EUROPEAN MARINE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE CENTRE EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE CONSORTIUM

Their core work

EMBRC-ERIC is a distributed European research infrastructure that provides access to marine biological resources, experimental facilities, and data services across a network of marine stations. Based in Paris, it connects researchers and industry with marine organisms, ecosystems, and oceanographic observation capabilities spanning the Atlantic and Black Sea regions. The consortium enables large-scale marine biology research by offering shared platforms for biological sampling, bio-optical profiling, ecosystem modelling, and increasingly, cloud-based data services through the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EMBRC-ERIC's early H2020 work (2017-2019) centred on building and expanding its physical infrastructure — connecting marine biological stations, facilitating access to experimental facilities, and establishing its identity as a coordinating ERIC. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward digital infrastructure: cloud-based data services through EOSC, open science compliance (including GDPR), and computational ecosystem modelling. This mirrors a broader trend in research infrastructures moving from providing physical access to providing data and digital services.

EMBRC-ERIC is transitioning from a facility-access provider to a data-driven marine research platform, making them increasingly relevant for partners needing ocean data services, cloud biology tools, or FAIR-compliant marine datasets.

How they like to work

EMBRC-ERIC operates exclusively as a participant, never as a coordinator — consistent with its role as an infrastructure provider that contributes specialized marine biology resources to larger consortia led by others. With 233 unique partners across 36 countries in just 7 projects, they work in very large consortia (averaging 33+ partners per project), which reflects their function as a shared European resource rather than a project-driving entity. This makes them a reliable, low-friction partner to bring into a consortium when marine biological infrastructure or data access is needed.

With 233 unique consortium partners spanning 36 countries, EMBRC-ERIC has one of the broadest collaboration networks for its project count — a direct result of participating in massive pan-European infrastructure and ocean science consortia. Their reach extends well beyond the EU, including Atlantic and Black Sea cooperation partners.

What sets them apart

EMBRC-ERIC is the EU's designated distributed research infrastructure for marine biological resources — there is no equivalent. While individual marine stations exist in many countries, EMBRC-ERIC is the single point of access that connects them into a coherent European network. For any consortium needing marine biodiversity data, access to living marine organisms, or ocean observation infrastructure, EMBRC-ERIC is effectively the default partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EOSC-Life
  Their largest H2020 contribution (EUR 459K) and a flagship project connecting 13 biological and medical research infrastructures to the European Open Science Cloud — signals their digital transformation ambitions.
• AtlantECO
  A long-running project (2020-2026) focused on All-Atlantic ecosystem forecasting with autonomous profilers and next-generation models — represents their most forward-looking scientific engagement.
• ASSEMBLE Plus
  Their foundational H2020 project (2017-2022) that expanded the network of European marine biological laboratories, directly serving EMBRC-ERIC's core infrastructure mission.