Project Information :
Project Overview
MEDCONNECT: Mediterranean Lighthouse CONNECTivity Platform for Scaling Up Solutions and Regional Partnerships is the Mediterranean Lighthouse of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters.”
Funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe and coordinated by the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI), MEDCONNECT brings together 20 partners across the Mediterranean Basin. Over three years, the project will work through 14 national hubs and three regional living lab systems in Croatia, Cyprus, and Spain, where 15 innovative solutions will be tested and refined under real coastal conditions. MEDCONNECT will also support access to public and private investment, digital monitoring, behavioral change, and local capacity building, with the goal of scaling validated solutions and creating a lasting Mediterranean innovation ecosystem.
Our Role & Contribution
INNOVA will contribute to MEDCONNECT through innovation and technology transfer, ecosystem and stakeholder engagement, solution uptake and scale-up, business development and commercialisation, capacity building, and outreach.
The Challenge
The Mediterranean is under increasing pressure from climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and overexploitation of natural resources. Addressing these challenges requires more than isolated technological solutions: successful approaches need to be demonstrated in real environments, accepted by communities, connected with public policy and supported by the investment needed for replication and scale-up.
MEDCONNECT responds to this challenge by creating a Mediterranean-wide framework that connects innovation with real coastal needs. Its activities address all three major objectives of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”:
- Restoring marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity: Supporting approaches that contribute to ecosystem restoration and improved ecological resilience.
- Preventing and eliminating pollution: Promoting innovative approaches and collaboration to reduce pressures affecting Mediterranean waters.
- Building a climate-neutral and circular blue economy: Helping promising blue innovations move towards practical implementation, investment and broader market or societal uptake.
Consultation Process
Impact & Results
MEDCONNECT is expected to strengthen Mediterranean cooperation by bringing together environmental restoration, innovation, stakeholder participation and investment within a common Lighthouse framework. Through Living Lab demonstrations, digital monitoring, capacity building and investment mobilisation, the project aims to create stronger pathways for successful solutions to move from demonstration towards replication and wider implementation.
Its longer-term ambition is to contribute to a Mediterranean where environmental restoration and economic development reinforce one another: healthier ecosystems, reduced pollution, stronger innovation ecosystems and a more resilient, circular and climate-neutral blue economy.
The project is also intended to leave behind a stronger network of regional and national actors capable of continuing collaboration, knowledge exchange and innovation uptake beyond the funded project period.
