The objective of SAFE project is to reduce the environmental impact and improve the viability of the FW aquaculture by applying circular economy approaches to the valorisation of solid and liquid wastes from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and integThe main objective of SAFE project is to reduce the environmental impact and improve the viability of the FW aquaculture by applying circular economy (CE) approaches to the valorisation of solid and liquid wastes from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems. The economic viability of FW aquaculture will be improved through major advances in management systems and the integration of waste streams from FW aquaculture systems (FWAS) into the aquaculture feed chain. SAFE will enable the uptake of these solutions through local and regional scale demonstrations across the EU and will document the necessary management and governance conditions for successful transferability. The multidisciplinary expertise of the consortium across a wide range of systems, species and geographies will target the enhancement of species of particular biodiversity concerns, such as European native crayfish. We will improve the sustainability of FW aquaculture production and investigate the feasibility of diversification through the culture of under-represented species (perch) and valuable crayfish species with declining populations. Lastly, we will compare the experiences of EU FW aquaculture to Chinese FWAS and value chains, the largest, fastest-growing and most diverse aquaculture sector in the world, using mutual knowledge sharing to improve the sustainability of aquaculture in China and the EU. SAFE, through extensive dissemination activities, knowledge transfer programmes, training workshops and collaborative engagement with industry and stakeholders, will support the development of professional skills and competencies of the FW aquaculture both within the EU and partner countries.

ESTELLA is an ambitious initiative that proposes an innovative solution to improve the recyclability of low-recyclable materials: thermosetting composites. To this end, ESTELLA will work on the design of novel bio-based epoxy resins with inherent recyclability capabilities thanks to the introduction of Covalent Adaptive Network (CAN) in the original epoxy structure. CAN will provide the thermosetting epoxy resin with the ability to respond to certain stimulus that changes the state of its microstructure and thus, the ability to be reprocessed/re-polymerized (return to original monomers and fibres). A similar strategy will be applied to existing fossil-based epoxy formulations. In this way, the thermoset can be reprocessed or re-polymerized into new products and the fibres can be recovered as well. In addition, fibres of renewable origin will be used as reinforcement to manufacturing thermoset composites. ESTELLA research will address recycling techniques of any nature (chemical, biological and mechanical) to guarantee that the materials developed during the project can be successfully separated into their components in a safe and cost-effective way, hence maximizing the revenue of recycling activities. The validation of the developed recyclable materials will be carried out through economically and environmentally efficient manufacture processes (out-of-autoclave). Thus, new bio-composites will be designed and developed based on the premises of improving recyclability while meeting the demands of different sectors such as construction and leisure/mobility. Also, extensive work will be carried out to leverage the industrial application of the technologies and materials developed, taking into account safety, techno-economic, regulatory and intellectual property aspects.

IASIS aims at providing solutions for curing both contaminated and saline land through phytomanagement. Selected high-yielding, non-food (industrial) crops will provide biomass feedstock to develop intermediate and end bioproducts, following a cascading biorefinery approach, via economic-viable value chains. Farmers will have an active role on how to remediate the contaminated and/or saline soils while generating additional income by providing sustainable feedstock for non-food value-added applications. In order for the main and specific objectives to be fulfilled a total number of 6 work packages have been designed. The work starts with the crops’ optimisation (improved genotypes) and phytomanagement strategies (microbial consortia) development (WP1) for both contaminated and saline soils that will be tested and validated both in lab scale and in field case studies (FCSs). FCSs will be set up (WP2) in eight sites in Europe (4 contaminated and 4 saline), where 8 high-yielding, non-food (industrial) crops will be grown, following low-input and phytomanagement practices, to produce feedstock for the value chains and the bio-products development (WP3) as well as to engage and train the farming community (WP2). Two main groups of bioproducts will be developed (WP3) based on the type of industrial crops exploited (oilseeds and lignocellulosic) and in total 10 intermediate and 10 end-products will be developed and tested. Sustainability and feasibility assessment will be carried out on the most promising biomass-to-products pathways (WP4). A Decision Support System, to assess the viability and the soil remediation of the proposed value chains, and applicable business models will be developed tailored to the IASIS needs that will be applied for the IASIS case studies but will be applicable beyond the project. The regulatory framework will be outlined, while policy recommendations will be proposed. WPs 5 & 6 are dedicated to project dissemination and coordination.

Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to both human health and the global economy, they account for more than 20% of global mortality and viruses are responsible for about one-third of these deaths. To date, we know of about 200 infectious diseases and about 80% of infectious diseases are transmitted by unclean hands touching contaminated surfaces. SUSAAN project is focussed on development of new sustainable antiviral and antimicrobial coatings for textiles and high traffic objects made of plastics and metal, involving textile, bathrooms and switches manufacture industries. In this context, it can be stated that most of the common hand-touch sites and/or objects are covered by the project so final impact would be extensive after the successful project execution, being the results of the project validated in three main market sectors through end users. Consortium Partners and core business are one of the strongest points of SUSAAN. Technological and scientific partners (LUREDERRA, NCSRD, IVW, CEIT and ITENE) are experts on main areas of nanoparticles, coatings, pretreatment, biobased nanocapsules and toxicity assessment. Companies involved cover the whole value change based on their core business including coatings production (TECNAN), biobased products (CELABOR), bathrooms manufacturing (ECZACIBASI), home appliances (PANASONIC) and textiles (ALMAXTEX). Last but not least, INTER IT will cover the activities on BPR assessment being VIRHEALTH (the expert on virology) on charge of standardized testing to determine virucidal and antimicrobial activity of the coatings and ARDITEC on charge of sustainability assessment. The final outcome of SUSAAN project is the validation of the new sustainable antimicrobial/antiviral nanocoating in different final products: high traffic objects (plastic and metallic) and textiles. Technical advantages and comparative results to current solutions will be used to present SUSAAN solutions to potential clients.

Agro-industrial residual biomass, side streams and food production by-products like legumes, fungi and coffee are potential sources of valuable ingredients even though the routes for their exploitation are still at an early stage. Pursuing the ambition of achieving prolific valorization of untapped biomass streams, the project R%D&I activities and partners of Prolific have been positioned around a central innovation cycle that is mainly driven by industrial end-users who exactly know the needs of their customers and the technical constraints and industrial environment in their respective sector. The PROLIFIC project will apply a range of processing technologies to recover significant amounts of proteins/peptides and other value added compounds (e.g. carotenoids, phenols, caffeine and fibers) from industrial processing residues of legumes (seeds of peas, beans and chickpea), fungi (cuttings and mycelia of different species) and coffee (silver skin residue and not compliant roasted seeds). The economically and environmentally sustainable extraction, enzymatic modification, and conditioning techniques will be upscaled in industrially relevant environment. This will enable the production of consequent amounts of compounds and fractions necessary for the production of 16 product prototypes for the food, feed, packaging and cosmetic sectors. The Prolific project will assess the environmental, societal, ethical, safety, and regulatory issues at each step of the targeted value chains. SME and large companies strive at achieving competitive biomass exploitation and attracting when needed additional investors. The industrial partners business strategies for the future market penetration starts with the clear identification of the customer needs and goes up to the preparation of give-aways of food and cosmetics prototyped products as a reward for filling in questionnaires about the Prolific products along with intensive dissemination and communication.