Paper-based printed electronics are new recyclable electronic devices with technical, economic and environmental advantages. Additionally, nanocellulose (NC) based printed electronics, produced mainly from wood pulp, offer better printability and performance than paper. Therefore, the integration of NC-based printed electronics and biosensors is a promising source of innovation in the biomedical industry. In GREENSENSE we propose the development of a sustainable NC-based biosensing platform for Drug-of-Abuse (DoA) analysis, that integrates high-added value printed electronic components (a new biosensor, an NFC communication system, an energy storage system and a display) with a silicon microchip to provide it with multi sensor data processing, autonomy and wireless communication and that is easy for the user to read. The main goal of the project will be the use of NC as: substrate for the printed electronics, lamination film for the encapsulation of the final device and as active component in the formulation of functional inks (conductive, electrochemical, electrolyte and dielectric). In all cases the NC surface will be functionalized to be printable, with good barrier properties and compatible with the functional inks (bioactive, conductive, dielectric, electrochemical, electrochromic and electrolyte). Pilot lines and high throughput, high precision and cost-effective S2S screen-printing and ink-jet printing techniques will be used to produce materials and components at large-scale. Two types of DoA biosensing platforms to eradicate the consume of drugs among the society will be developed: a strip-based platform (2nd generation) that will be connected to a Smartphone and a strip+reader-based platform (3rd generation) that will also include a display. The final flexible and recyclable NC-based biosensing platform will be mass producible with ultra-low power consumption and, therefore, cost-effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The 21st century has been dominated by an ambient digitalization, a trend that is mirrored by the use of catchwords such as Smart Energy, Smart Homes & Smart Cities and the increasing use of electronics in everyday objects. Current IoT scenarios expect a number of around 75 billion connected devices by 2025, and the powering of these devices by batteries will result in a considerable amount of potentially hazardous waste. The spread of electronic systems in remote locations should thus be accompanied by a change in power generation, making use of dislocated and disordered energy sources. A cost-efficient and environmentally friendly realization of energy harvesting (EH), however, is still a challenge, as the required input of functional material and electronic components in comparison to the energy output is high and often involves lead-based materials, manufacturing methods that consume high amounts of energy and costly assembly steps. SYMPHONY aims for the development of new materials for low-cost and scalable printing and structuring processes to fabricate multimodal EH solutions based on the ferroelectric polymer P(VDF-TrFE) as well as printed energy storage devices and rectifiers not using rare elements and heavy metals. The hybrid integration of these devices on flexible films with low power harvesting ICs will result in a specific cost below 1€/mW (well below the value for piezoceramic and electrodynamic EH). The reduction of hazardous waste and energy consumption in SYMPHONY starts with material selection and manufacturing, but ultimately unfolds its full potential in the most CO2-relevant application areas: renewable energy generation, room heating/cooling and mobility. The innovative EH concept of SYMPHONY used to power distributed sensor nodes will reduce emissions by 50% increasing the efficiency of wind turbines (Smart Energy), making room heating/cooling 20% more efficient (Smart Home) and supporting the transformation of urban mobility (Smart City).

TThe 6GTandem project will demonstrate ultra-high-capacity coverage, off-load of lower frequency bands and new services such as sub-cm resolution sensing and positioning in high traffic areas by adding sub-THz carriers to lower frequency bands in a seamless, tightly coordinated fashion. The two frequency bands will form a network collaborating and supporting each other in a “tandem” configuration enabling an introduction of high capacity, energy efficient, sub-THz enabled services, while mitigating known drawbacks of the sub-THz frequency bands such as susceptibility to line-of-sight blockage, coverage, and cost. Deployment will be addressed through the introduction of a thin and light dielectric waveguide to distribute a sub-THz RF signal through a daisy chain of integrated low-power antenna units, referred to as a “radio stripe”. We will demonstrate the use of lower, sub-10 GHz frequency bands to support the sub-THz band with resilience and coverage and the implementation of a distributed MIMO system to extend the coverage of the sub-THz band as well as offering capacities in the order of Tbps system throughput. We will demonstrate the possibility to implement local fronthaul solutions for added sub-10GHz access points using the high bandwidth of sub-THz radio stripes. Key elements for 6GTandem: - A system defining an ‘aligned tandem’ dual-frequency distributed MIMO architecture - Medium-aware waveforms, transmission schemes and communication strategies for energy-efficient operation and development of cross-layer solutions to offer required service levels on the novel dual-frequency infrastructure - Novel, “radio stripe” hardware including transceivers at 130GHz-175GHz, packaging, integration, and plastic waveguide for a low-cost, easy-deployable sub-THz infrastructure - Conception of a combined low-frequency and sub-THz distributed MIMO system supporting joint high-resolution sensing, high-accuracy positioning, and high-resilience and reliability communication.