Un aliado de confianza en investigación ambiental

Landscape Hydro-Physiology – emergent processes and their global relevance. Integrating plant hydraulics, soil-plant-groundwater interactions and remote sensing to understand how water constrains vegetation structure, function and resilience across scales.

RYC2024-050582-I

Ayuda RYC2024-050582-I financiada por MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por el FSE+

Start Date: 01/09/2026 – End Date: 31/08/2031

Tracking marine pollutant cocktails and their ecological impact with advanced analytical, technological and toxicological tools

101291975

SEATRACE will deepen knowledge of marine pollution by characterizing complex cocktails of marine pollutants (MrPs) in coastal regions of the Atlantic, Arctic and Indian Oceans, and Mediterranean Sea. This will be accomplished by determining hazardous MrPs and assessing their toxicity on key marine organisms across global climate change and their cumulative effects on marine communities and human health. Active and passive sampling approaches, bio/chemical analytical methods, aquatic sensors and drones, and next-generation cumulative risk assessment will be applied. A key innovation is the integration of the monitoring tools with effect-based methods (EBMs) including effect-directed analysis (EDA) to identify and prioritize hotspots at risk and toxic components within MrPs mixtures, enhancing the accuracy of ecological and human health risk assessments. The human exposure to seafood-borne MrPs will be assessed in seafood health and economy, providing strategies to enhance seafood safety confidence and support fisheries trust.

SEATRACE will strengthen European Union (EU)-India research collaboration on MrPs and plastic litter through the joint work of EU and Indian organization. Additionally, the Indian partners will apply innovative pilot solutions to reduce marine plastics at key hotspots, including waste recycling to meet national requirements. They will contribute with expertise across the seawater management value chain, from knowledge providers to end-users. SEATRACE will address the following mid-term outcomes: i) exploitation of four monitoring tools including Passive sampling (chemical, plastic litter, and parasitic copepods), bacterial and human cell-based new approach methods (NAMs), optical sensors and drones and the application of EBMs/EDA to marine environments; ii) development of robust, evidence-based tools and models for risk assessment and policy-making at local and global scales; and iii) fostering EU–India cooperation for harmonized and effective protection of marine ecosystems and public health.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101291975.

Start Date: 01/09/2026 – End Date: 31/08/2030

Decoding transplacental transfer of environmental chemicals – from active transporters to fetal growth (PLACEXPO)

LEO26-1-21117

Pregnant women are routinely exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals, yet their impact on fetal development depends on how much reaches the fetal compartment. The placenta regulates this — but is not impermeable: chemicals can cross it, accumulate in its tissue, or be actively transported to the fetus. Mechanisms governing inter-individual variability in this transfer are poorly understood, and no study has tested whether placental transporter expression is a key determinant. PLACEXPO asks: does variability in placental active transport gene expression explain why identical prenatal exposures lead to different fetal transfer and growth outcomes? Embedded within the INSULIN mother-child cohort (2021–ongoing; Hospital Joan XXIII, Tarragona), directed by the PI of PLACEXPO, the project builds on PREGO (placental and maternal chemical exposome) and FEMME (placental metabolic transformation) to address the missing piece: cord serum chemical profiling to calculate compound-specific transfer ratios, and transporter gene expression quantification in placental tissue. Preliminary data from 23 INSULIN dyads show physicochemical properties cannot predict placental partitioning — direct motivation for the active transport hypothesis. Three objectives structure the project: (i) quantify >600 environmental chemicals in cord serum and calculate compound-specific placental transfer ratios; (ii) characterize expression of five placental active transporter genes (ABCB1, ABCG2, ABCC2, SLCO2B1, SLC22A8) by RT-qPCR; and (iii) integrate chemical, molecular and clinical data to test whether transporter expression determines inter-individual variability in placental transfer and mediates its consequences for fetal growth. PLACEXPO will deliver the first population-level framework linking the placental chemical exposome, its molecular determinants and fetal growth — positioning the placenta as an active regulator of prenatal chemical risk.

Start Date: 01/08/2026 – End Date: 31/01/2028

An integrated and circular approach for private financing of the urban green transition, through nature carbon dioxide removal credits from innovative applications of biochars

101294583

The EU has set ambitious targets in the European Green Deal to transform Europe into a climate-neutral, resilient and sustainable economy. Municipalities and local governments are essential actors in the green transition. However, municipalities and other local authorities are struggling to implement this legislative framework, mainly due to lack of financial resources.

Voluntary carbon market offers one of the paths for municipalities to generate financial resources. The EU has introduced the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Framework (CRCF, EU/2024/3012), creating the first EU-wide voluntary framework for certifying carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products. Within the voluntary carbon credit market, different types of credits exist, one of which is Nature-based CDR Credits. These credits offer verifiable carbon removal along with significant co-benefits for biodiversity, water systems, and community resilience.

Amsterdam municipality together with other partners formulated LIFE NATURECDR project, which offers a novel, circular and integrated strategy to finance and accelerate the urban green transition at municipal level. The main concept of the LIFE NATURECDR approach is that local authorities can use urban landscaping waste for the local production of biochar, which serves a dual purpose as carbon sink (= CDR credit part) and as solution for urban climate, nature and energy challenges, e.g., reducing pollution, increasing water retention and improving soil health (= Nature credit part). The resulting Nature CDR credits are then sold to private parties, many of which are urgently looking for high-integrity credits to enter the voluntary carbon credit market. Income from credit sales is then used for green transition projects, which includes urban nature investments to ensure continuous feedstock for biochar production.

OBJECTIVES
The main objective of LIFE NATURECDR project is to demonstrate that biochar-based Nature CDR credits are an effective and circular strategy to finance and accelerate the green transition in urban spaces. Biochars from landscaping residues can resolve urgent urban nature, climate, and energy challenges, whilst simultaneously providing a solid foundation for the private financing of the transition. To do so, Amsterdam will develop a transparent, high-integrity and trustworthy financial model in which the CO2 removal by biochar and the generated nature-positive benefits will be carefully registered and valued in a scientific manner. Amsterdam will use the credit revenues to accelerate the green transition (nature, climate, energy).

The more specific project objectives are:
- To install and operate a small-scale industrial pyrolysis unit (300 t/a production capacity) and produce and field test high-quality designer biochars for a variety of urban applications
- To develop biochar LCAs and product passports to validate CDR Nature Credits and to determine which application(s) create(s) the highest value
- To maximize citizen science participation in field test monitoring and data collection
- To generate novel insights into the impact trade-offs when allocating landscaping residues
- To develop a transparent and trustworthy private financing model for investments in the green transition via Nature CDR credit sales
- To identify and engage with potential private buyers of Nature CDR credits
- To showcase project replicability through replication activities in Barcelona (Spain) and Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (Germany)
- To develop a toolkit of project deliverables to facilitate adoption across EU local authorities
- To actively investigate useful applications of by-products from biochar production
- To achieve these objectives and to facilitate further replication, the project will actively involve EU municipalities and other stakeholders through targeted communication and dissemination activities.

Start Date: 01/08/2026 – End Date: 31/07/2031

Diagnóstico ambiental de contaminantes orgânicos em águas superficiais: análise de compostos alvo e triagem de suspeitos em diferentes contextos de uso do solo

24/21596-3

Surface water pollution by organic compounds requires pollution control measures to protect aquatic life and human health. This need is even more urgent in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events resulting from climate change, which impact the dispersion and dissipation of these contaminants. Thousands of compounds can reach rivers running through urban and agricultural areas, requiring studies capable of identifying a relevant number of substances to enable the identification of pollution sources and comprehensive risk assessments. Thus, with the help of multi-criteria tools, it is possible to identify the contaminants that should be prioritized and controlled in different Brazilian regions. In this research project, an assessment of the presence of a large number of organic compounds—including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial compounds—will be carried out in river basins located in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and São Paulo (SP). The State of RS was chosen because it features different characteristics in agricultural and industrial areas, as well as distinct climate conditions, thereby expanding knowledge on how different activities affect surface water quality.

In this study, surface water sampling campaigns will be conducted over the course of one year at various points along the different rivers under evaluation. The contaminants will be analyzed using target analysis approaches to determine around 270 compounds using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS techniques. In addition, samples will also be analyzed using a suspect screening methodology via LC-QTOF MS, allowing for the verification of approximately 3500 contaminants. The detected concentrations will be correlated with land use and occupation in the different studied regions to identify the main sources of contamination. Finally, a risk assessment for the aquatic ecosystem will be performed, and the most concerning contaminants in each region will be identified. As a result of this project, it will be possible to provide an environmental diagnosis of these regions regarding the presence of organic contaminants in surface waters, supporting decision-making within public policies aimed at pollution control and environmental protection.

Start Date: 01/07/2026 – End Date: 30/06/2029

REDUCING PLASTICULTURE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES AND ENHANCING RESILIENCE IN MEDITERRANEAN AGRICULTURE (MED-AGRIPLAST)

PCI2026-177439-1

This work has been supported by the MED-AGRIPLAST project (PRIMA/SECTION 2 2025 - MULTI-TOPIC). The project is funded by the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), co-funded by the European Union, and by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades / Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) through grant number PCI2026-177439-1.

Start Date: 01/06/2026 – End Date: 31/05/2029

PELIGROSIDAD NATURAL (PELIGRO)

202630E160

PROYECTOS INTRAMURALES CSIC(2025)

Start Date: 01/06/2026 – End Date: 31/01/2027

Implantación de un sistema de tratamiento basado en la naturaleza (SAT) con barrera reactiva para la eliminación de nitratos en los vertidos del área del Mar Menor (Murcia). (DESNITRIFICA)

ENTIDAD FINANCIADORA: CDTI/Aqualia (FCC). Fondos Europeos FEDER

Start Date: 08/05/2026 – End Date: 31/03/2029

Capacitación pública en evaluación y gestión de riesgos naturales

INTER25006

Plan de Transferencia, Intercambio y Gestión de Conocimiento para el Desarrollo de la Cooperación Española en América Latina y el Caribe INTERCOONECTA

Start Date: 01/05/2026 – End Date: 31/07/2027

ACTRIS NEXT

101270574

Start Date: 01/05/2026 – End Date: 31/10/2030