The SUNBIO consortium convened for its 24-month Plenary Meeting on 2 June 2026 at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) Campus in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, allowing partners to participate both on-site and remotely.
During the meeting, partners presented the progress achieved across the project’s work packages, with particular focus on the technological development of the SUNBIO platform and the integrated Offshore Hybrid Renewable Energy System (OHRES) and underwater nature-inclusive biodiversity hub. Discussions covered technical management, data management, sensor suites, habitat monitoring, anchoring and mooring systems, energy storage, digital twin development, life cycle analysis, dissemination, exploitation, IPR management and future steps.
The meeting also provided space for fruitful exchanges on the next phase of the project, reinforcing the shared vision of the consortium and supporting coordination among partners. In the afternoon, three projects were presented as part of a synergetic activity: i-MERMAID, RHE-MEDiation, and NiD4OCEAN, contributing to clustering and knowledge exchange with complementary initiatives. These three projects together with SUNBIO are members of the Marine Shield Cluster, coordinated by i-MERMAID project.
The 24-month meeting was combined with the 2nd SUNBIO Workshop on “Posidonia oceanica Restoration”, which took place the following day, on 3 June 2026. The workshop marked an important milestone for the project and was the second in a series of workshops to be held alongside future consortium meetings, bringing together project partners, external experts, and stakeholders to strengthen collaboration around seagrass restoration and marine ecosystem monitoring.
On 4 June 2026, SUNBIO partners visited SARTI facilities to see the SUNBIO system and the work carried out so far, while also discussing the current technological developments taking place within the project. The visit supported further technical exchange among partners and contributed to the preparation of the next development and testing steps.
The meeting in Vilanova i la Geltrú represented an important moment for the consortium to review progress, align future activities, and strengthen collaboration as SUNBIO moves into its next phase.
