The PHOTOSINT project presents solutions to the challenges chemical industries are facing in integrating renewable energy sources into their processes. The project will deliver sustainable processes to produce hydrogen and methanol as energy vectors using only sunlight as an energy source and wastewater and CO2 as feedstocks, making the industries more auto-sufficient. The pathway is based on solar-driven artificial photosynthesis, and aims to develop new catalytic earth-abundant materials and modifications of existing ones to improve catalytic processes. Design parameters of the PEC cell will be tuned to maximize solar to fuel (STF) efficiency. Moreover to improve the conversion for industrial implementation, PHOTOSINT will develop a novel way to concentrate and illuminate the semiconductor surface to maximize overall energy efficiency. Perovskite solar PV cells will be integrated to harvest the light to supply the external electrical voltage. PHOTOSINT is an ambitious project due to precedents in research conducted to date and the low production rate of the desired products. For integrating sunlight energy into the industry, the catalyst will be studied, and then the best one/s will be implemented in prototypes. The obtained results will be used for making scale-up in pilots with tandem PEC cells. These steps are necessary to assess the industrial scale-up feasibility, promoting the increased competitiveness of renewable process energy technologies and energy independence. MeOH and H2 will be tested in engines. Also, an HTPEM fuel cell will be used for electricity generation, and hydrogen will be tested as an alternative fuel for energy generation instead natural gas in melting furnaces avoiding CO2 emissions.

The 4th Industrial Revolution/Industry 4.0 has enabled reduction of production costs, improved consistency of product quality and enabled mass customisation by merging the physical and digital worlds. The transition is still ongoing - Industry 4.0 is a general-purpose technology, adding value across all industrial sectors. However, the perception of Industry 4.0 at a human level has not all been positive. It has been plagued by fear of job cuts and in some sectors completely replacing the human workforce. Automation projects have often failed due to omitting the critical skilled human elements in business success with unintended consequences including reduced customer satisfaction, poorer product quality and lower process efficiency. Automation alone clearly cannot be a source of sustained competitive advantage. I5.0 will address the balance between humans and technology, focussing on the collaborative relationship between skilled workers and automation. The intent is reinstate skilled craftsmanship at the centre of production processes where people add unique value and competitive advantage, augmented by intelligent, data-driven technology emerging from Industry 4.0. In the Up-Skill project, we will address the implications of Industry 5.0, in particular the relationship between automation, skilled work and organisational systems. Our research will establish how the relationship between automation and human input plays out in a range of industrial settings, creating comparative case studies to capture effective implementation strategies. We will address under-explored strategic spaces in production - where automation adds value to skilled and artisanal work, and where further automation risks undermining product value. This research will identify the shifting organisational characteristics that are needed to ensure technology advancements are implemented within companies while ensuring sustainable, added value for man, machine, and organisation.

HIGFLY will develop the next generation of technologies for the production of advanced bio jet fuels from abundant and sustainable biomass feedstocks. In a nutshell, HIGFLY: 1. Utilises abundant and sustainable feedstocks (e.g. second-generation biomass and macroalgae), focusing on feedstock flexibility and synergies across the bioenergy sector. 2. Develops innovative, highly-efficient and scalable reactor and separation technologies to produce advanced bio jet fuels in a resource, energy and cost-effective manner. 3. Develops new and robust catalytic materials and sustainable solvents for the renewable energy sector. 4. Advances the knowledge of its innovative technologies by evaluation of the entire value chain (from feedstock(s) to bio jet fuel) to demonstrate the environmental, social and techno-economic performance of HIGFLY technologies and the prospect of regulatory compliance of HIGFLY’s bio jet fuel. HIGFLY will develop and demonstrate in a step-wise approach and under industrially relevant conditions (at TRL3-4) innovative and highly efficient conversion technologies and integrative approaches to valorise abundant and sustainable feedstocks in a resource-, energy- and cost-effective manner. This has the unique potential to increase the total share of advanced biofuels in the EU jet fuel market. In this way, HIGFLY addresses EU priorities for decarbonizing the transport sector through the key actions of the EU SET Plan, specifically: i) by sustaining technological leadership through development of highly performant renewable technologies and their integration in the EU energy system; ii) by reducing the cost of key technologies through maximizing resource and energy efficiency; and iii) by strengthening market uptake through intensive early-stage cooperation between key end-users, policy advisors and technology developers. The HIGFLY consortium combines experts along the entire value chain, from research to end users, to accelerate market uptake.

The REWET project will facilitate the sustainable restoration and conservation of terrestrial wetlands – freshwater wetlands, peatlands, and floodplains. To do so, REWET draws upon the network of carefully selected seven demonstrators (Open Labs ≥ 2400 ha in total) that cover a range of local conditions, geographic characteristics, governance structures and social/cultural settings to fully understand the wetlands-carbon-climate nexus and provide an replication plan to boost successful wetlands restoration throughout Europe and internationally. In the Open Labs, the most fit-for-purpose technologies will be applied for the monitoring of GHG (Eddy Covariance towers, satellite imagery, field measurements), biodiversity, and meteorological events. Furthermore, the social aspect will be analysed, by evaluating gender differences, locals, and key stakeholders acceptance. REWET has two additional strong scientific pillars: the assessment of EU wetlands status in Europe and modelling. Together with the Open Labs, they will fill out the gaps on wetlands science and provide guidance for cost-effective restoration and monitoring practices that are environmentally friendly, compatible with the future climate and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. As main outcomes, REWET will deliver a wetlands inventory with carbon sink potential, models for wetlands GHG emissions/sequestration under different scenarios including climate change, policy recommendations for wetlands restoration, sound business models and a roadmap for replication. The REWET consortium is a transdisciplinary partnership between researchers, industry partners (SME), non-profit entities, responsible agencies at the local and watershed/regional level and one international organisation, dedicated to achieving the desired outcomes of the project.

HALO-TEX demonstrates a novel, sustainable, and circular bioproduct manufacturing system based on the biorefinery of salt-tolerant plant biomass. Cellulose-based yarns and fabrics with improved recyclability, bio-based additives, and composites are targeted towards high-pressure textile and biochemical industries. It addresses the European Green Deal objectives, the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, and the EU strategies regarding bioeconomy and circular textiles, amongst other policies and initiatives. HALO-TEX goes beyond the state-of-the-art by using underexploited feedstock in an innovative extraction, pretreatment, and separation process cascade for maximum resource valorization, and sustainable cost-effective manufacturing of multiple products. Consumer acceptance studies and comprehensive product information systems will be developed to overcome the social barriers related to the uptake of bioproducts. The textile industry has a tremendous negative environmental impact regarding primary raw material, freshwater and land use, emissions and pollution, and waste generation. HALO-TEX addresses these issues by using novel, secondary feedstocks grown in marginal land, developing circular biorefinery system with low energy and chemical input, and enhancing the sorting and recycling of materials and bioproducts. It will provide an innovative value chain and a sustainable model for bioproduct manufacturing to advance transitions towards a circular bioeconomy, increase the uptake of novel products, and foster socio-economic opportunities, especially in rural, vulnerable regions. The partners are skilled experts within their respective fields, and the project builds on previous Horizon projects. Located across Europe, the consortium provides a broad perspective on the related research areas and target industries while ensuring that the results and project’s benefits are widespread, reaching consumers and stakeholders across the value chains and beyond sector borders.