ATLANTIS: Interregional Value Chain for Blue Transition
On 1 October 2026, CRF starts its activities in ATLANTIS – Advancing Trans-regional Aqua Networks for Technology and Innovative Synergies, a strategic European project funded under the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument.
The I3 Instrument supports the development of interregional innovation value chains, connecting regional ecosystems with complementary technological, industrial and research capacities and facilitating investment and the uptake of innovation across European regions. Within this framework, ATLANTIS will establish new interregional value chains for advanced underwater technologies and create innovation diffusion pathways between More Developed Regions and Less Developed and Transition Regions.
Within ATLANTIS, CRF contributes to capacity building and to connecting regional innovation ecosystems with European value chains, working on the regulatory and institutional conditions for technology deployment, impact and scalability, investment pathways, policy uptake and replication. Particular attention is given to the interaction with regional actors, Smart Specialisation Strategies and ERDF ecosystems, supporting the capacity of territories to participate in and benefit from emerging European blue-economy value chains.
ATLANTIS combines underwater robotics, advanced sensing, artificial intelligence and digital technologies and will demonstrate integrated solutions through eight core use cases in different European test environments.
The demonstrations address seabed characterisation, AI-based marine species detection, underwater cultural heritage, munitions dumpsites and chemical pollutants, water-quality monitoring, pollutant detection and removal, infrastructure inspection and maintenance, and seabed restoration.
The test beds therefore perform a dual function: validating technologies in real operating environments and connecting technology providers with SMEs, research organisations, public authorities and regional ecosystems, providing the operational basis for an interregional underwater-technology value chain.
ATLANTIS has total eligible costs of approximately €6.26 million and brings together 24 partners from across Europe.
ATLANTIS includes a dedicated Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) mechanism: €720,000 will be allocated to SMEs through two open calls, combining cascade funding and mentoring to support up to 12 additional SME-led pilot projects complementary to the eight core use cases. This mechanism is designed to extend the project beyond its initial partnership, enabling SMEs and start-ups to develop and test additional applications and accelerating their integration into the emerging value chain.
This combination of research capacity, technology providers, industrial actors, public authorities and regional innovation organisations, together with the additional SMEs selected through the FSTP open calls, provides the structure through which ATLANTIS aims to move from individual technology demonstrations towards interregional investment, market deployment and locally anchored innovation capacity.
ATLANTIS runs for 36 months, from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2029.
