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Call for Topic 3 will be for IA, in order to enhance innovations produced by different actors of the agro-
food value chains, for the benefit of consumers and societies. In this call, participation of private
entities will be strongly encouraged.
Grant agreements for all three topics will be signed in 2019.
1.1.1. RIA Call – Topic 1: Water reuse and water desalination for agricultural and food
production
Challenge
In a scenario where the fresh water available for agriculture and food processing industries is not
enough to cover the current demand and additional gains in the water use efficiency are difficult to
achieve, re-using water for multiple purposes is a possible solution. The challenge, in this sense, is to
provide end-users with new more economically feasible water treatment technologies, taking into
account the main environmental, socio-economic and legal and/or institutional constraints regulating
the adoption of these technologies.
Scope
The reuse of wastewater is one of the main options available for water-supply decision-makers in the
field of a sustainable water and soil management, of agro-food chain production and agriculture.
However, in the Mediterranean, water reuse faces numerous barriers. Among them, regulatory, safety
risks, economic including energy concerns and social acceptance can be currently defined as the main
barriers considering that 1) safety risks (environment, human health) have been linked to the use of
improperly treated wastewater; 2) treatment costs particularly linked to the energy and 3) public
acceptance of reclaimed water varied according to its potential use. In addition, in the Mediterranean
area treated wastewaters usually have the drawback of their salinity levels, which might limit the mid,
long-term crop productivity. As a consequence, energy-efficient desalinization and other treatments,
comprising technological and nature-based solutions (NBS), should be developed for treating both
wastewater from municipal and industrial use. The seawater desalinization is an important source of
water resources in certain areas of the Mediterranean region. Issues regarding the disposal and
treatment of brines after seawater or wastewater treatment should be considered to ensure a low
impact of water treatment on the environment, or in the fishery practices. On the other hand, treated
wastewater can be also a source of nutrients, particularly for crop production, which should be better
valorised and wastewater treatment technologies able to selectively maintain important macro-
nutrients should be promoted. Innovative technologies, including those based on bioengineering and
advanced materials such as nano-materials, and techniques like NBS and ecosystem-based
approaches, may be developed to increase energy efficiency reduce pollutants loads including
pathogens and emergent pollutants (i.e. pharmaceutical residues), in order to produce water of
appropriate quality regarding the uses. For irrigation, appropriate practices and techniques should also
promoted to ensure good water reuse applications conditions at field level, to avoid clogging of drip
irrigation systems, soil degradation and nutrient leaching to the environment. In addition, wastewater
treatment techniques have to be developed not only for a direct reuse of water for agriculture, but
also for an indirect use, considering hybrid approach including aquifer storage recovery. The recharge
of reclaimed water into the subsoil can be considered as an additional treatment, reducing the cost
and energy needs. Recharge into coastal aquifers may be considered as a hydraulic barrier against salt
water intrusion. Finally, multidisciplinary studies should be enriched by analysing the economic and
environmental suitability of the current implementation of the system, taking also into account the
agronomic and food processing validation needed for its implementation, as well as the public
acceptance. Under this proposed multi-actor approach, different type of entities should be involved in
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the proposals; industrial entities (including SMEs) should play an important role, having a great
potential for further replication and market uptake of the solutions developed. Innovative
development of circular economy (i.e. zero waste concept, nutrients reuse) could also be proposed in
the field of agro food chain production, considering the recycling of production water, in terms of
quantity and quality.
Expected impact
Depending on the specific approach to be defined by the submitted proposal, some of the specific
expected impacts should be achieved:
Increasing the quantity, quality and safety of non-conventional water use for agriculture and
food processing (direct use and indirect use of reclaimed water, i.e. artificial recharge, aquifer
storage recovery approach)
Increasing the efficiency of water management systems with particular regard to energy and
water smart infrastructures
Decreasing the cost of treating wastewater and, particularly, desalination by using more
energy-efficient processes
Obtaining socio-economic, environmental (soil conservation and nutrient pollution in
particular) and technical information to influence Mediterranean countries policies in terms
of wastewater use
Deriving new solutions for brine disposal considering a holistic approach for desalination water
Table 2. Supporting information for the Section 1 Call for Proposals, Topic 1: “Water reuse”
Type of action
Research & Innovation Action (RIA)
Total indicative amount allocated to this Call
€ 6,1 million
Funding level
According to Horizon 2020 rules
Funding rate: 100%
Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)
3 to 5
Expected number of grants
Up to 3 (projects up to € 2,033 million each, – indicative
amount)
Eligibility conditions for participation
Please refer to section 5.1.1
The standard admissibility (section 5.1.2) and eligibility
conditions (section 5.1.3) apply.
Submission and evaluation procedure
Two-stage application procedure. For the first stage, a
short proposal (maximum 10 pages) must be submitted
by the first deadline. Successful applicants in the first
stage will be invited to submit a full proposal (maximum
70 pages) for the second stage. A timeline for the
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