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

EnTRA

Energy Transition for Climate Neutrality in the BSR
EnTRA builds a resource hub with planning and management tools, training materials, self-audit guides, and a mentoring programme that anchors practical know-how to help public authorities and sectoral agencies scale up the energy transition in the region. EnTRA consolidates outcomes from 18 EU projects.
Read more about the project

DNA

Digihealth Nordic Acceleration
Europe’s health and medtech industries are investing in its modernization, including new digital technologies. Digital health and care refers to tools and services that use information and communication technologies to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and management of health and lifestyle and have the potential to innovate and improve the health sector. Digital health involves several stakeholders from doctors and hospitals to insurance organizations, governmental structures as well as research and development institutions, science parks, clusters, SMEs and startups. These stakeholders require support and exchange of best practices. The DNA project will prepare to strengthen EU SMEs by supporting their full value chains.
Read more about the project

KISMET

KISMET – sustainable food environments
The project KISMET helps public authorities create favourable conditions for food producers and consumers to choose sustainable food options.
Read more about the project

UrbCulturalPlanning

UrbCulturalPlanning
The project UrbCulturalPlanning addressed social and urban development by involving citizens in the cultural planning.
Read more about the project

BiC BRIDGE

Biomarker Commercialization – IVD applicable Biomarker Research and Innovation implementation Development GuidE
BiC BRIDGE helped smaller players of the biomarker development sector to streamline their biomarker development, and provided guidance, both on the regulatory framework and on the necessary steps linked to commercialisation.

Read more about the project

GRETA

GRETA
GRETA developed policy tools for sustainable Smart Specialisation innovation strategies in the Baltic Sea region to support the transformation of society and economy in line with the European Green Deal.

Read more about the project

EcoDesign Circle

Ecodesign as Driver of Innovation in the BSR
The Interreg project Ecodesign Circle successfully introduced ecodesign thinking and acting to design centres and numerous design companies in five countries around the Baltic Sea, as well as to the Bureau of European Design Associations - a strong move towards a circular economy in Europe.
Read more about the project

VillageWaters

Water emissions and their reduction in village communities – villages in Baltic Sea Region as pilots
The Interreg project Village Waters produced comprehensive knowledge about technical solutions for cleaning waste water in the countryside and successfully made it available to municipal officials, home owners and companies - now they can improve the waste water treatment and comply with EU directives also where large waste water treatment facilities are missing.
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

SchoolChanger

Empowering young generations to help municipalities and public institutions in the Baltic Sea Region develop smart, nature-based, sense-friendly, and socially responsible solutions reinforcing their well-being
The project SchoolChanger involves students in co-creating school spaces with teachers, school management, and experts to better address their psychological and social needs and prepare them for community-minded roles in the future.
Read more about the project

Distance LAB

Distance LAB
The ongoing fourth industrial revolution has strong implications for companies, e.g. the need to have a global perspective and to remain able to attract workers with changing expectations and to manage talent flow within companies. Distance LAB wants to ensure that SMEs have tools that keep them well informed and well connected to make rational strategic decision that keep up their innovativeness. Distance LAB wants to provide to agents of innovation support a toolkit for distance interaction softskills to eliminate distance between SMEs, RDI organisations, researchers, test facilities, innovation support agencies, workers etc and end users.
Read more about the project

BalMarGrav

Homogenized marine gravity maps of southern and eastern Baltic Sea for modern 3D applications in marine geodesy, geology and navigation
The project BalMarGrav harmonises data on the Earth’s gravity across the region to feed it into a new height reference system for safer navigation, offshore infrastructure and sea traffic management.
Read more about the project

ALLIANCE+

Baltic Blue Biotechnology Alliance+
The Interreg project ALLIANCE+ scaled up the accelerator and mentoring programme and paved the way for strengthened innovation in biotechnology.
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

LowTEMP

LowTEMP
The Interreg project LowTEMP brought together 19 partners from nine countries and 30 associated organisations to improve strategic tools on planning, financing, installing and managing Low Temperature District Heating systems allowing to significantly decrease heat loss.
Read more about the project

RenoWave

One-Stop-Shop extended model to increase the multi-apartment building stock renovation in the BSR
The project RenoWave establishes cooperation among homeowners, construction companies, energy agencies and public authorities to initiate more energy-efficiency renovations in multi-apartment buildings.
Read more about the project

SEMPRE

Social Empowerment in Rural Areas
In the Interreg project SEMPRE, charity organisations, trainers and universities gave social services in disadvantaged rural areas of the Baltic Sea region a new role: to empower people in need instead of offering help - this brought happiness and hope to elderly people, migrants, single parents and other vulnerable groups.
Read more about the project

CSHIPP

Clean Shipping Project Platform
The Interreg platform CSHIPP pushed clean shipping forward in the Baltic Sea region by bringing research, business and policy makers together to introduce new policies and discuss promising technological change.
Read more about the project

C4C

CULTURE4CLIMATE
C4C involves cultural and creative industries in the Baltic Sea region in co-design and in implementing long-lasting certification methods that allow the chosen sectors to not only measure their impact, but also reduce their footprint and create a large outreach. C4C aims to map the individual needs by cultural sector, create and implement Piloting Tools and prepare a solid funding-framework.
Read more about the project

BSR CLIMATE BUDGET

Cities and regions for a BSR climate resilient development by means of climate budgeting
Municipalities have made the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach the climate change mitigation goals. Carbon budgeting efforts pin down emissions targets, but do not include financial or management measures. In contrast, climate budgets elevate the climate mitigation contribution of a project or measure as a primary consideration in financial budgeting and negotiation processes. The project explores this concept to support its introduction in planning and decision making practices.
Read more about the project

REVITALISE HERITAGE

Architectural & Landscape Heritage as a Driver for Economic, Cultural and Community Development in Peripheral Regions
Architectural and landscape heritage is an expression of history, and it helps us to understand the relevance of the past to contemporary life and cultural identities. Despite their potential, many heritage places remain underused – in particular in peripheral regions. REVITALISE HERITAGE aims at empowering peripheral communities across the Baltic Sea region to transform underused heritage sites into interventions for economic, cultural and community development – and promote these approaches to potential adopters and decision-makers through media, film and gaming.
Read more about the project

BSR DeepTech Launch

Deep Tech Entrepreneurship Launchpad - developing efficient model for fostering STEM entrepreneurship among students and young researchers, to increase deep tech innovation in economy
In the project BSR DeepTech Launch, business, research and education institutions empower talented students and young researchers to start up their deep tech businesses and speed up green and digital transition.
Read more about the project

Helping spatial planners see the cultural heritage of the sea
Read more about the project

WATERDRIVE

Water driven rural development in the Baltic Sea Region
The WATERDRIVE project helped local municipalities, farmers and advisories manage water in agricultural landscapes and suggested ways forward to national authorities on how to pursue a strategic water governance vision.
Read more about the project

ENT-MIND

Entrepreneurial mindset development within youth sector
Promoting an entrepreneurial culture, mindset and attitudes among Europeans is of paramount importance in fostering youth entrepreneurship. ENT-MIND aims at improving the entrepreneurial education of young people by integrating new and innovative education approaches and methodologies into existing education offers.
Read more about the project

BSN

Baltic Science Network
The project Baltic Science Network strengthened the political ownership of a joint, macro-regional approach towards science policy by setting up a network of ministries and other public bodies responsible for higher education, science and research policies in seven countries around the Baltic Sea.
Read more about the project

BioBoosters

BioBoosters - Boosting the circular transition
The project BioBoosters brings together bio-based businesses in rural areas to share the know-how in circular production, and trigger green business opportunities.
Read more about the project

Energy Circle

Promoting circular approaches for energy independency in business and communities.
The project EnergyCircle helps public authorities and business support organisations develop long-term plans and transition towards circular energy independence, ensuring energy security in the region.
Read more about the project

EUL

Empowering Underground Laboratories Network Usage
EUL helped to enlarge the use of underground laboratories and provide access to open resource for business and innovation.
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

DINNOCAP

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

Read more about the project

CAROTS

Commercial Analytical Research Organisations Transnational Strategy
Thanks to a new type of intermediaries between industry and science, the project CAROTS helped enterprises benefit from advanced research and scientific expertise.
Read more about the project

Circ@Home

Resilience by circularity and sharing culture at households as precondition for climate-neutral cities: "Circ-in-Town = Circ@Home + Circular services"
The project Circ@Home drives urban circularity by helping households, municipalities, and companies adopt sustainable practices and reduce their environmental impact.
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

Attractive cities for people

Cleaner waters

Digitalisation

Energy efficiency

Fewer hazards

Health &
well-being

Healthy & sustainable
food

Inclusive 
communities

Renewable energy

Safety at sea

Strong & competitive
companies

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