The building and construction (B&C) industry, a significant global economic sector with a market size of $5.4 trillion in 2021, is projected to reach $11.1 trillion by 2031. Despite its significance, the sector is a leading contributor to environmental degradation, accounting for a large portion of global energy consumption, carbon emissions, natural resource depletion, and solid waste generation. ECOFUNC seeks to mitigate these impacts by advancing the use of carbon-negative polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), produced by microorganisms using CO2 as feedstock, thereby reducing the sector’s environmental footprint. The project will establish the first EU-based circular value chains for applications such as ventilated façade cladding, ceiling tiles, and internal partition walls. This will be achieved through the development of recyclable PHA-based panels, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional, non-biobased, and non-recyclable materials. ECOFUNC will also integrate bio-based flame retardants, natural fibers, and PHA foams to create high-performance panels, targeting a global warming potential of under 0.5 kg CO2-eq/m² and aiming to reduce life cycle costs by up to 20%. Guided by sustainability frameworks, including the DNSH and SSbD principles, the project is driven by a consortium of industry leaders and research institutions working on PHAs, fiber processing, panel production, and product validation. As part of its broader impact, ECOFUNC will explore the use of panels in the automotive sector as a spillover activity. Furthermore, end-of-life strategies will be implemented, incorporating both chemical recycling to convert PHA back into virgin-grade material and mechanical recycling to re-purpose it for applications in furniture and automotive. The project will develop 11 technologies and 10 value chains aimed at transforming the B&C industry, demonstrating the technical and economic viability of PHAs in promoting sustainable material practices.

ANALYST aims to accelerate the transition towards a safer and more sustainable industrial value chain while encouraging and expanding the existing knowledge on the safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) framework. In this vein, the project develops and implements 3 different innovations Figure 1: Innovation 1 (I1), ANALYST-BOX creates robust and consistent methodologies and guidelines for integrative health, environment, social, and economic impact assessments of PVC materials at the EU and global scale. Innovation 2 (I2), ANALYST-DIGI is an open platform intended to embed both the digital multi-criteria decision-making support tool (DMDMS) and a large number of resources (results of the validation program, training actions and materials and other dissemination and communication resources). The DMDMS uses an own-generated cohesive and interoperable database that combines different data sources. Lastly, Innovation 3 (I3), ANALYST-T-PACK comprises a validation program, TRL5, with 3 different use cases covering the whole PVC value chain, namely Suspension-PVC (flexible), Emulsion-PVC (flexible) and Suspension-PVC (foamed rigid), of the automotive and construction sectors. The goal is to support impact-based informed investment decisions, the SSbD framework, and the implementation of policies for future chemicals and materials through an improved understanding of potential sustainability trade-offs. All in all, ANALYST will catalyse and empower the industrial sector to achieve the paradigm shift towards chemicals, materials, and products that are inherently safe and sustainable. It will drive forward the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, the Circular Economy Action Plan, and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) while fully aligning with the European Commission's Green Deal for cleaner and more climate-neutral industrial value chains.

VITAL aims to generate fundamental knowledge and expertise that will underpin future European activities to substitute existing synthetic thermoplastics with those from bio-based sources and in so doing, enable the European the polymer processing sector to achieve a paradigm shift towards bio-based alternatives for cleaner, more climate neutral industrial value chains. This will be achieved through the development of thermoplastic foaming processes, combined with smart digital control approaches, that will enable bio-based thermoplastics to be processed both on traditional processing equipment (for foam injection moulding and bead foaming) as well as developing a globally unique 3D printing approach for foamed thermoplastics. These processing technologies represent three 'value-chains'. In addition, bio-based thermoplastic mechanical recycling developments will underpin progression of engineering applications towards a 'Circularity by Design' approach. The knowledge produced will be widely disseminated through various conduits, including a Learning Factory that aims to give access to pilot scale industrial lines for each of the 3 value chains in order to reduce the risk for industry for adoption of the technologies. VITAL brings together a world-leading consortium consisting of industrial processors and equipment manufacturers along with end-user partners from the automotive, electronics and marine sectors and leading research and technologies organisations from across Europe. The 6 use cases in VITAL combine to address the expected outcomes, and create pathways to mitigate ~75,000 tonnes CO2 eq/year from fossil-based materials through a conversion to bio-based materials. The consortium along with the Advisory board will provide a multiplier effect to broaden these impacts with further applications and uses. VITAL's disruptive approaches will help industrial adoption by addressing the cost-challenges of bio-based materials by optimising processing and material use.