CRETUS secures €1.6 million following its integration into a network of excellence

CRETUS, a member of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence, welcomed today the Secretary General of Universities, José Alberto Díez, the Director of the Galician Innovation Agency, Carmen Cotelo, as well as the Vice-chancellor of the University of Santiago de Compostela, Antonio López.

Following its inclusion this year into the CIGUS Network of cutting-edge research centres in the Galician University System, CRETUS will receive almost 1.6 million euros in funding from the autonomous government (Xunta de Galicia) in order to guarantee financial stability for its scientific activity until 2027.  

During the visit, José Alberto Díez, Carmen Cotelo, and Antonio López had the opportunity to learn at first hand about the centre’s new scientific structure, made up of eight R&D areas:  soil remediation and sustainable use, water treatment and recovery, waste recovery, bioindicators, data integration and modelling, physicochemical monitoring, sustainable processes, and socio-economic and environmental impact. With these areas, CRETUS combines the capacities of experimental sciences, social sciences, and engineering within a global framework to address ambitious challenges from a threefold approach: diagnosis, technology, and impact.

The centre currently has 109 researchers working on projects included in programmes such as Horizon Europe, Knowledge Transfer, and other interdisciplinary initiatives. Notable projects include the design of technosols to reduce high nitrate and phosphate levels in fresh and saltwater, enhancing the capacity to produce fish for human consumption at a local scale in each European city, or the quest for a broader vision regarding food-associated diseases, among others.

The centre’s researchers include two beneficiaries of European Research Council (ERC) project grants, both of whom receive financial support from the Galician Innovation Agency’s Oportunius programme.

Autonomous government representatives also stressed the commitment of the Xunta de Galicia and the University of Santiago de Compostela to supporting research. The university receives total funding of over €12.7 million for the five centres in the Galician Network of University Research Centres that earned accreditation for excellence in the latest call.