ALFAFUELS proposes a novel Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) production technology that can play a major role in the decarbonisation of the aviation sector by replacing conventional fossil fuels in mid and long-term. ALFAFUELS contributes to climate change mitigation, energy transition, and on the establishment of a circular bio-based economy by providing a direct capture and utilisation of CO2, by developing cost-effective and sustainable technological solutions in all process steps, and by providing integration possibilities with other sectors. The project’s aim is to tackle the key challenges preventing SAF technologies to reach technological maturity and commercialisation such as the high current production cost, sustainability issues associated with their production, technological constraints (yields and efficiencies). To that end, ALFAFUELS includes targeted technological breakthroughs, such as the microbial production of a volatile fuel precursor from CO2, the upgrade to kerosene-type jet fuel molecules in ambient conditions using solar light-driven photochemistry, and the valorisation of all cell components in a biorefinery approach to co-produce starch and H2 (indirectly from CO2) as an important intermediate. The proposed technological novelties are combined with modelling approaches to maximize efficiencies, to optimize the overall process regarding cost and energy consumption and to evaluate the process with combined techno-economic and life cycle assessments. The project lifts the production technologies at TRL5, by including the design of novel cost-efficient bioreactors, pilot scale trials on real, industrially relevant CO2 streams and evaluation of the produced molecules against ASTM standards. To further accelerate the upscaling of ALFAFUELS, we analyse the systemic barriers and opportunities for the implementation of SAF technologies in Europe, using modelling tools and capitalizing from the participation of industrial end-users in the consortium.

Research on proactive work behavior has been thriving. Proactive behavior involves initiating action in order to bring about positive change (Frese & Fay, 2001; Parker, Bindl, & Strauss, 2010). Several theoretical frameworks and a large body of research give insights into the antecedents of proactive behavior. With regard to the outcomes of proactive behavior, extant research has focused primarily on performance related outcomes. The effect on the well-being of individuals’ engaging in proactive behavior has so far received little attention. The few existing studies on the effect of proactive behavior on well-being suggest a complex relationship, because two contradictory findings need to be integrated. On the one hand, proactive behavior and related constructs have a high level of stability over time (Frese, Garst, & Fay, 2007; Li, Fay, Frese, Harms, & Gao, 2014). On the other hand, our own recent research suggests that proactive behavior has costs for individuals’ well-being. Proactive behavior results in elevated levels of daily cortisol output and daily fatigue (Fay & Hüttges, 2015), and is – under specific working conditions – associated with increases in job strain over longer periods of time (Strauss, Parker, & O’Shea, 2016). Together, these findings point to a contradiction that has to be resolved. If proactive behavior has costs for individuals’ well-being, why do individuals maintain their proactive behavior? To resolve this contradiction, we propose a model that does not only focus on proactive behavior’s effects on hedonic well-being, but that also incorporates eudaimonic well-being. Work psychology has only recently begun to acknowledge the relevance of eudaimonic well-being (Sonnentag, 2015). Our model proposes that while proactive behaviors may have costs in terms of hedonic well-being, there are simultaneous and longer term benefits for eudaimonic well-being. Eudaimonic well-being may compensate for the negative effects on hedonic well-being. The model spells out differential mediating pathways that help to unlock the black box between proactive behavior and well-being. Furthermore, research on proactive behavior has so far barely taken the national culture as the context in which proactive behavior emerges into account. Culture and its associated values, expectations, and behavioral norms are likely to affect the proactivity – well-being relationship. Because of its change oriented nature, proactive behavior is likely to be particularly taxing in countries with elevated levels of uncertainty avoidance. A comparison between France and Germany lends itself to a cultural comparison, because France and Germany differ substantially in their level of uncertainty avoidance (Chhokar, et al., 2007). The present proposal includes three studies. They are designed to test for short-, mid- and long-term effects, taking the proposed mediating variables into account. All studies include a cross-cultural comparison.

Fruit tree crops (FTC), represented by more than 50 species grown on over 100 M Ha, are strongly affected by climate change (CC). Thanks to grafting, rootstocks can confer enhanced tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, providing a valuable solution to expand food production. BOLERO aims to i) develop phenotyping tools, ii) employ them to score root system architecture (RSA) traits of coffee/cocoa, including grafted plants, under controlled and on-field conditions, iii) decode the microbiome of coffee/cocoa plants and the interface with the root exudates with large-scale metabolic modelling, and iv) use these resources to build predictive models of RSA traits in terms of genotypic data and microbiome composition and abundance to accelerate coffee/cocoa breeding. This data compendium will be used in combination with a data hub to survey the genetic diversity in FTCs and use it to dissect the genetic basis of RSA traits and their plasticity. BOLERO will propose fast and low-cost breeding strategies to create rootstocks, which will be tested in low-input coffee/cocoa farming systems. The agronomic performances and profitability of grafted plants will be assessed in Vietnam. BOLERO will rely on the knowledge of the large scientific community in Europe, the support of national institutes in tropical countries, and the expertise of industries to lead a multidisciplinary study for rootstocks selection with Coffee as a model, Cocoa as proof of concept, and propose tools and techniques transferable easily to all FTCs. BOLERO will develop and demonstrate for the first time at a large scale the open-source seeds initiative. BOLERO will therefore contribute to the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies, through significant impacts on the way FTCs are bred and on the use of beneficial soil biota and biodiversity, leading on adaptation to CC, inputs used and soil carbon sequestration.