The project MAELSTROM (Smart technology for MArinE Litter SusTainable RemOval and Management) coordinated by CNR-ISMAR presented on March 4 2025 in Bruxelles the resutls of its activities in the fight agains marine litter pollutionin our ocean, seas and waters during the European Ocean Days 2025, within the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters Forum 2025 in the session dedicated to prevention and elimination of pollution in our oceans, seas and waters.
The project scientific coordinator Fantina Madricardo illustrated the technologies successfully implemented and testes within the project: the Bubble Barrier installed in the Aver river estuary in northern Portugal and the AI driven robotic Seabed Cleaning Platform (AI Driven Robotic Seabed Cleaning Platform) to remove marine mcro litter form the seafloor that was tested in the Venice lagoon and in the coastal area by Tecnalia (Spain), CNRS-LIRMM (France) e ST srl (Italy) with the CNR-ISMAR support.
In total, the technologies collected more than 4 tonnes of waste and tested different processes for their intelligent separation and recycling into new products for the market, developing a total of six technologies that reached TRL7. After four years of monitoring at the sites where the removal technologies were implemented, the integrated environmental impact assessment showed that the technologies did not negatively impact the environment and contributed to improving its overall conditions.
In addition, the project focused on the systematic involvement of citizens, local authorities and stakeholders at all levels to be able to reduce waste generation and thus prevent pollution at source. The successes of the and issues addressed by the project were summarized in the MAELSTROM Legacy Document.
