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National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences

A început etapa de construcție a componentelor românești ale infrastructurii DANUBIUS-RI!

Bucharest, 15 January 2025 The National Research and Development Institute for Biological Sciences (INCDSB) launched yesterday the construction phase of the DANUBIUS-RO project, the International Centre for Advanced Studies on River - Sea Systems. The phase involves the actual construction and equipping of the Romanian components of the DANUBIUS-RI infrastructure: the Danube Delta Hub and Supersite. The infrastructure is planned to be operational by the end of 2026 and will be able to host 300 researchers from all over the world annually to provide solutions in impact science areas.

The event was opened with a message from Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission: "DANUBIUS-RI is a flagship initiative, positioning Romania as a European leader in river-sea ecosystem research. Such projects are exactly what Europe needs to overcome the lack of collaboration in science. Through this project, the Danube Delta, Romania's greatest natural treasure, will become an important scientific HUB for Europe, where problems of coastal erosion, biodiversity and ecosystems and how they react in extreme situations will be investigated."

130 million euro will be invested in the Danube Delta, of which 85% is European co-funding through Action 1.2, Priority P1. Support and promote an attractive and competitive RDI ecosystem in Romania of the POCIDIF Programme, launched by the Intermediary Body for Research of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation, together with the Managing Authority for the Smart Growth, Digitalisation and Financial Instruments Programme 2021-2027, of the Ministry of European Investment and Projects.

DANUBIUS-RI is one of Romania's two major research projects alongside ELI-NP ("Măgurele laser"), declared by the Romanian Government since 2014 "strategic project of national importance".

DANUBIUS-RI is the first ESFRI project coordinated by Romania (ESFRI = European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures which supports the focusing of investments in Member States towards research infrastructures of global relevance and excellence) and will be the first ERIC to be operationalised and coordinated by our country (ERIC = European Research Infrastructure Consortium)", explained Mihaela Păun, Director General of INCDSB, the institute coordinating the DANUBIUS-RO project.

At the launch event, presentations and speeches were given by people who have contributed to the development of the project over almost 30 years: former Ministers of Education and Research, directors of the main partners that initiated DANUBIUS-RI (INCDSB and GeoEcoMar), representatives of the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of European Investments and Projects and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, the Romanian Academy, local, national and European authorities. They all emphasised the importance of the DANUBIUS-RO project and the huge potential it brings to our country by placing us at the forefront of a vital scientific field for the whole world.

The International Centre for Advanced River - Sea Systems Studies in the Danube Delta will include a HUB in Murighiol, an analysis node, a data centre and a supersite (natural laboratory) with 6 field research stations and 52 observation points. The Romanian infrastructure will complement the international infrastructure of the DANUBIUS-RI consortium, which also includes technology transfer and eLearning centres, 3 other nodes and 6 other super sites.

About the DANUBIUS-RO project

Through DANUBIUS-RO, components of the DANUBIUS-RI (International Centre for Advanced Studies on River-Sea Systems) infrastructure will be developed in Murighiol, Romania, namely  The Hub (which will host the DANUBIUS-ERIC headquarters), the Analysis Node and the Danube Delta Supersite.  

DANUBIUS-RO, as an integral part of DANUBIUS-RI, contributes to:

  • Strengthening the European Research Area
  • Tackling cross-border challenges (managing shared resources, tackling environmental problems)
  • EU sustainable development policies and objectives (Horizon Europe, European Green Pact, EU Water Framework Directive, Biodiversity Strategy, Circular Economy Action Plan, Blue Growth Strategy and Danube Region Strategy)

The DANUBIUS-RO project is developed by INCDSB together with its partners: the National Research and Development Institute for Marine Geology and Geoecology - GeoEcoMar, the National Research and Development Institute "Danube Delta" - I.N.C.D.D.D.D. Tulcea, the Institute of Geodynamics "Sabba S. Ștefănescu" and 10 economic partners.