ESS in the HALRIC Project: Advancing Life Science Innovation with EU Interreg ÖKS Support

HALRIC consortium has been awarded 11 MEUR in funding from the EU Interreg ÖKS programme – an initiative aiming to enhance the innovation capacity within the life sciences sector by fostering cross-border collaboration through utilising the unique research infrastructures in the ÖKS and Hamburg Region.

Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak (ÖKS), a €140 million EU program, strengthens regional cooperation to tackle shared challenges. Its support enables cross-border collaboration, ensuring that state-of-the-art facilities like ESS are fully utilised, maximising their potential for medical and biotechnological advancements.

While ESS moves towards full-scale operations, crucial support from the HALRIC project is accelerating its impact. As of Dec 2024, ESS has received funding for two pilot projects; “Fast and efficient scattering prediction in protein samples” and “Studying the mechanism of antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacteria mediated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)”. Thomas Holm Rod and Zoë Fisher are the ESS project participants for these initiatives, respectively.

HALRIC is a three-year program set to end in March 2026 - a cross-border initiative linking Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Germany fostering innovation in life sciences by leveraging world-class research infrastructures like ESS and MAX IV. With Interreg ÖKS’s financial support, HALRIC is driving 75 collaborative research projects, uniting industry, hospitals, and universities to unlock new scientific breakthroughs.

By bridging expertise across regions, HALRIC with support from the Interreg ÖKS programme, not only powers research—they are transforming the ÖKS-Hamburg area into a global hub for life sciences, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries that benefit both Europe and the world.

For more information, contact grants@ess.eu