ICEBERG will make significant advances in the uptake of the circular economy in the building industry through the development of innovative circular reverse logistics’ tools and high-value secondary raw materials production technologies to establish market confidence and acceptability of recycled End-of-Life building materials (EBM). ICEBERG aims to design, develop, demonstrate and validate advanced technologies for the production of high-purity secondary raw materials (>92%w) through 6 circular case studies (CCS) across Europe, covering circularity of wood, concrete, mixed aggregate, plasterboard, glass, polymeric insulating foams and inorganic superinsulation materials. ICEBERG will generate cross-cutting integrated smart solutions that encompass three innovative circular reverse logistics’ strategies: an upgraded BIM-aided-Smart Demolition tool; a novel digital EBM traceability platform; and Radio Frequency and QR based identification system. ICEBERG will develop novel technologies for the recovery of EBM, which include: hyperspectral imaging (HSI), machine-learning software and robotic manipulators to increase sorting efficiency of mixed aggregates; an integrated crushing, sorting and cleaning optimized system and fast pyrolysis and purification processes for wood fractions; thermal attrition mobile unit integrated with LIBS and carbonation for concrete; hydrocyclone combined with HSI sorting and acid purification to increase the purity of recycled plasterboard; a combined process of purification and solvolysis for polymeric insulating foams; advanced hydrothermal and supercritical based processing of glass and silica containing waste. Circular design solutions for greater circularity of EBM and production of innovative circular building products with high purity and recycled content (30% - 100%) will be also implemented. ICEBERG will generate in the mid-term an economic benefit of 1758 M€ and 6265 new jobs by 2030.

Increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions due to climate change concomitant with unsustainable historical resource use and management practices create the perfect storm - threatening our livelihoods, well-being and environment. A transition towards resilience requires that we simultaneously address social inequalities and implement cross-sectoral innovations to build social, economic and environmental resilience to extreme events. Together, Regions4Climate partners commit to addressing current and forecasted climate change-related challenges and building more resilient European communities within an innovative socially engaged, citizen-driven paradigm. We aim to develop smarter, more inclusive, more resilient regional ecosystems through cross-sectoral innovation jointly created with stakeholders, by and for people. The development and implementation of cross-sectoral strategies that incorporate combinations of social, technological, digital, business, governance and environmental solutions to common climate resilience challenges is at present constrained by knowledge deficits and uncertainties, as well as science-policy-stakeholder gaps. Regions4Climate will bridge these gaps and address existing uncertainties by further developing, adapting and integrating state-of-the-art technical know-how, innovative tools and collaborative practices to support transparent, evidence-based risk and vulnerability analyses and robust decision-making processes. We will utilise system dynamic modelling to understand relationships among and trade-offs between different resilience innovations, providing tools for informed decision-making tailored to engage stakeholders and support European regions and communities exposed to significant climate change impacts. New scientific insights, along with a framework of interoperable tools, methodologies and demonstrated solutions will enable European regions to develop their own resilience plans and transformative adaptation pathways.

POSIDON gathers 5 European procurers facing similar problems in the sites they manage, affected by analogous pollutants (2 front-runners-Trieste, IT and Bilbao, ES-and 3 observers - Spaque, BE; Vitoria Gasteiz, ES; Baja do Tejo, PT), leveraging public demand to identify fit-for-purpose and cost-effective innovative and sustainable solutions to soil contamination. The common challenge faced by the buyers’ group is identifying a new, life-cycle cost-effective technology for soil and groundwater remediation, capable of decontaminating heterogeneous anthropic soils in brownfields with a mixture of industrial waste (blast furnace slags, construction & demolition waste, filling soils polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons) and soils consisting of clays and sands of marine origin, highly polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs and PAHs) and heavy metals (arsenic and lead). Studies on the state of the art, patent analysis, foresight scanning and early market engagement meetings, show that no available technology can meet all identified needs, thus appropriate remediation technologies cannot be acquired through traditional off-the-shelf procurement.With PCP, procurers aim to achieve ambitious improvements in terms of quality and effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of new technology to bring to the market. R&D will be split into three phases: solution design, prototyping, original development and testing of 2 prototypes. Evaluations after each phase progressively identify solutions offering the best value for money. This phased approach allows successful contractors to improve their offers for the next phase based on feedback from procurers. POSIDON intends to create a critical mass through the consolidation of a pan-European network of procurers who, sharing their needs and efforts, can enable the development - through PCP - and subsequent deployment - through a PPI - of novel technologies aimed to cover bigger market challenges in areas of common European interest

The joint and cross-borderPOSIDON pre-commercial public procurement has been a pivotal force in transforming a highly fragmented and innovation-averse sector—environmental remediation of brownfields. Brownfields, sites with limited territorial availability, represent a growing challenge in Europe, where land has become a scarce and valuable resource. The need for sustainable development has intensified the urgency of recovering and reusing these contaminated areas. POSIDON's procurement strategy addresses this by aligning with sustainable growth goals, focusing on in-situ soil decontamination solutions for complex, highly polluted sites. POSIDON PCP is distinguished by its innovative procurement approach, driving the development of breakthrough solutions in areas where no commercially viable options previously existed. Five leading public procurer launched a competitive call for tender to address the decontamination of brownfields polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Two cutting-edge technologies—"Soil-Omic with BIOflushing " and "ERASE"—were selected for pilot testing based on their cost-effectiveness and potential to disrupt the market. These technologies represent a leap forward in environmental remediation, particularly for brownfield where traditional technologies have long application times and high costs. The in-situ approaches were tested in Italy and Spain, ensuring their readiness for large-scale application. This PCP initiative has not only fostered the development of these innovative technologies but has also prepared the ground for widespread adoption and market leadership in the European soil decontamination sector. By aggregating demand across borders and ensuring the harmonization of innovation goals, POSIDON exemplifies a transformative shift toward buying innovation process itself, marking a new era in brownfield remediation.

EU28 currently generates 461 million tons per year of ever more complex construction and demolition waste (C&DW) with average recycling rates of around 46%. There is still a significant loss of potential valuable minerals, metals and organic materials all over Europe. The main goal of HISER project is to develop and demonstrate novel cost-effective technological and non-technological holistic solutions for a higher recovery of raw materials from ever more complex C&DW, by considering circular economy approaches throughout the building value chain (from the End-of-Life Buildings to new Buildings). The following solutions are proposed: - Harmonized procedures complemented with an intelligent tool and a supply chain tracking system, for highly-efficient sorting at source in demolition and refurbishment works. - Advanced sorting and recycling technologies for the production and automated quality assessment of high-purity raw materials from complex C&DW. - Development of optimized building products (low embodied energy cements, green concretes, bricks, plasterboards and gypsum plasters, extruded composites) through the partial replacement of virgin raw materials by higher amounts of secondary high-purity raw materials recovered from complex C&DW. These solutions will be demonstrated in demolition projects and 5 case studies across Europe. Moreover, the economic and environmental impact of the HISER solutions will be quantified, from a life cycle perspective (LCA/LCC), and policy and standards recommendations encouraging the implementation of the best solutions will be drafted. HISER will contribute to higher levels of recovered materials from C&DW from 212 Mt in 2014, to 359 Mt in 2020 and 491 Mt by ca. 2030, on the basis of the increase in the recovery of aggregates, from 40% (169 Mt) to more than 80% (394 t) and wood, from 31% (2.4 Mt) to 55% (5 Mt);. Similarly, unlocking valuable raw materials currently not exploited is foreseen, namely some metals and emerging flows.