FUNDACION CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS AMBIENTALES DEL MEDITERRANEO

Their core work

CEAM is a Spanish research foundation focused on Mediterranean environmental science, with deep specialization in atmospheric research. They operate and contribute to European-scale research infrastructure for studying aerosols, clouds, and trace gases — including atmospheric simulation chambers and observation facilities. Their work supports both fundamental atmospheric science and the operational infrastructure that other researchers across Europe rely on for experiments and data access.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CEAM's H2020 trajectory shows a clear progression from laboratory-scale infrastructure toward operational research services. Their earliest involvement (EUROCHAMP-2020, starting 2016) focused on integrating atmospheric simulation chambers across Europe. By 2020-2021, their work shifted to implementing the ACTRIS ERIC — a permanent, ESFRI-listed research infrastructure — and enabling sustainable physical, remote, and virtual access to atmospheric facilities. The evolution is from building shared tools to running shared services.

CEAM is moving toward providing sustainable, service-oriented access to atmospheric research facilities, aligning with EOSC and ERIC frameworks — making them a long-term infrastructure partner rather than a one-off project contributor.

How they like to work

CEAM operates exclusively as a consortium participant — they have not coordinated any H2020 projects, instead contributing specialized atmospheric expertise to large, infrastructure-focused consortia. With 75 unique partners across 22 countries from just 3 projects, they work in very large consortia typical of ESFRI research infrastructure initiatives. This makes them a reliable, low-friction partner accustomed to operating within complex multi-national governance structures.

Despite only 3 projects, CEAM has built connections with 75 partners across 22 countries — a remarkably wide network driven by the large-scale nature of pan-European research infrastructure consortia like ACTRIS and EUROCHAMP.

What sets them apart

CEAM brings a rare combination: Mediterranean environmental expertise embedded within pan-European atmospheric research infrastructure networks. While many atmospheric research centers operate in northern Europe, CEAM provides critical coverage of Mediterranean atmospheric conditions — a region particularly affected by climate change, wildfires, and air quality challenges. For anyone building a consortium that needs atmospheric measurement or simulation capabilities with southern European geographic coverage, CEAM fills a specific gap.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EUROCHAMP-2020
  Largest funding share (EUR 627,649) — a major initiative integrating atmospheric simulation chambers across Europe toward the 2020 research infrastructure roadmap.
• ATMO-ACCESS
  Most recent and forward-looking project (2021-2025), focused on sustainable access models including physical, remote, and virtual access to atmospheric facilities — signals CEAM's future direction.