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Scalable Full-cycle Marine Litter Remediation in the Mediterranean: Robotic and Participatory Solutions

Project description

Robotics and citizen engagement to tackle marine litter

Robotics and citizen engagement can play a crucial role in achieving the EU Mission for ocean, seas and water health restoration by 2030. In this context, the EU-funded SeaClear2.0 project will develop an integrated approach to address the entire cycle of marine litter. The project will focus on reducing marine litter pollution, specifically from plastic litter, in the Mediterranean. This will be achieved by using teams of autonomous, intelligent robots to monitor and collect marine seafloor and surface litter, and through participatory practices to identify site-specific measures for marine litter prevention and reduction. By identifying ways to valorise litter and extend policy-making, SeaClear2.0 will provide innovative solutions for effective marine litter management, further promoting the health of oceans, seas, and water bodies.

Objective

SeaClear2.0 will develop a holistic approach to address the full cycle of marine litter, towards the Mission to restore, protect and preserve the health of our oceans, seas and waters by 2030. To this end, we aim to prevent and reduce marine litter pollution, particularly plastics and microplastics, in the Mediterranean via (i) Community activation, citizen empowerment, and participatory practices for identifying site-specific measures for marine litter prevention and reduction, supporting the implementation of the WFD and MSFD; (ii) Scaling up and demonstrating the SeaClear2.0 system, an innovative solution with teams of autonomous, intelligent robots for effective monitoring and collection of marine seafloor and surface litter; (iii) Providing solutions for valorization of the collected litter via better sorting and recycling; (iv) Adding novel dimensions in policy making by providing evidence for new legislation and the implementation of existing rules to achieve Good Environmental Status and (v) Accelerating the uptake of our solution by demonstrating its scalability and replicability to the Mediterranean basin and beyond in three full-scale demonstrations, three pilot tests, and at least five associated-region projects.

SeaClear2.0 impact ranges from the reduction of upstream and beach litter via public awareness and citizen activation; through effective litter monitoring using both robotic mapping and public reporting in a gamified app; to direct collection of at least 57% of existing litter in the areas covered by the robot teams, with options for valorization. The singular selling point of SeaClear2.0 is our unique blend of technological innovation (ii, iii), community-activation (i), and policy-making (iv).

We achieve all this by exploiting consortium expertise in public engagement, policy-making, robotic perception and control, artificial intelligence, marine technology and operations, and litter sorting and recycling.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03

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Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 375 031,25
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 375 031,25

Participants (12)

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