The RAMSSES project has the strategic objective to obtain recognition and an established role for advanced materials in the European maritime industry. To achieve this the project will demonstrate the benefits of new materials in thirteen industry led and market driven demonstrator cases along the entire maritime process chain from components through equipment and ship integration to repair. Those demonstrators will reach a high Technology Readiness Level between TRL 6 and 8 and will either be installed on shore under close to reality conditions or validated on board. The technical performance as well as life cycle cost efficiency and environmental impact will be assessed and validated by specific expert teams following common procedures and testing standards. The test program will be based on risk assessment and a widest possible use of existing test results and supervised by rule making bodies, such ensuring relevance for a commercial approval beyond the project. Test data as well as best practice procedures on design, qualification and production of new material solutions will be made available in a maritime test database and a central knowledge repository, thus allowing fast qualification and approval of similar maritime applications in future. RAMSSES also aims to improve the innovation capabilities of the European maritime sector by elaborating terms of reference of a future use of the test database and the knowledge repository beyond the project. In cooperation with other initiatives, it will contribute to the formation of a maritime materials innovation Platform including continuous technology transfer from and to other industry sectors.

Maritime transport is among the leading sources of greenhouse gases and pollutants which are estimated to cause 50,000 premature annual deaths and €58 billion annual cost to the society in the EU. With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations coming in force, marine transport needs new energy solutions for emissions reduction. Passenger ships are the most affected as they have growing pressure from their customers and habitants near ports for a clean environment. To address these challenges, this project aims at developing, evaluating and validating a highly efficient and dynamic integrated marine energy system fuelled by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for long-haul passenger ships. This energy system, responsible to cater for all heat & power needs of a vessel, consists of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)-battery hybrid genset with coupling with the existing Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) based generators and gradually replacing these ICEs. The project will develop and deliver a complete process design and digital demonstrator of a fully integrated on-board energy system of a size between 5 and 60 MW for two types of cruise ships: 1000 and 5000+ passenger vessels. A physical proof-of-concept (PoC 30 kWe SOFC+battery) as well as a modularized functional demonstrator (60 kWe SOFC+battery) of the hybrid genset will be developed and operated to validate the design and operation strategies. The digital design and the physical demonstrator will be evaluated against the marine safety regulations. The project brings in a consortium of key actors in maritime passenger transport including ship operators, ship builders, marine engine builder, marine regulatory company, and technology developers supported by research organizations from across the Europe. Together they target to validate this integrated energy system to comply with the IMO targets of 2030 and beyond. Besides, regulatory framework, emission analysis, lifecycle assessment and feasibility of fuel flexibility are addressed.

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.