The objective of POSITION-II is to bring innovation in the development and production of smart catheters by the introduction of open technology platforms for miniaturization, AD conversion at the tip, ultra-sound MEMS devices and encapsulation. Open technology platforms will generate the production volume that will enable sustainable innovation. The availability of open technology platforms will result in new instruments that have a better performance, new sensing and imaging capabilities, while the scale of volume will result in lower manufacturing costs. The production of the “brains” of these smart catheters will take place in Europe, with many European partners contributing essential technologies. The POSITION-II project will consolidate Europe’s premier position as manufacturer of cath lab infrastructure since these new smart catheters will be seamlessly integrated in the cath lab hardware and software platforms. By combining the different sensing and imaging data a more intuitive cath lab experience will be achieved. Looking forward, POSITION-II prepares the European electronics industry for the next revolution in healthcare, bioelectronics implants. Bioelectronics implants are expected to replace a considerable fraction of traditional medicine by direct stimulation of nerves. The miniaturization and soft encapsulation platforms developed in POSITION-II will be the ideal technology frame work for the manufacturing of these bioelectronics implants. The technology platforms developed in POSITION-II are demonstrated by five challenging product demonstrators covering FRR, IVUS, ICE, EP and cell therapy as well as a bioelectronics implant to treat cluster headache.

The SuPerTandem project aims to accelerate Europes transition to clean energy by developing innovative photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing technologies for 2-terminal tandem cells and monolithically connected modules on flexible foils using low cost solution-processed perovskite absorber layers. Such devices feature efficiencies above 30%, performance stability profiles comparable to c-Si technologies, and excellent sustainability profile. Important aspects are minimizing the use and impact of scarce and critical materials by employing sustainable, earth-abundant materials and applying encapsulation as well as recycling strategies to guarantee circularity. Application of scalable manufacturing processes on film substrates will enable low production cost (< 20 /m2) and lower cost of electricity compared to current Si PV technology. This will be achieved by the partnership of leading European labs, industrial equipment makers and flexible PV module producing companies, building a coherent value chain of European innovation driven, cost competitive manufacturing to provide affordable innovative PV solutions. Dual use of land/surfaces will capitalize the application advantages of developed lightweight flexible free-form factor PV modules for integration into buildings, vehicles and agrivoltaics to facilitate net zero emission targets with affordable integrated systems. The overarching aim of SuPerTandem is to demonstrate technologies at TRL 5, while participating partners have interests to quickly implement the project outcomes for establishing roll-to-roll manufacturing plants in EU. The sustainability of the developed module technology will be validated from environmental and economic points of view by life-cycle and techno-economic assessments, highlighting its potential for low resource consumption and CO2 footprint and thus for salient contributions to a sustainable, secure, safe and affordable supply of renewable energy in Europe.

The HighLite project aims to substantially improve the competitiveness of the EU PV manufacturing industry by developing knowledge-based manufacturing solutions for high-performance low-cost modules with excellent environnment profiles (low CO2 footprint, enhanced durability, improved recyclability). To achieve this, the HighLite project focuses on thin (down to 100 µm) high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells with passivating contacts and capitalizes on the learnings from previous large funded projects. In HighLite, a unique consortium of experienced industrial actors and leading institutes will work collectively to develop, optimize, and bring to high technology readiness levels (TRL 6-7) innovative solutions at both cell and module levels. In practice, HighLite will demonstrate high-efficiency ¼ size (or smaller) cut solar cells (silicon heterojunction cells with efficiency η ≥ 23.3%, interdigated back-contact cells with η ≥ 24.3%; only 0.2% less than full size cells) in pilot-line manufacturing. Industrial tools will be developed in the project for assembling these cut-cells into high-efficiency modules tailored for various distributed generation (DG) applications. More specifically, the following developments will take place: (1) building-applied PV modules with η ≥ 22% and a carbon footprint ≤ 250 kg-eq.CO2/kWp, (2) building-integrated PV modules with η ≥ 21% and improved shading tolerance, and (3) 3D-curved vehicle-integrated PV modules with η ≥ 20% and a weight ≤ 5 kg/m2. Finally, HighLite aims to show improved cost and performance (both through indoor testing and outdoor demonstrators) against state-of-the-art commercially available modules. Altogether, it is expected that the solutions developed in HighLite will: (1) create more demand in Europe and worldwide for such DG products, (2) significantly improve the competitiveness of industrial actors that are part of the consortium, and (3) trigger significant investment in the EU PV industry.