REGENSOILL
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Living Labs for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields
Total cost € 11972783.75 EU contribution € 11877783.75 Funding Programme Horizon Europe

REGENSOILL will establish a network of transdisciplinary Living Labs (LLs) to advance the remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields across Europe. Brownfields are widespread sources of soil degradation, undermining ecosystem services, public health and opportunities for sustainable urban development. The project responds directly to the EU Soil Mission objective of achieving healthy soils by 2030 through co-created, demonstrable and replicable solutions.Five LLs located in Birmingham (UK), Budapest (HU), Lille Metropole (FR), Upper Silesia (PL) and a Baltic cluster (EE–LV–LT) will act as real-world testbeds. Each LL brings together municipalities, universities, SMEs, citizens and NGOs in a quadruple helix approach. They will co-design, trial and evaluate nature-based and circular economy approaches to soil remediation, including biochar amendments, phytomanagement and integrated water-soil buffering systems.The project couples technical pilots with structured stakeholder engagement and soil literacy campaigns. A standardised framework for soil literacy assessment will be developed, collecting feedback from diverse citizens, pupils, students and professionals. These actions ensure that co-creation processes are inclusive, measurable and scalable across regions.Digital twin dashboards, baseline studies and BACI monitoring designs will provide harmonised indicators aligned with EUSO-19 and brownfield-specific KPIs, enabling comparability and replication. Governance and finance models will be tested to ensure pathways are legally robust, economically viable and socially accepted. An associated governmental partner provides high-level feedback on policy coherence and soil law.Expected impacts include: improved soil quality and ecosystem services, tested and replicable NbS-based remediation models, stronger municipal capacity, enhanced citizen soil literacy and co-creation standards, and full integration into the SOILL network. REGENSOILL contributes to the EU Soil Mission by generating harmonised evidence and tested remediation pathways that support the transition from degraded brownfields to healthy, multifunctional and climate-resilient soils.

HORIZON-MISS-2025-05

Thematic areas

Biodiversity

Project contribution to Mission Soil’s:

Specific objectives

  • 1. Reduce land degradation relating to desertification
    Not targeted
  • 2. Conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks
    Not targeted
  • 3. No net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils
    Not targeted
  • 4. Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
    Not targeted
  • 5. Prevent erosion
    Not targeted
  • 6. Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops
    Not targeted
  • 7. Reduce the EU global footprint on soils
    Not targeted
  • 8. Increase soil literacy in society across Member States
    Not targeted

Operational objectives

  • 1. Build capacities and the knowledge base for soil stewardship
    Not targeted
  • 2. Co-create and upscale place-based innovations to improve soil health in all places
    Not targeted
  • 3. Develop an integrated EU soil monitoring system and track progress towards soil health
    Not targeted
  • 4. Engage with the soil user community and society at large
    Not targeted

Innovation hotspots

  • 1. Carbon farming
    Not targeted
  • 2. Soil pollution and restoration
    Not targeted
  • 3. Soil biodiversity including the microbiome
    Not targeted
  • 4. Circular economy solutions
    Not targeted

Cross-cutting dimensions

  • 1. Business
    Not targeted
  • 2. Digital
    Not targeted
  • 3. Territorial
    Not targeted
  • 4. International
    Not targeted

© European Union, 2024. Image sources: Adobe.Stock.com