The brain, with its remarkable computational properties, provides animals with capabilities of physical autonomy, interaction and adaptation that are unmatched by any artificial system. The brain is a complex network that has evolved to optimize processing of real-world inputs by relying on event-based signaling and self-reorganizing connectivity. Spikes (the events) are transmitted between neurons through synapses which undergo continuous ‘birth’-‘death’ and adjustment, reconfiguring brain circuits and adapting processing to ever changing inputs. The scientific and technological objective of the project is to create a hybrid system where a neural network in the brain of a living animal (BNN) and a silicon neural network of spiking neurons on a chip (SNN) are interconnected by neuromorphic synapses, thus enabling co-evolution of connectivity and co-processing of information of the two networks

The GeoS-TECHIS project targets the decarbonization of industrial thermal processes, which currently account for approximately 20% of global energy consumption and predominantly depend on fossil fuels. The project introduces an innovative thermal system, combining a high temperature heat pump and a heat-driven cooling unit, which leverages geothermal resources as heat source, sink and storage. GeoS-TECHIS focuses on industries with sub-200 °C process heating needs and modest cooling requirements above 0 °C, aiming to reduce their carbon footprint by 60 - 75% compared to current fossil fuel-dependent solutions. The project will achieve these goals through several key initiatives: • Developing and field-testing an advanced thermal system using water (R718) as the working medium, designed for versatility across industrial applications and efficiently utilizing geothermal sources, industrial excess heat, and renewables like solar thermal. • Exploring cutting-edge concepts for high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES), focusing on operational flexibility in industrial contexts with sustainable thermal fluids. • Devising hybrid digital modelling tools to optimize industrial thermal processes and guide industries in decarbonization through tailored roadmaps. • Promoting societal and environmental acceptance through safe operational practices, comprehensive impact assessments, and advanced methodologies for geothermal energy potential mapping. GeoS TECHIS involves 10 partners and 1 affiliated: four private industry and technology providers, two universities, four research organizations and a specialised Communication and exploitation SME all committed and experienced within thermal research, innovation, manufacturing, testing and dissemination, thus a full complementary partnership for promoting the binomial geothermal energy & industry as a key pillar.

SHINE PV will develop alternative technological routes to PV production for Silicon Heterojunction and TOPCon solar cells, covering the three key steps in the back-end manufacturing: metallization, post-processing and interconnection. SHINE PV will demonstrate different flows and down-select the most promising ones in terms of cost of ownership and high volume manufacturing readiness. Advanced equipment at TRL7 with Industry 4.0 dedicated features, innovative materials and solutions will be developed. For the metallization, SHINE PV will introduce parallel dispensing and plating as High Volume Manufacturing (HVM) alternative processes to incumbent screen printing, with the objective of demonstrating the complete or partial replacement of Ag with Cu, a fundamental step to enable Tera-Watt scale production levels. Moreover, SHINE PV will increase the efficiency through cell post-processing by applying Light Soaking process in HVM and recover the cutting-induced losses by Edge Re-Passivation. For the module making step, the innovations in interconnection proposed are Twill and Shingling processes and HVM equipment. Both will leverage on the optimization of the metallization and post-processing steps and will demonstrate their potential in terms of superior electrical properties, aesthetics, reliability, and compatibility with premium module designs. The expectation of the project is to enable an increase of solar cell (or module) efficiency of 0.5% absolute versus the reference process with a simultaneous CoO reduction of 20%, due to reduced material costs and increased equipment productivity. SHINE PV project will demonstrate the integrated innovative processes and novel equipment both virtually and within physical pilots at industrial partners at TRL7. To our knowledge for all these technologies no production equipment is available for HVM worldwide, and we envision a great potential for a PV supply chain revamping in EU.