Specific Challenge:

Innovation related to seas and oceans can play a key role in tackling global challenges such as the scarcity and vulnerability of strategic resources and can unlock the potential of a sustainable blue economy, while factoring in environmental and climate change risks. EU intervention is needed to create the conditions for mobilising investments while avoiding the costly duplication of work.

Scope:

Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view of implementing a joint call for proposals with EU co-funding resulting in grants to third parties. In addition, proposals may involve, publicly-funded research performing organisations that will contribute with their own resources (in-kind contributions). In this case, the joint call should include a separate topic for the participating research performing organisations, so that they will implement the resulting transnational projects themselves. Their participation in the ERA-NET Cofund action must be mandated by the national/regional authorities in charge (usually the responsible ministry). Proposals should address various applications including environmentally friendly, secure and safe waterborne transport, offshore and sub-sea activities, aquaculture, biorefineries, desalination plants, etc. They should focus on overarching challenges such as: reducing underwater noise and emissions, reducing environmental impacts, minimising the carbon footprint, recycling, novel materials, advanced manufacturing technologies, sensors for navigation, observation, monitoring and the deep-sea environment. Proposals should also aim to implement other joint activities, including additional joint calls without EU co-funding, on open maritime and marine topics in line with the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and its Implementation Plan under the Joint Programming Initiative "Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans" (JPI Oceans).

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 10 million would allow this challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact:

To contribute to the implementation of the European Blue Growth Agenda and marine and maritime-related Directives, proposals will:

• Bring new knowledge-intensive products and services for marine and maritime activities to the market.
• Increase the resource efficiency, security, safety and environmental compliance of maritime activities.
• Help implement the European strategy on Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), in particular with regards to advanced materials and manufacturing.
• Support trans-national, pan-European research networks and synergies among national/regional and EU research programmes.
• Facilitate economies of scale and research investment efficiency by better aligning national/regional research programmes, in particular within the Joint Programming Initiative "Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans".

Delegation Exception Footnote:

This activity directly aimed at supporting public-public partnerships with Member States and associated countries, technology platforms with industrial partners and earth observation networks is excluded from the delegation to REA and will be implemented by the Commission services.