The 21st century has been dominated by an ambient digitalization, a trend that is mirrored by the use of catchwords such as Smart Energy, Smart Homes & Smart Cities and the increasing use of electronics in everyday objects. Current IoT scenarios expect a number of around 75 billion connected devices by 2025, and the powering of these devices by batteries will result in a considerable amount of potentially hazardous waste. The spread of electronic systems in remote locations should thus be accompanied by a change in power generation, making use of dislocated and disordered energy sources. A cost-efficient and environmentally friendly realization of energy harvesting (EH), however, is still a challenge, as the required input of functional material and electronic components in comparison to the energy output is high and often involves lead-based materials, manufacturing methods that consume high amounts of energy and costly assembly steps. SYMPHONY aims for the development of new materials for low-cost and scalable printing and structuring processes to fabricate multimodal EH solutions based on the ferroelectric polymer P(VDF-TrFE) as well as printed energy storage devices and rectifiers not using rare elements and heavy metals. The hybrid integration of these devices on flexible films with low power harvesting ICs will result in a specific cost below 1€/mW (well below the value for piezoceramic and electrodynamic EH). The reduction of hazardous waste and energy consumption in SYMPHONY starts with material selection and manufacturing, but ultimately unfolds its full potential in the most CO2-relevant application areas: renewable energy generation, room heating/cooling and mobility. The innovative EH concept of SYMPHONY used to power distributed sensor nodes will reduce emissions by 50% increasing the efficiency of wind turbines (Smart Energy), making room heating/cooling 20% more efficient (Smart Home) and supporting the transformation of urban mobility (Smart City).

INNOMEM gathers some of the most recognised Membrane departments (>20) in Europe and acknowledged facilitators of technology transfer, corporate finance, funding and coaching, making available (i) the most promising and breakthrough manufacturing pilots and (ii) advanced characterization techniques and modelling together with (iii) non-technical services through this Test Bed: while relevant improvement metrics can be defined, the potential network of reachable stakeholders counts thousands of businesses on an international scale. Key facts are reported below. Within the scope of INNOMEM, main different types of membrane materials (polymeric, ceramic, metallic and nanocomposite), surface modification, membrane morphology and geometry and applications will be covered, providing for the first time a single entry point for industrial partners, mainly SMEs, aspiring to answer their concerns but with minimum investment costs and reduction of risks associated with technology transfer, while opening-up opportunities for demonstration of innovative nanomembranes in real life industrial problems (TRL7) and thus faster opening the market for these new products. The main KPIs for INNOMEM: Technical: 20% Membrane productivity improvement, 30% faster verification, >40% CO2 emissions and energy consumption reduction. Non-Technical: 10 Showcases, >15 Democases, >100 reachable SMEs and > 300 reachable investors. INNOMEM stems from the consideration that the development of products based on advanced membranes and nanomaterials require access to finance and an optimised business planning, relying on a sound prior analysis of the market, of the economic impacts and capacity of a company. The project aims at developing and organizing a sustainable Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) for nano-enabled membranes for different applications. The OITB will also offer a network of facilities and services through a Single Entry Point (SEP) to companies (inside or outside Europe).

C-C bond forming reactions are at the heart of industrial organic synthesis, but remain largely unexplored due to long development timelines and the lack of broad biocatalytic reaction platforms. CARBAZYMES addresses these challenges by assembling an interdisciplinary and intersectoral consortium as a powerful synergistic tool to promote innovation in the field of biocatalytic C-C bond formation at large scale, and thus the global competitiveness of the European chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The proposed consortium, with 50% industrial participation, represents academia but also commercial interests in different stages of the research-to-market process. This top-down approach, together with a life-cycle innovation approach ensures an industrial drive to the project. Clearly aligned with the scope of topic BIOTEC3-2014, CARBAZYMES will pursue the biocatalytic synthesis (spanning TRLs 5-7) of 4 APIs and 3 bulk chemicals –corresponding to market needs detected by the industrial partners in the Consortium. This will be accomplished through an inter-disciplinary approach which includes: i) a broad platform of 4 types of unique C-C bond-forming enzymes, mostly lyases; ii) the capacity to rapidly evolve enzymes to operate under industrial conditions by means of novel enzyme panels and massive screening methods; iii) application of microreactor technology for bioprocess characterization; iv) demonstration actions comprising technical (up to 100L) and economic viability studies carried out by industrial partners. CARBAZYMES unmistakably aims to have social and economic impact by addressing markets worth bn €, developing enzyme evolution technologies beyond the state of the art and creating qualified jobs and technical-scale facilities at the industrial partners’ sites. CARBAZYMES will also achieve an environmental impact by enforcing that the developed processes replace more energy and resource intensive processes, thus leading to reduced environmental footprints.

This proposal describes the third core project of the Graphene Flagship. It forms the fourth phase of the FET flagship and is characterized by a continued transition towards higher technology readiness levels, without jeopardizing our strong commitment to fundamental research. Compared to the second core project, this phase includes a substantial increase in the market-motivated technological spearhead projects, which account for about 30% of the overall budget. The broader fundamental and applied research themes are pursued by 15 work packages and supported by four work packages on innovation, industrialization, dissemination and management. The consortium that is involved in this project includes over 150 academic and industrial partners in over 20 European countries.

The CHANNEL proposal brings together world-leading and highly experienced industrial and research partners with AEM electrolyser expertise to address the topic New Anion Exchange electrolyser - FCH-02-4-2019. The main objective of CHANNEL is to develop a low cost and efficient electrolyser stack and balance of plant (BoP) that will become a game-changer for the electrolyser industry. The concept is to construct an AEM electrolyser unite using low cost materials, using state-of-the-art anion exchange membranes and ionomers, non-PGM electrocatalysts, as well as low-cost porous transport layers, current collectors and bi-polar plates. This will enable the development of an electrolyser technology at a capital cost (CAPEX) equal or below classical alkaline electrolysis. However, in contrast to the alkaline technology, the CHANNEL AEM electrolyser will have an efficiency and current density operation close to the one of proton exchange membrane electrolyser (PEMWE). The CHANNEL stack will not only result in decreased electrolyser part count, but it will also be able to operate at differential pressure, as well as under dynamic operation, optimal for producing high quality, low cost hydrogen from renewable energy sources.