Helsinki on the lookout for innovative solutions for Baltic Sea cleanup

Researchers, start-ups and companies are invited to submit their ideas for the Baltic Sea Challenge

Countries along the coast of the Baltic Sea have banded together to find solutions to their common problems. Most notably, that is the pollution of their shared back yard – the Baltic Sea itself.

In an effort to deal with the increasing levels of pollution, 270 organisations from the Baltic states have teamed up to take part in the Baltic Sea Challenge – a network that is committed to the protection of the Baltic Sea.

Supporting innovative solutions

Some 70% of all waste that ends up in the Baltic Sea’s waters is plastic. That is why the city of Helsinki is on the lookout for innovative solutions that will help the region cope with this environmental disaster.

Local authorities of the Finnish capital have allocated some 50,000 euros for the Baltic Sea Challenge in order to help reduce the amount of plastics in the sea. This, in turn, has allowed the network to fund innovative “rapid” experiments whose effects can be observed and judged in the next few months.

Now, the Baltic Sea Challenge is issuing a call for applications. Researchers, start-ups and tech companies are all invited to present their ideas for experiments up until 22 March. After said experiments have been carried out, the network will then be able to purchase them from their developers at a price ranging between 1,000 euros and 8,000 euros – so long as they can be completed within the confined of the Helsinki area over the span of a maximum of 6 months.

Ideas will be selected based on their merit by an independent body that is tasked with choosing between a total of 3 to 5 projects.

Through the combined efforts of local authorities, businesses and other interested parties, environmental conditions in the Baltic Sea will be substantially improved.