MIRRI-ERIC joins RTI Summit 2025 alongside other LS-RI colleagues

MIRRI-ERIC gladly participated in the RTI Summit 2025, hosted under the Danish EU Presidency on October 22 and 23, where it was represented in the Life Science Research Infrastructures (LS-RI) booth alongside fellow European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs).

The RTI Summit is described as "A Research and Technology Infrastructures Ecosystem for Breakthrough Science and Innovation". This year, MIRRI-ERIC was present at the Life Science Research Infrastructures (LS-RI) booth, together with other fellow European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs): BBMRI-ERIC, Euro-BioImaging, and ERINHA. The joint booth showcased the strong collaboration among Europe’s Life Science Research Infrastructures and their collective contribution to advancing research, innovation, and policy in the European Research Area.

MIRRI-ERIC was represented by the Executive Director, Ana Portugal Melo, who had the opportunity to exchange knowledge in the field of research infrastructure with experts from all around Europe.

 

Showcasing our projects and examples of success

In the booth, MIRRI-ERIC took the opportunity to highlight some of the current projects in which it is involved. There were showcased the successful examples of supporting curiosity-driven research, Microbes 4 Climate EU Project and AgroServ, and to co-development with the industry MALDIBANK EU Project.

The RTI Summit 2025 gathered policymakers, research organisations, and infrastructure leaders from across Europe to discuss future directions for the European strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures. Through this participation, MIRRI-ERIC highlighted its pivotal role as the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure dedicated to microbial resources.

By joining forces under the LS-RI umbrella, MIRRI-ERIC and its partners emphasised the importance of cross-infrastructure collaboration to strengthen scientific excellence, foster innovation, and deliver societal impact across Europe.

 

Site visits to leading research and technology infrastructures

Within MIRRI-ERIC’s presence at the RTI Summit, the Executive Director Ana Portugal Melo also took part in two site visits organised by the RTI Summit programme, providing a closer look at some of Europe’s most advanced technology and research infrastructures.

On the first day of the programme, Ana Portugal Melo joined the "Technology Infrastructures for Hydrogen Safety and BioSolutions" tour, visiting the Danish Institute of Fire and Security (DBI) and the Danish Technological Institute (DTI). At DTI’s BioSolutions Technology Center, the visit showcased how biotechnology and microbial innovation are driving the green transition. Attendees had the opportunity to see how DTI’s pilot plants and scale-up facilities help start-ups and companies transform research into market-ready biosolutions, turning microorganisms and enzymes into sustainable solutions for Europe’s bioeconomy.

Later that week, the Executive Director also participated in the visit to the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden. This large-scale European project, co-funded by 13 countries, is one of the most ambitious research infrastructures in the world for neutron science. The plant that MIRRI-ERIC had the opportunity to visit in a restricted group is planned to be fully operational in early 2028.

These visits provided MIRRI-ERIC with valuable perspectives on how different research and technology infrastructures across Europe contribute to advancing innovation and addressing global challenges through open, collaborative research environments.

MIRRI-ERIC extends its gratitude to the organisers of the RTI Summit 2025 and to all colleagues from the LS-RI community for a successful joint representation.

Learn more about MIRRI-ERIC and our mission.