European list of strategic research infrastructures expands into new areas

The ESFRI infrastructures are funded through European Member States and the European Commission H2020 programme and aim to foster broader coordination at national and European levels. ESFRI also supports structuring the European Research Area (ERA) through its interconnections with other programmes and initiatives, and in this respect refers to the importance of strengthening links with relevant Joint Programming Initiatives. Biotechnology, food and nutrition, material testing, holocaust and natural environment are among the topics covered by the six new pan-European research infrastructure projects that were announced as part of the 2018 ESFRI roadmap which was presented during a conference hosted by the Austrian EU Presidency in Vienna.
The 2018 roadmap now consists of 18 ‘ESFRI Projects’, which are new initiatives in development phase requiring around €2.9 billion of investments in the coming years, and 37 ‘ESFRI Landmarks’, identifying key research infrastructures that are being implemented or have been completed, representing an overall capital value of around €14.4 billion.
In the environment area we find eLtER: An infrastructure integrating ecosystem research sites across Europe (coordinated by Germany) of major interest for the Water JPI activities.