Within the field of security, Customs and Border inspection have not had breakthrough technological developments in the last 20 years, since the introduction of X-ray screening. The limits of these current technologies are accentuated by the increasing diversity and novelty in trafficking materials, tools and methods. These limitations combined with the growing needs of inspection and control call for a disruptive innovative solution. Wanting to move a step up from the existing planar scanning methods with limited material identification results, several studies have identified potential solutions focused on: - High energy 3D X-ray tomography - Neutron interrogation/photofission - Nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRR) While these show good results and performances, they also have several important drawbacks, which limits their possible uses. Moreover, these solutions do not have common technological bricks meaning they can only lead to separate disposals. The proposed MULTISCAN3D investigates a new all-in-one system whose purpose is to become simultaneously a user-friendly, flexible, relocatable solution offering high-quality information for: - Fast high energy 3D X-rays tomography (as first line) - Neutron interrogation/photofission (as second line) - Narrow gamma ray beam based NRR (as second line) MULTISCAN3D will start by investigating and defining needs and requirements, in a technologically-neutral way, with Europe’s most prominent Customs Authorities which will be translated to technical specifications. The main body of the research will be focused on three parts, following which, lab validations and real-environment demonstration will be carried out. These three work areas are: - Laser-plasma based accelerators as X-ray sources - 3D reconstruction for multi-view configurations and data processing - Detectors and source monitoring At the same time complementary techniques with chemical and SNM identification capabilities will be investigated.

The mission of ENTRANCE is to develop and validate a comprehensive user-based ENTRANCE Toolbox for risk-based non-intrusive inspection (NII) of cross-border freight movements, with particular focus on the EU Customs Union border. The aim of the ENTRANCE Toolbox is to enhance border security practitioners’ capabilities to protect society against a wide range of dangerous and illicit materials with minimum disruption of cross-border flow of goods. ENTRANCE will deliver five main results: 1) Automated Risk Assessment, Threat Recognition and Information Sharing Platform (ENARTIS), 2) suite of Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technologies for detecting contraband hidden in high-density cargo, 3) Enhanced relocatable unit for non-intrusive detection of wide number of threats including explosives, illicit drugs, chemical warfare agents, nuclear and radioactive materials (NR) and special nuclear materials (SNM) such as enriched uranium and plutonium, 4) Trans-European RPM network for passive detection of illicit nuclear and radioactive (NR) materials combining detection facilities of different types and technologies, and 5) Novel high-speed RPM detection technology for passive detection of NR with minimal disturbance of flow. The ENTRANCE Toolbox will be validated at the EU Customs Union border by five practitioner-led field trials chosen for their relevance, strategic position and feasibility.

Efficient NII (non-intrusive inspection) of containerised freight is critical to trade and society. Freight containers are potential means for smuggling (e.g. tobacco), illegal immigration, trafficking of drugs, mis-declared goods and dangerous illicit substances, including explosives, nuclear material, chemical and biological warfare agents and radioactively contaminated goods. One inspection NII technology cannot cope with all these targets. The C-BORD Toolbox and Framework will address all these targets and enable customs to deploy comprehensive cost-effective container NII solutions to potentially protect all EU sea- and land-borders, satisfying a large range of container NII needs. The C-BORD Toolbox will include 5 complementary innovative detection technologies: delivering improved X-rays, Target Neutron Interrogation, Photofission, Sniffing and Passive Detection. User interfaces and data will be integrated to optimise effectiveness and efficiency of end-users and systems. The C-BORD Framework will help customs analyse their needs, design integrated solutions, and optimise the container inspection chain; it will address detection levels, false alarm levels, throughput, health & safety, logistics and cost & benefits. C-BORD will increase the probability of finding illicit or dangerous content with at least equal throughput of containers per time unit, reduce the need for costly, time-consuming and dangerous manual container inspections by customs officials, and in case a container is opened, increase the probability of finding illicit materials. C-BORD involves stakeholders from 8 EU countries, as partners (5) and advisory group members (3). On 3 custom sites integrated solutions will be trialled, respectively addressing the needs of big seaports, small seaports and mobile land-borders. To optimise sustainable impact, C-BORD will actively engage with a large community, will support policy implementation, evolution and start early exploitation planning.