Increasing concerns about new threats related to a possible major accident on a nuclear power plant or a tactical nuclear explosion, linked with the war in Ukraine, impose to EU Countries to improve their current capabilities to prepare for and respond to these possible large-scale accidents. The need for advanced technologies, interoperable risk assessment tools, and comprehensive emergency coordination strategies has never been more critical. GUARDIANS will deliver advanced, cost-effective technologies, and strategies to improve disaster emergency management in Europe. The project will enable the development of advanced radiological technologies (radioactive gas sensor, active dosimeter network), innovative and scalable strategies for triage (video analyses, digital triage), decontamination, and medical countermeasures (hydrogel, new strategy for stable iodine distribution). Autonomous means such as drones and robots equipped for radiological measurements and enhanced observation capabilities will increase overall responsiveness. A central web-platform GUARDNET, built upon existing operational tools, will facilitate real-time information processing, synthesis, mission management, and simulation services, to support decision-making. The active participation of first responders/receivers and decision-makers, along with the execution of two field tests and the assessment of the alignment between population needs and authorities' response strategies will ensure that GUARDIANS produces a new and enhanced operational capability to respond effectively to a radiological or nuclear emergency. GUARDIANS will significantly enhance European Member States' ability by providing stakeholders with state-of-the-art capabilities, innovative technologies, and effective coordination strategies. This will accelerate the decision-making process, reduce intervention times, and mitigate human and environmental impacts through improved protection of populations and infrastructures.

To improve its resilience to new CBRN attacks and threats, the EU needs a specialized, efficient and sustainable industry, competitive on a less fragmented EU market and globally. Capitalizing on its experience in the EDEN Demonstration Project, in other CBRN relevant projects, and in the CBRN market and supply chain, the ENCIRCLE consortium proposes an innovative approach to reach this goal in a short to long term perspective so that SMEs and large industries can propose and invest in the best innovations on the market. This approach results in 5 objectives aimed at prompting the innovation and business development, and filling market gaps in the project timeframe: 1. Create an open and neutral EU CBRN cluster, 2. Provide a sustainable and flexible vision and roadmap for the development of the European CBRN market and innovations, 3. Provide integration with platforms (systems, tools, services, products) by proposing standardized interfaces and future EU standards to integrate CBRN technologies and innovations developed from the Part b projects, 4. Support CBRN safety, security and defence commercial and market services, 5. Improve and facilitate European CBRN dissemination and exploitation. The project will be conducted by a consortium of specialized industries, trade associations and research organisations with flexible and lean procedures under the advice of the EC Community of Users. It will rely on two large interactive communities: practitioners and customers, and industrial and technological providers, the latter including many SMEs. To optimize the needs and gaps assessment and the innovation development, acceptance and success, ENCIRCLE will establish formal links with other consortia such as the future Part b projects. The main expected impact is to enhance the EU CBRN industry competitiveness and enlarge its market while increasing the benefits of the EU research and innovation to improve CBRN preparedness, response, resilience and recovery efficiency.