Danube River Environmental Assessment and Monitoring (DREAM) Project - ROBG00169
What is the purpose?
Specific Objective: 2.7 - Enhancing protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing all forms of pollution
The Danube River Environmental Assessment and Monitoring (DREAM) Project aims to identify and address environmental issues along the Danube River in the Ruse/Giurgiu-Silistra/Calarasi region. The initiative intends to comprehensively assess air and water quality, noise pollution, and other
environmental aspects using cutting-edge technology like UAV, and a solar-powered boat. The main objective of the project is to provide thorough, precise, and up-to-date data on the environmental condition of the Danube River in the Ruse/Giurgiu-Silistra/Calarasi region. It aspires to achieve the following goals through this:
- Facilitate prompt actions to lessen negative environmental effects;
- Serve as a model for other Danube basins and comparable ecosystems internationally;
- Promote awareness and cooperation among local communities, governments, and industries.
What is the budget?
733.294,60 €, from which 586.635,68 € FEDR and 146.658,92 € National Contribution
Who implements the project?
Lead partner (LP): University or Ruse "Angel Kanchev", Bulgaria
Partner 2 (P2): National Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines COMOTI, Romania
Partner 3 (P3): National Institute for R&D in Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA Bucharest, Romania
What is the implementation period?
Start date: 2024-12-21
End Date: 2026-06-20
Period: 18 months
Where it is implemented?
Ruse and Silistra region - Bulgaria
Giurgiu and Calarasi region - Romania
What will happen?
- Conceptualization and Design of EFMS;
- Procurement and Components Acquisition for EFMS;
- Assembly, Integration, and Preliminary Testing;
- EFMS Delivery and Project Result Promoting;
- Dissemination and Promotion of Project Results;
- Feedback Collection and Aftercare.
What will be the results (what is the contribution to the program)?
- RCO87 - Organizations cooperating across borders: 3
- RCO84 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects: 1
- RCR84 - Organisations cooperating across borders after project completion: 3
- RCR104 - Solutions taken up or up scaled by organizations: 1
Status
The project is currently under implementation.
- Activity 1.1 – Conceptualization and Design of EFMS: The partners jointly developed the Detailed Design Documentation and the Risk Assessment Report, completing the technical and functional planning of the monitoring system.
- Communication and stakeholder engagement: The official launch event was organized on 08.04.2025 in Ruse, Bulgaria, and a multilingual stakeholder survey was conducted to collect public feedback on the proposed system design.
- Activity 2.1 – Procurement and Acquisition of Components for EFMS (Mobile Analysis and Monitoring System) has been partially completed. The Project Leader, "Angel Kanchev" University of Ruse has finalized the procurement procedure for a river vessel that will serve as the mobile base of the system, and the actual construction of the boat has been initiated. Additionally, the public procurement for the water quality monitoring station has been finalized, with the contract signed on October 1, 2025.
Project Partner 2, COMOTI has completed the acquisition of all materials and equipment necessary for implementing the project activities. Based on the components actually procured, the general designs for the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been recalculated and refined for the modular models. The transition from the design phase to the execution phase occurred with the commencement of manufacturing specific parts for the aerial monitoring systems, and the design of the heliport structure for drones, for integration onto the vessel, has been finalized.
Project Partner 3, ICPE-CA has acquired the Renewable Source System for the power supply of EFMS. The procurement procedure for the Electric Power Generation System based on Renewable Sources is at an advanced stage, and the complete design of the electrical system has been clearly defined based on the components already procured. Additionally, the technical specifications for the electric propulsion system and for the vessel's energy systems have been finalized.
- Regarding the communication activities carried out in the second implementation period, these have been conducted according to plan. Durable information panels have been installed at all three partner headquarters.
5. A new survey regarding monitoring of environmental conditions on the Danube addressed to stakeholders has been published on the project website (https://dreamproject.eco/survey), this being a follow-up survey after the one initially conducted