Innovative Earth Observation Services in support of Maritime Litter Detection and Ship Source Pollution Policies

Deadline: 25-Sep-25

The European Commission is accepting submissions for the Innovative Earth Observation Services in support of Maritime Litter Detection and Ship Source Pollution Policies topic.

Objectives

• The objective of this topic is to support R&I activities developing advanced technological solutions, that will allow to enhance the service provided to Member States for the detection of potential spills and identification of potential polluters.

Scope

• The project should address the following points:
  • Development and demonstration of space sensors, including the assessment of their operational boundaries and associated technical confidence levels, for the following use cases:
    • Estimation of oil spill volume and thickness, in conjunction with the identification of oil types using for instance oil spectral signatures;
    • Detection of oil spills in sea ice conditions;
    • Detection and identification of chemical products on the sea surface;
    • Detection and identification of sewage on the sea surface;
    • Detection and identification of garbage on the sea surface;
    • Detection and identification of exhaust gas cleaning system residue, and monitoring of single-vessel methane emissions;
    • Detection and identification of the possible polluter using vessel unique spectral signature;
    • Elements of detection of other pollution emissions might prove useful and would be considered a plus;
  • Design and improvement of use artificial intelligence methods for the identification of spills, sewage and garbage on the sea surface and their characteristics to achieve a higher level of timeliness, automation and confidence (e.g. avoid false alerts).

Funding Information

• Budget (EUR) – Year 2025: 5 000 000
• Contributions: around 5000000

Expected Outcomes

• Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
  • National maritime authorities and enforcement bodies will benefit from improved detection services to fulfil the requirements of the Ship Sourced Pollution Directive (SSPD), ultimately resulting in a higher environmental protection of sea waters and preservation of marine ecosystems;
  • Increased accuracy from the developed solutions will allow more efficient and quick responses to potential spill incidents.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entities eligible to participate:
  • Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from nonassociated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
  • A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
• To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.
• To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
  • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
    • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
    • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
  • countries associated to Horizon Europe;
    • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit EC.