WHAT IS THE GREEN CONSERVATION CLUSTER?
In 2022, under the Horizon Europe Green Conservation Technologies call, the European Commission funded three innovative projects: GoGreen, MOXY, and GreenArt.
Though independently led, these three projects are united by a shared goal—to develop and promote sustainable, environmentally responsible conservation materials, decisions and practices.
Together, we form the Green Conservation Cluster: a unique collaboration of researchers, scientists, conservators, and educators advancing greener materials, methods, and policies in cultural heritage conservation.
ONE MISSION, THREE PROJECTS
Collaboration and cooperation among the three projects has resulted in a more unified approach to greener conservation and will help shape future research and policy.
Working as a cluster allows us to:
- Share technical knowledge and research outcomes
- Coordinate outreach and dissemination activities
- Create a unified voice to influence policy and practice
CLUSTER COLLEAGUES
MOXY
Green Atmospheric Plasma-Generated Monatomic Oxygen Technology for Restoration of the Works of Art (MOXY)
Tangible cultural heritage assets constitute an invaluable and irreplaceable resource of humanity, which are increasingly threatened by contaminants from pollution, vandalism and fire. Currently available cleaning methods require solvents which can be detrimental to art materials, and harmful to health and the environment. Cleaning with oxygen atoms could provide a breakthrough solution.
Experts from plasma physics, heritage science, and conservation from 10 European research organisations, museums, and SMEs, have joined forces in a new Horizon Europe MOXY project, coordinated by Ghent University. The MOXY project aims to develop a new green non-contact cleaning technology, based on atomic oxygen to remove contaminants in a non-contact, without health or environmental concerns. The AO research, started as Moxy (2022-2026) is venturing into new territory, and there are many questions to which there are no answers yet. But such is the path for innovation that is heading towards something transformative.
Website: https://www.moxyproject.eu/
GreenArt - GREen ENdeavor in Art ResToration
The objective of GREENART is the development of new sustainable solutions that adhere to the Green Deal requirements, through two main strategies: enhancement of advanced systems and development of entirely new systems.
Our ambition is to set these new classes of materials as standards in the restoration practice, and as models of cutting-edge technologies to be transferred in transversal fields such as food industry, detergency, cosmetics, and tissue engineering.
Novel materials include: protective coatings based on green materials from waste and plant proteins, foams and packing materials made by biodegradable polymers, consolidants based on natural polymers from renewable sources, gels and cleaning fluids made from natural waste, and green tech solutions for monitoring Cultural Heritage assets non-invasively.
Our main objective is to produce safe and effective solutions for the corrective and preventive conservation of Culture Heritage, based on environmentally friendly and low impact materials obtained from renewable natural sources or recycled waste. One of the aim of the project is to make the research, novel materials and knowledge developed in GREENART accessible to the scientific and art conservation communities, industry and civil society through the involvement of citizens and users.
Website: https://www.greenart-project.eu/
HOW WE COLLABORATE
Current Progress
As a cluster, our joint activities include:
- Regular inter-project meetings and technical exchanges
- Co-organized events, workshops, and stakeholder engagement
- Collaborative publications and technical briefs
- A shared roadmap to influence EU conservation standards and policy
This ongoing cooperation has created a supportive, aligned, and high-impact research environment, where insights from one project directly inform and strengthen the others.
LOOKING FOWARD
Our partnership demonstrates how strategic collaboration can drive real change. The Green Conservation Cluster serves as a model for future EU research, showing that coordinated innovation leads to smarter solutions, stronger policy recommendations, and lasting impact.
By working together, we’re not only preserving Europe’s cultural treasures—we’re doing it in a way that protects the planet for generations to come.