PROMECA strategic objective is to substantially contribute to the increase of knowledge, skills, and competitiveness in the European research area and industry, through the design and deployment of a thorough plan of research and secondment of researchers between top-level EU academia and industrial partners, contributing to the main European Policies on innovation. In line with the MSCA-RISE general objectives, the project will: • Support career development and training of 44 researchers through international and inter-sectoral mobility among 3 academia and 3 industrial partners in 4 European countries; • Promote sharing of knowledge and ideas from research to the market (and vice versa) in a systematic way, through the participation of researchers to 3 focused research groups where scientific and industrial mix of competences are ensured, and the organization of 8 project meetings, where research findings will be assessed and validated among groups. • Carry out a thorough training of researchers in 6 dedicated workshops, each with a different focus, also adding key entrepreneurial skills and innovation management. As an ultimate R&D goal, PROMECA will develop, test, and validate an innovative membrane reactor integrating new structured catalysts and selective membranes to improve the overall performance, durability, cost effectiveness, and sustainability over different industrially interesting processes, with distributed hydrogen production as the main focus of the project. The project will bring substantial impacts in terms of skills and knowledge development of the researchers, as well as higher R&I output, contributing to convert more ideas into products. Organizations involved will strongly boost their capacity to carry out R&I activities in multidisciplinary and inter-sectorial collaborations. Finally, the project will enhance the innovation potential and competitiveness of the EU industry, reinforcing its world leadership as a true knowledge-driven industry

The objective of MAP’OPT project is to explain, quantify and model the effects of modified atmospheres according to packaging film type. Interactions between determining factors and their effects on the effectiveness of MAP will be evaluated. In parallel, methods will be assessed to characterise the effect of gas on food properties. The main factors that will be studied include the characteristics of films, gas composition, their diffusion properties, headspace volume and the weight of the food product. The nature of microorganisms and their respiratory metabolism (aerobic, anaerobic, microaerophilic) are also key factors in this project. Only non-respiring food products will be studied. Impact of gas composition in the headspace on spoilage mechanisms as oxidation will be evaluated. The input data of this project include the available and/or published data on the microbial behaviour under modified atmospheres and on the specific effects of each gas, already acquired knowledge on the gas diffusion through the film or between the headspace and the food product and the laws that govern the diffusion of gases. A general schematic diagramme of the model will be validated and the necessary data for defining the parameters of the models will be collected. The underlying assumptions of the model will be validated: laws of gas diffusion and models on the effects of gas on microbial growth curves. Based on new, acquired and existing data, we will construct models that can assess microbial behaviour according to film type and gas composition of the modified atmosphere.This project is expected to lead to a quantitative approach for optimising barriers properties of packaging films and modified atmospheres composition to ensure better food quality. According to the type of food product and knowledge of the microflora that limits its shelf life, this project aims to determine the parameters to be estimated to optimise the gas mixture and the choice of film. Based on the developed models, the volume of the food package can also be optimized. The Sym'Previus data intergration system will be completed in order to capitalize the new data which will be input in this project. A new database will be designed to modelise the knowledge on the gas diffusion through the film or between the headspace and the food product, and on the impact of gas on bacterial behaviour. Consequently, the Sym'Pevius domain onthology will be complemented to take into account the new knowledge. This project gathers expertises in mass transfer, physical characteristics of food, in packaging, microbiology, biostatistics, quantitative modelling and Bayesian statistitcs and Bayesian networks. The projet has to supply to the scientific community with criteria for the development of new packaging contributing to the safety of food and to the sustainable development.

Green hydrogen is one of the most promising solutions for the decarbonisation of society. Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is already a mature technology but its large footprint makes it inadequate for producing the energy vector at GW scale. Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) on the other hand is compact but its dependence on iridium and other expensive materials poses a serious threat for up-scaling. Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) combines the benefits of both technologies. However, its key performance indicators (KPI) do not reach commercial requirements and are lacking competitiveness. NEWELY project aims to redefine AEMWE, surpassing the current state of AWE and bringing it one step closer to PEMWE in terms of efficiency but at lower cost. The three main technical challenges of AEMWE: membrane, electrodes and stack are addressed by 3 small-medium-enterprises (SME) with their successful markets related to each of these topics. They are supported by a group of 7 renowned R&D centres with high expertise in polymer chemistry and low temperature electrolysis. The SMEs and one of the largest hydrogen companies in the world will oversee that the new developments have a clear commercial perspective, placing Europe at the lead of AEMWE technology in three years. In this period , the NEWELY consortium will develop a prototypic 5-cell stack with elevated hydrogen output pressure. It will contain highly conductive and stable anionic membranes as well as efficient and durable low-cost electrodes. It will reach twice the performance of the state of the art of AEMWE operating with pure water feedstock only. The targeted performance of the NEWELY prototype will be validated in a 2,000 hours endurance test. The new AEMWE stack will lead to a significant cost reduction of water electrolysis having a relevant impact in the cost of green hydrogen.

In recent years, use of new technologies has attracted attention from the food industry due to the increase in consumer demand for minimally processed food products (mild pasteurization) by preserving their nutritional and sensorial properties. The objective of the project is the control of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in food products by a rational use of the oxydoreduction potential (Eh). Eh modification will be used to allow the sanitary and quality in different types of food products. It has been already proved that Eh modification (mainly reducing) has a positive impact on the aromatic, rheological and textural properties of food. Access for food operators to a new controlled factor, Eh, will permit in interactions with environmental parameters like pH, aw, temperature, acids to optimize the shelf life of products. The project will also be in the context of food systems with low environmental impact. Food-redox can impact at a better control of energetic consumption in thermal treatment used to stabilize foods and at less withdraw of products from economics actors (operators, distributors) by allowing optimized formulations of foodstuff. Food-Redox might increase the shelf-life by a better control of microbiological safety and the quality of the production, and consequently might reduce the logistic costs. Taking into consideration this context, this project offers several opportunities: to reinforce the competitiveness of the food companies, to reinforce the safety of food and to develop of sustainable methods of production, preservation and handling of agri-food products. The goal of the Food-Redox project is to provide an overview of the microbial cellular response of foodborne and spoilage bacteria to stress (pH, acid, or thermal) under conditions of redox controlled in view of better control these micro-organisms in food. A more comprehensive study on the impact of Eh on the physiology of micro-organisms contaminating food has never been made so far. The work plan integrate research and modelling phase of the effect of Eh on the re-growth of Lactococcus lactis, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus after acid or thermal stresses and a validation phase conducted on a selection of foods (cheese, dairy desserts, meat products, sauces, salads) based on bacterial species targeted and stress studied. This program combines 6 academic research laboratories, 4 Agro-industrial Institutes, one company leader in industrial gases, one French dairy council and 2 SME companies, closely involved in the development of processes to control Eh. The Agro-industrial institutes will implement testing at a pilot scale. A scientific based analysis on the possibility to use Eh in new strategies for the control of the microbial contaminations in food products will be available for industry. Scientific communication and technical valorisation of project will be structured by the general committee, the French dairy council and in interaction with the joint national technological network "Expertise on determination of food products microbial shelf life", qualified by the French Ministry of Agriculture in August 2007.