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HEDoctoral network2023–2028

IN2AQUAS · Human footprint on water from remote cold areas to the tropical belt. INtegrated Approach TO secure water QUAlity by exploiting Sustainable processes

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2023-09-01 → 2028-02-29
EU contribution
€4,052,364
Participants
22
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN-JD

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners. CORDIS does not always give exact coordinates for projects before 2014. These points are placed at city or country level.

Results in brief

Human footprint on water from remote cold areas to the tropical belt.INtegrated Approach TO secure water QUAlity by exploiting Sustainable processes

Access to water is a fundamental human right, and clean water and sanitation are key goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. However, industrialization, population growth, and climate change are intensifying water scarcity and pollution, turning water and food security into major global challenges. Ensuring safe and clean water requires coordinated actions, including sustainable materials, advanced treatment technologies, responsible resource management, and circular economy approaches. Water quality is particularly affected by Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs), human-derived compounds detected at trace levels in natural waters, whose combined effects on ecosystems and human health require systematic assessment. IN2AQUAS is a multidisciplinary European Doctoral Network that trains researchers to develop sustainable, innovative, and circular solutions for water protection, purification, and reuse. It brings together universities, research centers, and companies, offering intersectoral training that combines scientific excellence, transferable skills, international collaboration, and double doctoral degrees. The program focuses on four interlinked research areas: 1. Assessing and predicting water quality under environmental stress using advanced non-target analysis of known and emerging contaminants. 2. Restoring water quality through green, zero-waste technologies, including biochar, carbon quantum dots and phytomining-derived photocatalysts. 3. Scaling up and integrating hybrid purification systems based on nanofiltration and advanced oxidation processes, optimized via life cycle assessment. 4. Recovering nutrients such as phosphorus and ammonia for reuse in aquaculture and agriculture, supporting circular economy and climate resilience. All systems operate across diverse and extreme conditions — aquaculture farms, arid and cold regions — demonstrating robustness and adaptability.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

IN2AQUAS will train 15 doctoral candidates (DCs) for facing the complex challenge of envisaging the pollutant impact on the environment and of tailoring the proper treatments for the production of safe and clean water -also in extreme environments- using green approaches through high quality research, training, management and innovation. This goal will be attained via a structured training-through-research programme, consisting of original individual research projects and education on technical and transferable skills. Experts from 10-degree awarding universities, 4 national research centers, 1 associated university, 4 companies and a highly qualified mindfulness-in-the-workplace facilitator will join forces to facilitate the successful training programme that will allow DCs to be awarded with a double doctoral degree in two different countries. These aims will be pursued by applying different actions, which include the study and development of innovative technologies against the water pollution, paying attention not only to the sustainability of the water management systems (in a circular economy vision), but also to the reuse of water, the recovery of nutrients and the green synthesis of functional materials. The developed technologies will be tailored to variegated scenarios with particular emphasis to three case studies: aquaculture, arid areas and (remote) cold areas. The overall research goals will imply three main steps: 1) the assessment of water quality and the prediction of its response toward the increased environmental stresses; 2) restore water quality while approaching the zero waste discharge and 3) scale up and process integration. The multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and intersectoral network will forge creative entrepreneurial and innovative scientists, who will be equipped with the skills, tools, insights and flexibility that enable them to be the next generation of Urban Water System management innovators.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO · TorinoCoordinatorItaly
  • AALBORG UNIVERSITET · AalborgDenmark
  • ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA · BolognaItaly
  • ANONYMI ETAIREIA VIOMICHANIKIS EREUNAS, TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS KAI ERGASTIRIAKON DOKIMON, PISTOPOIISIS KAI POIOTITAS · VOLOSGreece
  • AQUAMOB LTD · AthensCity levelGreece
  • B4C APS · AARHUS CDenmark
  • CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES ENERGETICAS MEDIOAMBIENTALES Y TECNOLOGICAS · MADRIDSpain
  • CLERMONT AUVERGNE INP · Aubiere CedexFrance
  • DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET · Kongens LyngbyDenmark
  • INSTITUT MINES-TELECOM · PalaiseauFrance
  • INSTITUT NATIONAL DE L ENVIRONNEMENT INDUSTRIEL ET DES RISQUES - INERIS · Verneuil En HalatteFrance
  • INSTITUTT FOR ENERGITEKNIKK STI · LillestrmNorway
  • OSLOMET - STORBYUNIVERSITETET · OsloNorway
  • PANEPISTIMIO IOANNINON · IOANNINAGreece
  • Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A. · TorinoItaly
  • Sonja NossGermany
  • ULTRAAQUA AS · Aalborg ØstDenmark
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DEL PIEMONTE ORIENTALE AMEDEO AVOGADRO · VercelliItaly
  • UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA · ValenciaSpain
  • UNIVERSITE CLERMONT AUVERGNE · CLERMONT FERRANDFrance
  • UNIVERSITE DE TUNIS EL MANAR · TunisTunisia
  • Viva Materials Consulting Sociedad Limitada · SEVILLASpain

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union