While automakers have demonstrated progress with prototypes and commercial vehicles traveling greater than 500 km on a single fill, this driving range must be achievable across different vehicle makes and models and without compromising customer expectations of space, performance, safety, or cost. The TAHYA project, mainly led by industrial partners -already involved in producing and manufacturing hydrogen solutions for the automotive and aviation industry-, will focus on the development of a complete, competitive and innovative European H2 storage system (a cylinder with a mounted On-Tank-Valve with all integrated functionalities) for automotive applications up-performing the actual Asian and US ones. The TAHYA consortium composed of Optimum CPV, Anleg, Raigi, Volkswagen, Chemnitz University of Technology, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung, PolarixParner and Absiskey will ensure that the development phase of the storage system remain in line with the expectations (cost, performance and safety) required by the market, end users’ and car manufacturers. The key objectives of the TAHYA project are: OBJ#1: Preparatory work to provide a compatible H2 storage system with high performances, safe and Health Safety Environment responsible. OBJ#2: Provide a compatible H2 storage system with mass production and cost competitive. OBJ#3: Regulation Codes and Standards (RCS) activities to propose updates on GRT13 and EC79 according to tests results obtained over the duration of the project.

FLIX is a radically new concept for the ultimate-stage chemical isotopic labeling of high added-value molecules (drugs, biologics, smart materials) with stable isotopes. It utilizes the unique properties of new generations of catalysts, which specifically and selectively exchange predetermined atoms and chemical motifs of end-use organic compounds. The ultimate outcome of the project is to devise and build a modular and adaptable flow chemistry system for the straightforward and combinable isotopic labeling of complex chemicals and biologics. The ‘FLIX machinery’ will use a combination of specialized reactor modules operating under continuous flow conditions, either in closed-loop or open systems for the on-line H/D, C-12/C-13, N-14/N-15 and methoxy group direct isotopic exchanges with an unprecedented efficacy and without any chemical alteration of the molecules. The project’s objectives are to: 1) develop new generations of organometallic catalysts for isotopic exchange reactions; 2) screen catalysts for the isotopic exchange on a relevant portfolio of organic molecules in batch and flow chemistries and assess catalyst robustness; 3) devise and validate the ‘combinable isotope labeling’ concept; 4) design and build an adaptable multi-module machinery for combinable chemical exchange labeling. FLIX synergistically associates the expertise and innovation potential of a mixed academic/industrial multidisciplinary consortium. The project is expected to have a multi-billion Euro positive impact on all sectors using stable isotopes in particular: 1) drug innovation, by accelerating preclinical studies, de-risking clinical trials and fostering the development of novel deuterated ‘heavy drugs’; 2) design of new tracers for diagnostic imaging with improved biological properties; 3) streamlining the production of multi-labeled complex molecules for NMR studies; 4) the development of novel isotopically-enriched materials.

More and more missions require power supply > 25 kW such as solar electrical propulsion, high throughput satellites. However, the restricted volume between the fairing and the spacecraft sidewall limits the number & the dimension of rigid solar panels during launch. Therefore, the answer for this growing power demand lies neither in stacking more rigid solar arrays, nor by marginal efficiency improvements on III-V multi-junction solar cells, but rather in innovative/disruptive photovoltaic solutions. More solar cells per unit of volume are needed in stowed configuration, and flexible solar arrays are the only answer for this high-power challenge. In this context, ALFAMA project brings answers for the mass, cost & power challenge, with ambitions at each level of the solar array: - The mechanical architecture, with a modular & retractable deployment system - The photovoltaic assembly fabrication process, with printed harness & lamination for easier integration, manufacturing and high voltage protection - The PVA structure, with thin flexible layers for high power/mass & power/volume ratio, adapted to epitaxial lift-off - The solar cells, with the development of highly efficient & lightweight III-V IMM lift-off cells. ALFAMA brings together a team of 8 partners, leaders in their field, from 3 EU-member states, who will join their efforts towards the realization of a disruptive solar array technology (end TRL 4-5), with the following key performances: 1/ Power/mass ratio increased by ≥ 50% with III-V lift-off solar cells 2/ Cost reduction with high throughput assembly process 3/ Power density increased more than 4 times with compact stowed configuration 4/ Relevant roadmaps for space & non-space applications ALFAMA's drastic improvements will enhance the EU space sector competitiveness, enable new missions and build synergies between space and non-space activities.

IF-EBOLA has been strategically designed to efficiently respond to critical needs required to control Ebola outbreak from spreading and prepare a therapeutic approach to save lives. The work involves two of the main EVD outbreak sites, Sierra Leone and Liberia. MDs, public health authorities and virus experts working on site, under ethical regulatory rules, will extend their collaboration to companies and institutions to form a consortium of outstanding complementary partners, sharing their innovative technological approaches for a common goal. The main goal of our project is to contribute to provide innovative ultrasensitive diagnostics and therapeutic approaches for an early and accurate diagnostic for an early therapeutic treatment to control the epidemic and safe lives. We have been obligated to modify and extend for one year our initial two-year period IF-EBOLA action program due to both major foreseen and unforeseen changes produced during this “non-emergency” period: consisting mainly now in 3 main actions: (i) Preclinical validation of the therapeutic equine anti-Ebola antibodies; (ii) Clinical validation of the ultrasensitive detection (iii) homeostasis (“pathology”) profiling of patients and survivors. Originally (“emergency period”) IF-EBOLA included 2 phases: (I) a phase of preparation including, ethical authorizations, antibody production, technical and field organization as well as the beginning a follow-up of the homeostatic profile of contacts early-EBOV diagnosed and self-cured convalescent individuals in the absence of existing treatment, (with an ultrasensitive detection method of pernicious microorganisms, from the EC USDEP project qualified as a European success story “USDEP” project in 2010 by the EC-Project Officer) and (II) phase of a clinical study using a wide validated approach revisited with an innovative concept (strongly supported EC/EMA-WHO), we propose to carry out an experimental passive-immune therapy based on neutralizing capacity of horse anti-EBOV polyclonal F(ab’)2 on early-diagnosed patients to impact and reduce their pre-existing viremia, their mortality, the evolution of their homeostasis profile, during and after this treatment (once patients become convalescents). The homeostasis status evolution will help to generate high quality scientific data to understand the EVD, the effect of this therapy and cure parameters characterized at 3 different levels: immune (transcriptomes, NGS, metagenomics); infectious (other than EBOV, DNA arrays), and EBOV diversity (sequencing and metagenomics).

As we enter 2016, the world is facing a number of critical challenges such as global warming, economic crisis, security threats, inequality, natural disasters and ageing society. Urban areas are particularly affected, given that the world population is increasingly concentrated in those areas. ICT solutions have the potential to change the world and improve the quality of life and security of its citizens. In particular, IoT, cloud and big data are today’s key enablers for increasing the efficiency in using shared urban infrastructure, economic and natural resources. The overall concept of the BigClouT project is to give an analytic mind to the city by creating distributed intelligence that can be implanted in the whole city network. The unprecedented number of connected things and the associated big data naturally raise new technical challenges in terms of interoperability, scalable and online data processing, actionable knowledge extraction, self-management, security and privacy. The BigClouT project is bringing together resources and knowledge necessary from prestigious European and Japanese institutions for tackling those challenges. BigClouT will leverage the results of the ClouT project and bring them several steps further and add, in particular, distributed intelligence with edge computing principles, big data analytics capability and self-awareness property. The BigClouT platform will be deployed and validated in 4 pilot cities in the project, Grenoble, Bristol, Tsukuba and Fujisawa. BigClouT gives a particular importance to the involvement of citizens during the whole lifetime of the project, from use case definitions to validation. BigClouT has also the ambitious objective of creating a community of external end-users to build their own applications/business on top of BigClouT tools and platform, and to maintain alive this community during the project and beyond, which will ensure the sustainability of the results of the ClouT and BigClouT projects.