CRF presents its role in ATLANTIS at the project kick-off in Brussels

Brussels, 7 October 2026 – Circular Research Foundation (CRF) took part in the official kick-off meeting of ATLANTIS – Advancing Trans-regional Aqua Networks for Technology and Innovative Synergies, held at the North Sweden European Office in Brussels.

The meeting brought together the 24 organisations of the European consortium, coordinated by Luleå University of Technology (LTU), to launch the three-year programme of activities and align the first operational priorities of the project. ATLANTIS is funded under the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument and has total eligible costs of approximately €6.26 million.

CRF was represented by Monica Bianco, CEO, who presented the Foundation’s place-based RTO model and its contribution to the project.

Within ATLANTIS, CRF will play a strategic role in connecting technological innovation with regional uptake, investment, policy and replication. Its contribution will focus on the conditions that allow advanced solutions to move from demonstration to effective adoption within different regional ecosystems, with particular attention to Less Developed and Transition Regions.

CRF will lead activities on impact, scalability and replication and on policy, sustainability and clustering, while also supporting engagement with ERDF Managing Authorities and Smart Specialisation Strategy bodies. The Foundation will contribute to the Interregional Investment Roadmap, helping translate project results into regional development opportunities, investment pathways and future deployment strategies.

The Brussels kick-off marks a further step in CRF’s international development, bringing a model initially tested in Salento into a wider European cooperation framework and strengthening its role as a research and innovation organization for territorial transitions.

Through ATLANTIS, CRF will contribute to the creation of interregional value chains capable of connecting research, technology, institutions and regional development across Europe.