STAR*track aims at expanding the Built4People Innovation Cluster (B4PIC) network developed in the HE project NEBULA and strengthening and supporting B4PICs and their members to deliver sustainable and people-centric innovation and accelerate uptake by regional value and supply chains. This overarching objective will be achieved by: - Integrating new B4PICS: 6 new B4PICs will be set-up in regions so far not covered by the B4PIC network and receive direct support. Outreach activities to innovation clusters will be made in order to reach the B4P contractual target of 10-15 fully mature B4PICs by 2028. - Creating enabling conditions and providing tools and training for B4PICs and their members for increased development and market transfer of sustainable construction and renovation innovation. - Accelerating the demonstration of holistic and inclusive solutions with high market potential through tailored support mechanisms (incl. access to demo sites) - Facilitating access to funding for demonstration, scale-up and implementation of sustainable innovation by local/regional construction value chains - Paving the way for replication, wide-spread use of the supporting tools and services, and continuous expansion of the Built4People network based on a UE27 replication plan with a long-term vision and business model. In order to make B4PICs attractive for different target groups of the innovation value chain, concrete value propositions will be defined to highlight the impact of B4PIC with respect to improvement of innovation capacities and development of sustainable business opportunities. The impact of the B4PIC network and the B4PICs themselves will be measured to show their significance for the green, digital, and people-centric transition of the Built Environment sector, the up-skilling of innovation actors, and the acceleration of construction and renovation products and solutions towards climate neutrality, in line with the impacts laid out in the Work Programme.

United Circles project will demonstrate, with 46 partners across 14 countries + 1 international body, three Industrial-Urban Symbiosis value chains, to upcycle of urban Food Waste, urban Wastewater Solids, and urban Construction & Demolition Waste (C&DW). To close urban and industrial water loops to reduce freshwater use in drought prone regions, and integrate energy co-generation technology in upcycling pathways. Made possible by advancing innovative technologies from TRL5 to TRL7 in combined integrated value chains, to enable zero waste cities and a decarbonised Process Industry. The value chains cover collection, sorting, upcycling and production of new upcycled products. To demonstrate how: 1) a demolish building’s C&DW can be transformed into a new 2 storey 3D printed building with upcycled low-carbon cement, cement bonded particle boards, and insulation foam; 2) a waste-water treatment plant can become a resource recovery centre for all materials, water and energy, in an integrated manner. By supplying high quality gas to the local gas grid, by providing upcycled cellulose as industrial feedstock to pulp & paper industries, and by providing clean water and fertilizer for agriculture; 3) food waste in the form of used cooking oil can be upcycled in a first application of 2nd generation biorefinery to create novel fully biodegradable and food waste origin bioplastic products for complete replacement of fossil fuels. The United Circles 3 value chain demonstrators will each be integrated in a Hub 4 Circularity, that will underpin their Industrial-Urban networks governance and evolution, using advanced governance frameworks, feasibility towards financing methodologies, digital tools, social and environmental innovations, and a material and products observatory. The H4C in the proposal will enable business to territory plans, with their regional stakeholder network, that seek to expand the demonstrator integrated technologies to higher TRL levels.