BioBarr concerns the development of new bio-based and biodegradable food packaging materials by enhancing barrier functionalities to the biopolymer PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) and by validating the new material in the food industry environment. PHAs is potential substitute for conventional polymers, since they possess similar properties; respect to polylactic acid (the most widespread biobased/biodegradable material), PHAs show higher biodegradability and better functional properties and mechanical strength. However, applications of PHAs as food packaging materials are subjected to some limitations. PHA shows medium values of O2 and H2O transmittance while many the most critical factors for some foods (such dry products as bakeries) in relation to packaging are moisture uptake leading to loss of crispiness and oxidation of fats. For overcoming this limiting factor in PHA food applications, BioBarr aims to enhance PHA vapour and gas barrier properties through material functionalization. In the first research line, the approach consists of the use of biodegradable materials with adequate properties to be compounded in multi-layer structures specific for the food product category to be packed, in order to optimize functional properties. The innovation consists of laminating PHA with PLA (polylactic acid). The second challenging research line in BioBarr is surface treatments (nanoform metallization with AlOx or SiOx or metallization Aluminum process) of PHA films. New materials will be validated on a restricted number of food products in the sector of bakery, representative of different shelf-life requirements and duration, with the purpose to increase shelf-life at least by 10%. Final impact will be the creation of a new biobased value chain. Proposal takes into account the needs and the growth opportunities of actors operating in each value chain step: bioplastic producer, extrusion and filming actors, converter, inks producers, food industries end-users

The EC communication “Digitising European Industry: Reaping the full benefits of a Digital Single Market” aims to reinforce the EU's competitiveness in digital technologies and to ensure that every industry in Europe, in whichever sector, wherever situated, and no matter of what size can fully benefit from digital innovations. In the H2020 LEIT ICT WP2018-2020, the section “Platforms and Pilots” is launching the six calls (DT-ICT-07 to DT-ICT-12) for implementing next generation Digital Platforms in four basic industrial domains: Manufacturing, Agriculture (and Rural Areas), Energy (and Smart Homes / Grids) and Healthcare (Smart Hospitals). Moreover, outside of the specific suggested Digital Transformation (DT) topics, the development of EU Digital Industrial Platforms (a battle Europe cannot afford to lose) is a key priority also e.g. in Smart Systems (Smart Anything Everywhere SAE), Robotics, Photonics and Process Industry (SPIRE2030) domains. The OPEN DEI proposal aims at leveraging synergies, identifying gaps, sharing best practices, reinforcing regional/national relationships as well as putting in place the necessary joint measures to implement common dissemination, communication, training and exploitation action plans among the Innovation Actions implementing the EU DT strategy. OPEN DEI is structured around twelve coordinated and complementary objectives grouped in four main action lines: in Platform Building a reference architecture, a set of open source reference implementations and an Industrial Data Platform; in Large Scale Piloting a digital maturity model, a set of assessment methods and a migration journey benchmarking tool; in Ecosystem Building an Innovation and Collaboration Platform, a pan-EU network of Industrial DIHs, an Industrial Skills catalogue and observatory; in Standardisation a cross-domain survey, a promotion and implementation plan and a strategic alliance with existing EU and International SDOs.

13 participants (11 beneficiaries and two affiliated entities) from 7 EU and 1 third countries join forces for supporting the Strategic Research Agenda of the future joint research program on the subject of Blockchain by shedding light on the current partial and fragmented picture of block chain technology (BCT) applications in the agri-food domain and by clarifying the benefits and opportunities which BCT can concretely to stakeholders throughout the food chain offer. The project intends to prepare the way for R&I activities for the decade to come, basing its assumptions on systematic monitoring and reviews of national, European and international R&I pilots/use cases, experiences and best practices and on consolidated and balanced stakeholder views. The active involvement of users is required from the very beginning for the identification of needs and use cases, which will be subsequently translated into operational requirements for services. The goal of the project is to understand why communities, i.e. users, accept/reject blockchain-based projects, the mistakes done by others for not repeating them, the best and innovative practices in blockchain development in agri-food sector (considering its complexity) for arriving to shape different possible futures for BC application. The project will investigate and discuss both technical aspects as well as non-technical barriers to BCTs deployment, but also other issues fostering BCTs deployment, such as interoperability, innovative business models, standardisation and regulatory issues and will be at the base of White Papers addressed to EC. At the same time, the project intends to provide to users some a framework of services (and guidelines) for empowering them in future BCT implementation.

HARTU will provide the necessary tools to implement three basic stages of parts handling, i.e., grasping, assembly and releasing. These tools aim to address the key challenges for creating handling applications by means of innovative technical approaches: (1) self-supervised grasp and release planning policies identification and control; (2) to learn and control contact-rich assembly skills from human demonstrations; (3) to develop an AI-based multi-modal perception for visual-servoing and continuous monitoring in handling operations, supported by virtual and continuous learning; and (4) to develop versatile and dexterous soft grippers with electro-active fingertips. HARTU is an industry-driven research project that includes the deployment of technologies in 5 industrially relevant scenarios: 4 manufacturing lines in different sectors: automotive, household appliances, hand tool manufacturing and food processing, and 1 in logistics to validate that the technologies can be transferred to other sectors. They offer an enormous variability of products in terms of shape, material and sizes. This approach contributes to the (1) industrial objective of HARTU, i.e., to increase the flexibility, reconfigurability and efficiency of manufacturing lines through easy to integrate and configure, safe and reliable handling systems, supported by tools for application development and a reference architecture. It also contributes to the (2) social objective: to contribute to user acceptance and adoption, identification of skills development needs and compliance with the liability/legal and ethic aspects.

STARHAUS has Moving from the DIY4U project (H2020), STARHAUS will design, test and validate 8 new hardware module prototypes for the existing DIY4U Manufacturing Demonstration Facilities (MDFs), to manufacture newly designed products for personalized fast-moving consumer goods. The project will focus on 4 new use-cases: pet food, fertilizers, beverage, breakfast cereals. STARHAUS will adapt technologies and design new services and processes in an interdisciplinary approach that involves: human centered design, social science impact and indicators, full technology cycle (hardware + software), creativity and arts, circularity and sustainability. The focus will be on sustainability and circularity, enabling the growth of efficient, effective, sustainable and stakeholder-aligned manufacturing methods through re-use, adapt, re-design and repurpose existing technologies as a value for the larger community. The project will be inspired by the New European Bauhaus, paying particular attention to regenerative design and regenerative and value-added manufacturing and adopting a Human-centric and participatory approach, with contributions from Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), the project will promote collaborative models between domain experts, artists, and technology providers. Improved access to flexible production capabilities in decentralised environments, especially for SMEs will be ensured by FSTP and accurate promotion of collaborative models with domain experts, artists and technology providers. The STARHAUS approach will leverage creativity in interdisciplinary and artistic disciplines and offer a process model towards viable solutions. STARHAUS is focusing on delivering an impact inside modern consumer communities to propagate behavioral and technological changes that can reshape our lives. The consumption habits of modern consumers must change to adopt healthy and sustainable solutions that can be achieved at affordable prices without compromising quality.