Water Knowledge Europe 2025 – Winter Edition

To see the full agenda, please click here. In Europe’s path toward a climate-neutral and circular economy, water stands as both a vital enabler and a growing challenge. Scarcity, pollution, and competition for resources demand a shift from linear to circular water management, turning water use into a driver of resilience and sustainability.

Anchored in the Zero Pollution Action Plan and the Water Resilience Strategy, this transition calls for innovation and systemic change across industries. The event will feature three flagship Horizon Europe projects - RESURGENCE, CORNERSTONE, and R3VOLUTION showcasing cutting-edge solutions for industrial water reuse, resource recovery, and pollution reduction.

To see the full agenda, please click here. Climate change is redefining Europe’s relationship with water. Scarcity, competing demands, and rising uncertainty have become immediate challenges requiring innovative solutions.

Across Europe, projects such as MARCLAIMED, AWARD, and RECREATE - together forming the AWR4CLIMATE cluster (Alternative Water Resources for Climate)—are pioneering ways to harness alternative water resources through aquifer recharge, smarter reservoir management, and water reuse schemes.

These innovations connect with projects like CIRSEAU and BOOST-IN, which integrate them into a broader framework of water circularity, bridging innovation, governance, and policy. The Water Projects Europe event unites these five initiatives to tell a single story: how demonstrations and systemic strategies can converge to advance Europe’s Water-Smart Society and Economy, aligning water circularity with climate adaptation and EU policy goals.

This first session opens the Winter Edition of WKE 2025, welcoming participants and framing the event’s purpose as the central platform to connect the European water community around Horizon Europe’s upcoming opportunities.

- Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe)

- Andrea Rubini, Director of Operations, Water Europe

- Bertrand Vallet, DG RTD, Water Unit, European Commission

- Ivan Stefanic, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)

- Benjamin Lopez, ANR, CEO of Water4All

- Giulio Pattanaro, REA, European Commission

- Rita Rinaldo, European Space Agency

- Hans van Leeuwen, STOWA

- Alain Mestat, H2ovortex

- Birte Wolff, BayFOR

- David Smith, WE&B

-Emilie Neveu, HES-SO Valais Wallis

- Franck Le Gall, EGM

- Jan-Terje Sørlie, Guard Automation AS

- Kasper Hildén, WAI Water Intelligence Technologies

- Magdalena Sikorowska, ICLEI Europe

- Naomi Timmer, H2O People

- Sotiris Paraskevopoulos, CERTH

- Andrea Rubini, Water Europe

The ZeroPollution4Water Cluster (ZP4WC) represents a collective European effort to advance the goal of a pollution-free water future, in line with the European Green Deal and the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan. Bringing together 15 EU-funded projects, the Cluster acts as a collaborative platform connecting research, innovation, and policy to protect water resources from pollution across all scales.

By linking projects focused on pollution prevention, detection, monitoring, treatment, and governance, ZP4WC provides a holistic understanding of pollution pathways, mitigation strategies, and evidence-based support for EU policymaking. The Cluster’s activities contribute directly to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the EU Water Resilience Strategy.

The ZP4WC event of 4 December 2025 in Brussels during Water Knowledge Europe 2025 Winter Edition, marks a key milestone. It will serve to welcome and onboard eight new projects, revisit the structure and leadership of the Working Groups, and define a common roadmap for future collaboration. Participants will engage with representatives of the European Commission (REA, DG RTD, DG ENV) in strategic discussions on the future of the Cluster, fostering stronger links between research outcomes and policy needs.

The event will reinforce ZP4WC’s strategic position in the European water research landscape, enhance synergy among projects, and strengthen governance for the years ahead. The meeting will conclude with breakout sessions to shape Working Group future action plans and a shared vision for a resilient and pollution-free Europe.

- Introduction of the event by Andrea Rubini, Water Europe

- Paul Webb, REA
- Aneta Willems, CINEA.

Key numbers and highlights of these past years, e.g. main events, publications

- Rui Martins, H2OforAll.

Flash pitches from the 8 new projects: overview, contributions, and expected synergies with the cluster.

- LIFE PRISTINE (Mireia Marcé Escalé)
- LIFE ELEKTRA (Miguel Capilla Lloris)
- LIFE CASCADE (Cristian Carboni)
- D4RUNOFF (Evdokia Bairampa)
- NIAGARA (Jaume Cotolí Sancho, Silvia Rodriguez Nuévalos)
- UNIVERSWATER (Pierre Lovera)
- URBAN M2O (Luca Vezzaro)
- UrbaQuantum (Elisa Morón López)

A large panel discussion bringing together all the 15 projects currently part of the cluster, along with representatives from REA, DG RTD, DG ENVI and CINEA.

- Sofia Pachini, European Commission
- Bertrand Vallet, European Commission

Projects will have the opportunity to actively engage in discussion and pose questions to the EC representatives about the cluster, its future steps, and upcoming opportunities

Each Working Group will gather around a dedicated table to discuss priorities, outline an action plan for the coming year, and confirm or renew its leadership. This session will also provide an opportunity to merge, reorganise, reshuffle, or establish new Working Groups where appropriate.

Each WG reports back to the plenary with an overview of their discussions, including objectives, achievements, and proposed next steps.