AQUARIUS – Transnational Access (TA) Call 1 Regional Lighthouse Access Call

The AQUARIUS project provides access to a diverse and integrated range of research infrastructures, including research vessels, marine mobile observation platforms, drones, satellite services, etc. This will enable addressing challenges and exploring opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability of marine and freshwater ecosystems.  

Objectives 

The AQUARIUS project’s first Transnational Access call aims to fund collaborative research projects addressing critical challenges in the Mission Ocean and Waters’ Regional Lighthouses: 

• The Atlantic/Arctic and the Danube-Black Sea lighthouses focus on protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity; 
• The Baltic and North Sea lighthouse focuses on a circular and carbon neutral blue economy; 
• The Mediterranean Sea lighthouse focuses on preventing and eliminating marine pollution.  

Applications that incorporate challenges and address regions from another lighthouse area are also eligible.  
The proposed activities should: 

• Integrate multiple research infrastructures, such as research vessels, drones, and data centres, to enable cross-disciplinary approaches for tackling marine and freshwater ecosystem challenges. 
• Develop sustainable methods for restoration and pollution mitigation aligned with the Mission’s goals and regional needs. 
• Produce impactful research that addresses biodiversity loss and pollution, supporting policy and effective management. 
• Collaborate with regional authorities and stakeholders to ensure practical, policy-relevant outcomes. 
• Promote knowledge exchange with clear strategies for scaling and replicating successful interventions across regions. Projects should also connect with relevant EU initiatives to contribute to overarching environmental objectives.  

Eligibility Criteria 

Transnational Access (TA) or Remote Access (RA) will be provided to selected ‘user groups’. User groups are teams of one or more researchers (users) led by a ‘user group leader’, also known as principal investigator (PI) or chief scientist. A user group eligible for TA must meet the following strict criteria: 

Geographic Criteria: 

• The PI and most team members must work in a country different from the infrastructure’s location, unless the access is provided by an international organisation such as the Joint Research Centre (JRC) or European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs). 
• Access for groups primarily from non-EU or non-Horizon Europe-associated countries is limited to 20% of the total access units. 

The Research Team: 

• Should have relevant expertise, and the PI or chief scientist must be qualified to lead the research. 
• Must ensure open dissemination of results, except for SMEs requiring confidentiality.  
• Must involve at least three partners from different countries to ensure international collaboration. 

Further details on the eligibility criteria can be found in the AQUARIUS Guidelines for Transnational Access (TA) Applications document.  

Budget:  

AQUARIUS has a total of EUR 8.1Million to support transnational access, including travel costs. The budget per project could be in the order of one million euros, or more for larger projects that integrate multiple infrastructures. 

Access to AQUARIUS research infrastructures is provided free of charge for selected user groups. This includes logistical, technological, and scientific support, as well as costs directly incurred during project implementation. Estimated travel and subsistence costs should be described in the application, and these can be negotiated after the positive scientific evaluation of the proposal.  

Further details on eligible and non-eligible costs can be found in AQUARIUS Guidelines for Transnational Access (TA) Applications document.  

Duration:  

Each research infrastructure has a specific timeframe during which it is available. Details for these specifications can be found in the Research Infrastructure Catalogue. Access is limited to the duration of the four-year AQUARIUS project (ending in February 2028). The earliest possible start date for projects is April 2025, and all projects must be completed by October 2027 to enable administrative finalisation.

AQUARIUS main page 

Transnational access calls 

AQUARIUS Guidelines for Transnational Access (TA) applications 

Research infrastructure catalogue 

Direct application for TA Call 1 

FAQ 

For general questions regarding AQUARIUS and the RI: aquarius@marine.ie  

For questions regarding the AQUARIUS TA calls and the scientific proposal evaluation: aquarius.eu@awi.de 

For technical questions about the AQUARIUS Transnational Access Platform (TAP): aquarius@inkode.it