VICE4RAIL aims to accelerate the adoption of EGNSS for deploying efficient, resilient, and competitive ERTMS solutions. Focus is on the development of a certification and standardization process for the use of EGNSS, closing the gaps for rail safety critical applications and converging towards a pan-European EGNSS-based solution for ERTMS and its global roll-out. The starting point is the use of EGNOS V2 and the Balise virtualisation – as indicated by the European Parliament directive on July 2021 – opening the way for further applications based on the absolute train positioning and EGNOS V3. Two major developments will be undertaken: identification of suitable certification procedures compliant with the CENELEC norms and realization of a Hybrid Virtualized Testing Certification Environment based on the zero-on-site testing paradigm with the construction of a dedicated testing facility on a RFI’s railway lines where GNSS-based multisensor positioning solutions can be evaluated and certified in operational scenarios. This unique testing environment will be connected with the ERTMS accredited laboratory of CEDEX to assess the end-to-end performance of the ERTMS chain with GNSS-based positioning devices in operational scenarios. Behaviour of the system under GNSS signals that include faults very rare and difficult to experience field but with a potential high impact on safety, can be evaluated avoiding extensive and not exhaustive field tests. VICE4RAIL will exploit the synergies with the Pilot Line Novara – Rho funded by RFI to integrate GNSS positioning into the ERTMS and the Shift2Rail GATE4Rail project that introduced the zero-on-field virtual testing for GNSS. Furthermore, thanks to SNCF, CEDEX, RFI and SOGEI a liaison will be established with the Europe’s Rail R2DATO project to complement their on-going activities and sharing results and assets and with the RTCM SC 134 Special Committee that is completing the standardization process for GNSS receivers for rail.

Li-ion batteries are fundamental components for the energy transition of the European eco-system. Currently Europe lags behind Asia in terms of Li-ion battery cell manufacturing and more than 90% of the world's production takes place in China, Korea and Japan. To overcome this situation, there is an ambitious ramp-up plan of 25 new gigafactories in Europe with an expected value of €35 billion by 2030. However, in the ramp-up phase of these Gigafactories, a massive production of defects is expected, between 15% - 30%. The new European Gigafactories will also bring demand for €150 bn of battery manufacturing equipment. To support this demand, the EU production equipment industry needs to fill the current knowledge gap and gain competitiveness towards Asian providers, grounding on its world-wide leadership in high-tech, green technologies, enhanced by industry 4.0 digital solutions, exploiting the European Zero-Defect Manufacturing paradigm. The objective of BATTwin is to support this scenario by developing a novel Multi-level Digital Twin platform towards Zero-Defect Manufacturing in battery production, that will reduce defect rates in battery production lines. The solution integrates four pillars, namely (i) a multi-sensor data acquisition and management layer, supported by data semantics through a Digital Battery Passport data model, (ii) process-level digital twins, modeling the critical stages of electrode manufacturing, cell assembly and conditioning through multi-physics, data-driven and hybrid approaches, (iii) system-level digital twins, based on simulation and analytical modeling, (iv) user-centric, goal-driven digital twin workflows, increasing the explainability of digital twins and driving the user in system design and control. The approach will be tested in two industrial pilots producing different battery chemistries and geometries, validating the flexibility and scaleability of the approach towards Zero Defect European Gigafactories.

GNSS Automated Virtualized Test Environment for Rail (GATE4Rail) deals with tasks TD2.4 and TD2.6 of the Shift2Rail Multi Annual Action Plan with the goals to: i) achieve a realistic characterization of the GNSS in the railways environment assessing the performance and properties of typical fail-safe train positioning components in nominal and fault conditions; ii) implement a common test process framework for zero on-site testing to minimizing cost and time. GATE4RAIL will implement a geo-distributed simulation and verification platform connecting GNSS centres of excellence, and ERTMS/ETCS laboratories to evaluate the GNSS performances in the railway environment with agreed methodologies and tools. This approach offers the advantage to stress the global system in presence of very rare fault events instead of long and expensive tests on field, developing a standard methodology for representative test cases. GATE4RAIL will develop methodology and tools for an automated update of tests, through Model-Based System Engineering philosophy to ensure that the simulation infrastructure can be maintained and extended reducing the need for re-assessments to increasing the test environment efficiency. The entire process will be reviewed by an independent Notified Body already engaged on GNSS assessment for rail applications and a demo on railway line in Italy and Spain is included. GATE4RAIL’s team is very competent bringing together expertise on the GNSS and rail sectors necessary for the exploitation of GNSS that is one of the Game changer of the ERTMS.

ERSAT GGC is conceived for speeding up the certification process of EGNSS assets according to the ERTMS rules. It is a follow up of the ERSAT (ERtms + SATellite) program launched in 2012 by RFI in collaboration with Ansaldo STS for integrating satellite technologies on the ERTMS platform. Primary goals of ERSAT GGC are to allow RFI, recently nominated Game Changer for integrating satellite technology into ERTMS, to launch an operational line by 2020, the same year Galileo services will be operational and to accelerate the standardization process at European level for including the satellite requirements into the new ERTMS STI (Standard for Technical Interoperability). As a results of previous projects, EGNSS and ERTMS – both pillars of the European industrial policy - are becoming tightly intertwined and backed by a mutual-supportive business model - a pre-requisite to give birth to fast growing EGNSS applications and to the deployment of economical sustainable ERTMS solutions on local and regional market which today is dominated by legacy systems most of which old and still manually operated. ERSAT GGC will rely on the achievements of the most relevant EC and GSA funded projects such as NGTC, ERSAT EAV, STARS, RHINOS whose the individual coordinators are partners of the ERSAT GGC consortium. ERSAT GGC will exploit a fully operational Test bed located in Sardinia on the 50km double track line between Cagliari and San Gavino. This Test Bed includes the ERTMS main constituents, a fully equipped train, and the EGNSS/ Wireless assets to operate with the ERTMS system based on the Satellite based Location Determination System (LDS). Other facilities, such as those of the CEDEX laboratory, DLR and RFI will be exploited for the certification process. The ERSAT GGC consortium includes RFI, SNCF and ADIF as the main European rail stake-holders and two independent Notify body, Italcertifer and Bureau Veritas which are already supporting RFI for the certification process.