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The PRIMA 2026 call – Thematic Area 1: Water Management in the Nexus is now open, dedicated to decentralized desalination of brackish water to support more efficient and resilient water resource management in the Mediterranean.
The call addresses a concrete need: to increase the availability of water for irrigation and reduce pressure on conventional freshwater sources, by developing solutions capable of making brackish water usable through decentralized, sustainable, replicable and adaptable systems across different Mediterranean contexts.
The call's focus: new water sources for Mediterranean territories
Water scarcity is one of the most relevant challenges for the Mediterranean. In many rural and periurban areas, the availability of freshwater is increasingly affected by climate change, overexploitation of aquifers, agricultural demand and the limitations of existing infrastructure.
In this context, desalination of brackish water can help expand the sources available for irrigation.
Applications for the water sector
The call covers areas directly linked to the water cycle and the technologies for its management:
- treatment of brackish water and non-conventional water resources;
- decentralized desalination for rural and periurban contexts;
- water reuse to support irrigation;
- water quality monitoring and process parameters;
- sustainable management of brines and environmental impacts;
- reduction of operational costs and energy consumption of plants;
- digital tools for monitoring, optimization and maintenance of systems.
The call encourages, where appropriate, the use of tools such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence and digital twin, as technologies to support plant management, treatment efficiency and service continuity.
Decentralized, sustainable and replicable solutions
The call does not reward mere technological experimentation: one of the central aspects of the call is the requirement for solutions designed to be applied in real contexts.
Projects must demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental sustainability of the proposed systems, with particular attention to the possibility of replicating them in different Mediterranean territories even after the conclusion of the funded projects.
In this perspective, cost containment, ease of management, quality of the water produced, management of process by-products and the ability to adapt solutions to local conditions become fundamental.
The call also values the involvement of farmers, water users' associations, SMEs, technology suppliers, research centers, public authorities and local communities, in order to foster projects built on the actual needs of the territories.
Deadlines and budget
The call has an indicative overall budget of 10.815 million euros.
The opening date is set for 20 March 2026, while the deadline for the submission of Stage 1 proposals is 15 May 2026 at 13:00 CET.
The call is part of PRIMA activities, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership that supports research and innovation in the fields of water management, agricultural systems and the agri-food chain, with an integrated approach to resources and ecosystems.
From the call to the sectoral debate: Accadueo 2026
The themes underlying the PRIMA 2026 call will be at the center of Accadueo 2026, scheduled for Bari on 26 and 27 November at the Nuova Fiera del Levante.
The nineteenth edition of the trade show dedicated to the civil and industrial water sector will offer an opportunity for discussion on water treatment, water resource reuse, desalination, digitalization of systems, sustainability and innovation applied to the water cycle.
