INSPIRE is a four-year project (2023-2027), funded by the European Union’s Horizon program, that will contribute to the Green Deal targets and Horizon Europe’s Missions to restore the ocean and waters by 2030. INSPIRE will contribute to the specific targets of this Mission.
Expected Outcomes
01
Realizing 20 technologies and actions that cover the needs for a holistic approach.
02
Defining a set of solutions. Each solution is composed of a multitude of the applied 20 technologies.
03
Implementing and testing the solutions in 6 river use cases.
04
Developing actions plans using the data and results collected during the use cases.
05
Developing guidelines for scaling up the solutions. The possible solution packages will be extended with plug-in options to add additional technologies and actions, different
from the 20 implemented in INSPIRE and offer a ‘fit-for-all’ solutions applicable and replicable in all rivers in Europe.
06
Reducing the pollution at the demo sites of the use cases in the processed water volumes.
Objectives
INSPIRE brings different technlogies and solutions together focusing on the detection, collection and prevention of litter, plastics and macroplastics in rivers and on riverbanks:
01
Detection
Detection of the pollution characteristics, such as type and level of pollution present in terms of litter, macro-, meso- and microplastics, floating, in the water column and at the riverbanks.
02
Collection
Collection of litter, macro and microplastics and macroplastics at the riverbank and in the river. The lifetime of litter present in the river is minimized, reducing the risk of further breakdown of items into fragments and further into microlitter and prevent them from being finally discharged to the seas and ocean.
03
Prevention
Prevention of litter, macro and microplastics to enter the river by collecting it from its waste stream before it can enter the river and by developing biodegradable alternatives for currently non-degradable polluting products, to avoid they will further be used and arrive in the river as litter.
Partners
INSPIRE’s consortium is composed of 26 partners with complementary expertise and a good balance of academia, industry, communication specialists and soft skills organizations, who will work together towards a number of successful solutions that can find their way to the market and put INSPIRE on the radar.