Project hub

Contaminated sites managed by in situ treatments always require direct contact between the remediation agent and the contaminant. In-situ remediation is therefore limited to highly permeable soils to ensure proper distribution of the remediation agents into the contaminated matrices. However, the FRAC-IN technology enables remedial agents to be injected into sites with a low permeability. It combines direct-push drilling – an innovative delivery method used for emplacement of remediation agents in situ without needing to install permanent wells – with pneumatic and hydraulic fracturing to inject remediation agents into low permeable contaminated soils. The FRAC-IN technology creates secondary porosity at the same time as applying the reactive substances, enabling the creation of large reactive zones in the contaminated aquifer.

To reduce the damage to ecosystems and natural biodiversity while also maintaining food production standards, novel solutions are needed to strike a balance. The EU-funded TRIBIOME project will work towards this goal by researching and improving data on soil, human, animal and plant microbiomes, as well as their interconnectivity. From this data, the project will be able to create solutions for reducing the food industry’s resource needs and environmental impact, adopting healthier plant-based food chains and enhancing circularity. To improve their efficiency, a multi-actor approach framework will be created involving stakeholders, policymakers, investors and citizens.

Care-Peat will demonstrate innovative technologies and partnerships that achieve net emissions savings from novel restoration and accounting techniques in NWE. Within Care-Peat, nature organisations work with landowner groups to demonstrate carbon savings potential using pilots ranging from 10 to 250 ha. Five knowledge institutes from 3 countries work together to develop and test new techniques for improved peatland carbon assessment and accounting to highlight the region’s natural potential for significant carbon reduction. 

In the microscopic world, soil is teeming with life. But it is only since the advent of high-volume genetic sequencing that researchers could begin to catalogue these diverse organisms. The EU-funded DIVOBIS project looks at the variety of viruses found in soil and how they impact the cycling of elements carried out by microorganisms. It will also look at the release of greenhouse gases which viruses spur by killing their microbial hosts. Using isotope analysis and genetic material from soil samples, the project will directly measure the role viruses play. This could also lead to improved understanding of how soil viruses and microbes influence climate change.

The SOILCRATES consortium includes 21 partners from across the quadruple helix that fully acknowledge the importance of healthy soils and wish to work together on the tasks defined by the EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’. The ambition of SOILCRATES is to create four sustainable and dynamic Living Labs (LLs), to monitor soil health and biodiversity beyond the state-of-the-art, to enhance soil structure and health, and to increase soil literacy in society. During the project lifetime, four LLs based in the Netherlands, France, Ireland, and Spain, will be improving and monitoring the soil structure, soil life, and crop-growing conditions of mineral soils. In these LLs, stakeholders will work with the experimental sites (ESs) land managers to foster innovations and practices suited for the local context. Through co-creation and co-learning, the LLs will increase their knowledge of soils and the underlying soil processes.