Textile industry is facing major challenges. It is one of the most polluting industries, and consumers, as well as European regulations, are pushing for change. Indeed, global demand is changing, and consumers tend to expect more sustainable and smart textiles. Moreover, the EC is committed to a green and digital transition and needs to be more competitive globally. In this context, UPWEARS aims to contribute to structural resource efficiency and a sustainable economy by unlocking the potential of a new generation of biobased and hybrid fabrics for e-textile. UPWEARS e-textile will feature high performance, cost-effective multi-functionality, such as functionalized yarn and fibre, biomimetic fabrics, imbedded electronics and energy sensors. Partners will ensure a reduced environmental impact on the manufacturing value chain and end product – a country cycling suit – fully recycled. UPWEARS development will minimise manufacturing waste thanks to artificial intelligence technology and multiscale testing. It will also reduce chemical utilisation thanks to enzymatic & eutectic green solvents. For this, UPWEARS will: -Create an innovative & sustainable value chain from the native fibre to functional device end-of-life; -Switch from a traditional towards a modern textile fabrication process supporting the textile industry's digital and sustainable transformation; -Eco-design an e-textile for high added-value sportswear applications meeting European consumer's demand and contributing to EU competitiveness. UPWEARS implementation and exploitation will have many environmental, societal and economic impacts. It will contribute to EU policies like the EU Green Deal since it combines electronic devices and natural fibres and works on circularity. Finally, UPWEARS consortium covers the full value chain: formulation, functionalization; e-textile design & production; digital transformation; reliability & durability; industrial validation and recycling & additive manufacturing

The European submarine networks are vital critical infrastructure for the EU member states. This submarine cable and pipeline network is crucial for the European society and any failure or damage to it could potentially have an enormous effect on the societies. Due to the rapidly evolving threat and geopolitical landscape, especially with incidents like the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas infrastructure, organizations overseeing critical infrastructure face significant challenges. They must handle intentional threats while also grappling with growing problems caused by accidental and natural factors as well as climate change. These issues can worsen the effects of deliberate actions. To address these challenges effectively, it is crucial for these entities to implement resilience-enhancing measures. The aim of VIGIMARE is to strengthen the resilience of Critical Infrastructure operators against threats to the European submarine critical infrastructure by developing, testing and evaluating an innovative solution to enhance security and reduce risks of physical and cyber-attacks on submarine cables and pipelines. This will be accomplished by 1) mapping submarine systems, surveying cables and landing stations, and assessing vulnerabilities in the European submarine critical infrastructure network, 2) develop an automated threat detection approach, creating a real-time shared awareness of the surface above the submarine infrastructure to promptly indicate incidents to both critical infrastructure owners and member states authorities. By integrating a comprehensive resilience ecosystem with real incidents at sea, the project seeks to 3) identify early warning signals, support analysis, and pinpoint potential response activities to address physical, cyber and hybrid threats. The result will be enhanced resilience for submarine critical infrastructure owners, supporting authorities to enforce the CER and NIS2 directives implementation in the EU member states.

The HPC Digital Autonomy with RISC-V in Europe (DARE) will invigorate the continent’s High Performance Computing ecosystem by bringing together the technology producers and consumers, developing a RISC-V ecosystem that supports the current and future computing needs, while at the same time enabling European Digital Autonomy. DARE takes a customer-first approach (HPC Centres & Industry) to guide the full stack research and development. DARE leverages a co-design software/hardware approach based on critical HPC applications identified by partners from research, academia, and industry to forge the resulting computing solutions. These computing solutions range from general purpose processors to several accelerators, all utilizing the RISC-V ecosystem and emerging chiplet ecosystem to reduce costs and enable scale. The DARE program defines the full lifecycle from requirements to deployment, with the computing solutions validated by hosting entities, providing the path for European technology from prototype to production systems. The six year time horizon is split into two phases, enabling a DARE plan of action and set of roadmaps to provide the essential ingredients to develop and procure EU Supercomputers in the third phase. DARE defines SMART KPIs for the hardware and software developments in each phase, which act as gateways to unlock the next phase of development. The DARE HPC roadmaps (a living document) are used by the DARE Collaboration Council to maximize exploitation and spillover across all European RISC-V projects. DARE addresses the European HPC market failure by including partners with different levels of HPC maturity with the goal of growing a vibrant European HPC supply chain. DARE Consortium partners have been selected based on the ability to contribute to the DARE value chain, from HPC Users, helping to define all the requirements, to all parts of the hardware development, software development, system integration and subsequent commercialization.

Understanding and quantifying uncertainties (UQ) in aviation structures is vital to assessing risk and safety. UPBEAT will create novel UQ methods and tools to support the production of safer and more innovative aircraft structures and engines while reducing uncertainties in product and engineering lifecycles. The project focuses on metal-composite hybrid aerospace engine parts that are lighter, more durable and cheaper. Innovative design solutions for hybrid interfaces can be achieved using metal additive manufacturing (AM) bonded with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). Advanced models of materials and processes will be developed using sophisticated in-situ and ex-situ monitoring and metrology. In aviation engines, the outlet guide vane (OGV) is an essential component that helps de-swirl the flow field from the fan. The OGV's stiffness is crucial as it influences the engine's performance and includes a major load path from its core to the wing. The OGV with two types of CFRP vanes and titanium end fittings will be used as a demonstrator. By combining AM with advanced in-situ melt pool monitoring and characterization (micro-CT & nanoindentation), digital models will be used to optimize design and manufacturing processes and increase awareness on efficiency, safety and risk. This will result in 20-40% weight reduction and 50-70% fewer defects. Streamlined product development reduces qualification time by 30-40% and costs by 25-35%. In-line quality assurance support lowers manufacturing costs by 30-50% and time by 20-30%. UPBEAT will: ✔ Increase understanding of the process, structure, property, & performance with safety focus ✔ Advance process models (AM, CFRP) for planning & optimization ✔ Develop verification and validation using multi-scale models ✔ Integrate UQ in design, materials, manufacturing, qualification, & certification ✔ Demonstration of UPBEAT technologies using a complex aviation use case

European soils face pressing conditions for their health. An alarming 60-70% of EU soils are considered unhealthy, attributed to factors such as pollution, urbanization, and intensive agriculture, further exacerbated by climate change. This degradation results in economic, societal, and environmental repercussions, including decreased land productivity, migration, land abandonment, and biodiversity loss. Addressing this challenge necessitates holistic measures, especially since soil restoration can take centuries. The project initiative, aligning with various EU policies, emphasizes the importance of comprehensive soil restoration efforts. It plans to establish six Soil Health Living Labs (SHELLs) across diverse EU climatic zones, including Sweden, Spain, Spain-France, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria. These labs are envisioned as innovation hubs, tailored to address the EU's specific soil health objectives, notably objectives 4, 6, and 8. Through collaborative efforts within these SHELLs, the goal is to develop, test, and validate potential solutions, ensuring scalability beyond their immediate regions. iCOSHELLs places a strong emphasis on inclusive stakeholder engagement, from researchers to landowners. Its systematic approach includes building stakeholder capacities, bridging gaps between science and practical applications, deepening understanding of soil indicators, replicating effective soil recovery methods, and championing supportive soil health policies. Additionally, iCOSHELLs seeks to redefine the concept of Living Labs (LLs). Challenging the traditional model, which often revolves around isolated research entities, iCOSHELLs envisions LLs rooted in co-creation, broad engagement, and real-world application. This transformative vision aims to evolve existing SHELLs into standardized, widely recognized labs, setting a foundational blueprint for future LLs. Moreover, as a comprehensive soil data repository, iCOSHELLs promotes collaboration, ensuring replicable.