We are very happy to announce that our project has joined the European Commission’s Mission Charter, the call to support the achievement of the goals of the Mission Restore our Oceans and Waters 2030.

The call, which is open to a wide audience of stakeholders, aims to give a clear signal of the importance of protecting inland waters and oceans by taking concrete actions. Participants also have the opportunity to network and exchange experiences and knowledge, establishing collaborations that will contribute to the achievement of the goals.

The Mission Restore our Oceans and Waters 2030 has three main goals. The first is the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, both marine and freshwater, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030; the second is the elimination and prevention of aquatic pollution; and the third, to make the Blue Economy sustainable, circular, and carbon-neutral by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions or by ensuring that they are sequestered where it is impossible to cancel them out.

MAELSTROM supports these goals in several ways: our project, in fact, acts both on the protection of aquatic ecosystems and on pollution prevention by developing and implementing two technologies to remove litter from the environment (the Bubble Barrier that will be installed in the Ave River in Portugal and the Seabed Cleaning Robotic Platform currently being tested in Venice, Italy). The technologies, co-powered by second-generation fuel and solar energy are then evaluated for their sustainability on ecosystems. In addition, in support of the third goal of the Mission Restore our Oceans and Waters 2030, the waste collected by these technologies are recycled both mechanically and chemically within a circular economy approach.

In carrying out these actions under the Mission Charter, our project is committed to support the EU Ocean Knowledge System and comply with FAIR principles on data and knowledge. In addition, MAELSTROM will involve citizens and share expertise and experience with everyone participating to the Mission, to collectively achieve the Mission’s goals.

We will keep you updated on the Mission’s progress and our contribution!