HELLENIC CENTRE FOR MARINE RESEARCH

Their core work

HCMR is Greece's principal marine research institution, conducting applied research across aquaculture science, fisheries management, ocean observation, and marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin. They operate aquaculture experimental facilities, coastal monitoring stations, and mesocosm infrastructure that serve as shared European research platforms. Their work spans the full chain from fish genetics and parasite control to large-scale ecosystem assessment and marine data management. They are a key node in multiple pan-European ocean observation and research infrastructure networks.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), HCMR focused heavily on aquaculture biology, fisheries management, and marine biodiversity research — with strong keywords around aquaculture, blue growth, and marine science. By 2019–2021, their portfolio shifted noticeably toward research infrastructure, FAIR data services, IoT-enabled coastal observation, and ecosystem services assessment. This reflects a move from primarily generating marine science to also building the digital and physical infrastructure that enables others to do marine science at scale.

HCMR is evolving from a domain science lab into a Mediterranean hub for FAIR-compliant ocean data and IoT-enabled monitoring infrastructure — increasingly valuable as a platform provider, not just a research partner.

How they like to work

HCMR operates almost exclusively as a consortium partner (57 of 61 projects), bringing deep domain expertise rather than leading project management. With 777 unique partners across 55 countries, they are a high-connectivity hub — one of the most broadly networked marine institutes in Europe. This makes them an easy partner to integrate: they know how large consortia work and have pre-existing relationships across nearly every EU maritime research group.

Exceptionally broad network of 777 unique consortium partners spanning 55 countries, covering virtually every active marine research group in Europe and many beyond. Strong Mediterranean axis with Greece as home base, but genuine pan-European and global reach.

What sets them apart

HCMR combines hands-on aquaculture experimental capacity with large-scale ocean observation infrastructure — a rare combination that lets them validate lab findings against real environmental data. As the primary Greek marine research centre, they provide essential Mediterranean coverage for any pan-European marine project, filling a geographic gap that northern European institutes cannot. Their 61-project track record and 777-partner network mean minimal onboarding friction for new collaborations.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PerformFISH
  Largest single EC contribution to HCMR (EUR 964K), focused on commercial sea bream and sea bass production — their strongest industry-facing aquaculture project.
• JERICO-NEXT
  EUR 851K for pan-European coastal observatory network — represents their infrastructure backbone role and transition toward observation systems.
• AQUAEXCEL2020
  EUR 635K to provide transnational access to aquaculture research facilities — positions HCMR as a shared infrastructure provider for all of Europe.