UiS has received 6 million NOK in EU funding for a new research and innovation project addressing the combined impacts of chemical pollution, emerging contaminants, marine litter, and climate change on marine ecosystems.
EU Horizon Europe call (HORIZON-CL6-2025-01)
15 partners from 8 countries (Italy, Norway, Spain, Portugal, UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, India)
"We did not expect it! And when we saw the score - we could not do any better," says Professor Daniela M. Pampanin, Department of Chemistry, Bioscience and Environmental Engineering, who will lead the UiS part of the project.
The new research project is called HARMONY (Hazard Assessment of Marine Mixtures and New Pollutant Synergies), and the goal is to predict impacts of pollutants in the ocean. It is funded under the EU Horizon Europe call, scored maximum on the application (15 out of 15 points), and has a total budget of €6 million (~60 million NOK).
Polluted oceans
The project addresses the combined impacts of chemical pollution, emerging contaminants, marine litter, and climate change on marine ecosystems and human health. It focuses on real-world exposure to pollutant mixtures and develops new analytical tools, biosensors, and AI-based models to assess risks and predict impacts across species and food webs. The project will validate its approaches through field work in eight pilot sites across Europe and India, enabling context-specific risk assessments.
"Half of the consortium consists of Indian institutions, highlighting the strong partnership between EU countries and India and our shared commitment to working together to reduce marine pollution," says Pampanin.
Developing analytical tools
The HARMONY project also links science with environmental economics and stakeholder engagement to support the EU’s zero-pollution vision.
"HARMONY will deliver high-impact, interdisciplinary research that addresses environmental challenges of global relevance and societal importance," Pampanin says.
The goal of the project is to clarify and predict the cumulative impacts of various types of marine pollutants on organisms, ecosystems and ultimately human health, including their interactions with climate-related stressors. With this aim, the project will develop and apply unique analytical tools, effectbased methods, biosensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven predictive models, focusing on pollutant mixtures, bioaccumulation, biomagnification and toxicity pathways across multiple biological levels and species.
As part of the project, UiS will recruit one PhD candidate, fund a two-year research position, and host visiting researchers.