.
Read more about the project

EFFECT4buildings

Effective Financing Tools for implementing Energy Efficiency in Buildings
The Interreg project EFFECT4buildings enabled public building managers in eight countries around the Baltic Sea to better plan renovation projects to unlock investments and implement retrofitting, upgrading and deep renovation and, by this, to save energy.
Read more about the project

BSR Urban Mobility

Enhancing active and efficient urban mobility in the Baltic Sea region
The BSR Urban Mobility project platform connects cities, regional authorities, and policymakers in a peer learning network to support the implementation of sustainable urban mobility plans and deliver on EU goals for multimodal, zero-emission transport. BSR Urban Mobility consolidates outcomes from 17 EU projects.
Read more about the project

Human XFactor at Sea

Improving the understanding of the human factors in the current and future digitalized maritime environment to increase maritime safety
The human element has been identified as the major contributing factor to accidents and incidents within the maritime domain. The project aims to identify the main gaps and challenges related to the human factor in maritime safety. Based on this, a workplan to a full-scale project will be developed to improve understanding of the human factor and investigate the reasons behind the continuously high share of human action related accidents, find solutions and make recommendations to decrease these accident events.
Read more about the project

DINNOCAP

Digital Innovation Capacity Building
The project helped SMEs, industry organisations and public authorities strengthen digital innovation capacity building.

Read more about the project

MentalHealthMatters

Mental Health Matters – Making Enterprises in the BSR more Resilient by Tackling Psychosocial Risks in the Workplace
The project MentalHealthMatters connects public health experts and employers to prevent psychosocial risks at the workplace and thus improve the well-being of employees.
Read more about the project

REAVES

REAVES – Resilient Ecosystems for AV&M Entrepreneurial Support
REAVES project platform drives the way for a coherent cross-sectoral support strategy for the film, gaming, and music industries in the Baltic Sea region, helping authorities, education, and industry actors retain young talent and keep the cultural and creative industries resilient and thriving. REAVES consolidates outcomes from 22 EU projects.
Read more about the project

BSR SMART LIFE

BSR Lifelong Learning for Smart Specializations
There is a great potential for cooperation and knowledge sharing among countries in the Baltic Sea region when it comes to lifelong learning: the countries have a lot in common when talking about the ageing society and education systems that do not fully correspond to the labour market expectations. Therefore, the exchange of good practices and joint development of new methods are crucial. The project focuses on building a structured dialog with key stakeholders in order to create awareness of the needed adjustments of the educational systems and adapt to a fast-changing labour market.
Read more about the project

Baltic DigiTour

Baltic DigiTour
For the dynamic knowledge area of digitalization in touristic attractions, the project is directed to setting up a new way of continuous online learning based on connectivist massive open online courses. Focusing the collaboration of learners, such connectivist massive open online courses potentially allow to tackle the fast changing learning content in a knowledge community. Towards a main project we now analyze existing connectivist massive open online course models, IT platforms as well as needs of content matter experts and potential participants.
Read more about the project

TETRAS

Technology transfEr for Thriving Recirculating Aquaculture Systems in the Baltic Sea Region
In the project TETRAS, public authorities trigger fish and shrimp farming on land, which reuses water from industries related to energy production and geothermal resources.
Read more about the project

BALTFLOODS

Baltic Flood Resilience and Digital Solutions
The project BALTFLOODS helps public authorities better monitor and respond to floods, reduce polluted stormwater discharges, and encourage community engagement in addressing environmental threats.
Read more about the project

BSR Stars S3

Stimulating smart specialization ecosystem through engaging SMEs in open innovation processes
Through the project BSR Stars S3, business support organisations, public authorities and policy makers in several regions around the Baltic Sea know more about how to turn their smart specialisation strategies for advancing bio and circular economies into action.
Read more about the project

BSN_powerhouse

Baltic Science Network - A Science Powerhouse
The Interreg project BSN_powerhouse enabled researchers, research infrastructures, higher education institutions to improve transnational exchange and capitalise on research capacity.
Read more about the project

IWAMA

Interactive WAter MAnagement
The Interreg project IWAMA equipped waste water managers with new audit tools and a durable platform for life-long learning and exchange so that they can better protect our environment, in particular by optimising the energy use and sludge management of waste water treatment plants.
Read more about the project

City Blues

Bluegreen nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and citizen wellbeing
In the project City Blues, cities develop plans for their urban waters and green areas to better respond to the negative effects of climate change, like floods and pollution, and create liveable areas for people at the same time.
Read more about the project

CiNURGi

Circular nutrients for a sustainable Baltic Sea Region
The project CiNURGi brings companies into symbioses to recycle nutrient-rich biomass from agricultural, municipal, and industrial sources into safe fertilizers, and provides authorities with roadmaps to further facilitate reducing nutrient losses in future.
Read more about the project

eRural resilience

Creating resilient rural communities in BSR based on the opportunities of digital bio businesses
The project eRural resilience enables local authorities and business support organisations in rural areas to help SMEs increase their digital literacy in e-marketing of bio products and thus seize new business opportunities.
Read more about the project

Solutions stay with the people: listen to our #InterregVoices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© UBC SCC/Mariia Andreeva

Thanks to Interreg (...), we created momentum for essential aspects of sustainable water management connected to climate change, for example improving the wastewater and storm water management, reducing water pollution, and increasing the application of circular economy principles. [IWAMA; BSR Water]

 

 

 

Agnieszka Ilola 

Head of Secretariat, Union of the Baltic Cities, Sustainable Cities Commission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Dmitry Frank-Kamenetsky

I can name a large number of examples of project outputs directly integrated into the regional policy framework. The first one is the recommendation on sludge handling. It was largely based on the PURE project. What’s more, the technologies tested in the project PURE to treat wastewater are in regular use now.

 

 

 

Dmitry Frank-Kamenetsky

 Special Advisor to HELCOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© City of Turku

Thanks to Interreg projects, we have improved our public services for our citizens. Our water treatment facility has been involved in benchmarking water management processes and our water management processes have continuously been improving. Now, we have even better water quality and managed to keep the price of our water services at a moderate level.

Minna Arve

Mayor of Turku, Finland

#MadeWithInterreg solutions by topic

Agriculture

Explore

Attractive cities for people

Explore

Cleaner waters

Explore

Digitalisation

Explore

Energy efficiency

Explore

Fewer hazards

Explore

Health &
well-being

Explore

Healthy & sustainable
food

Explore

Inclusive 
communities

Explore

Renewable energy

Explore

Safety at sea

Explore

Strong & competitive
companies

Explore
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.