Thermal engines, refrigeration systems and heat pumps rely on thermodynamic cycles, in which an inert working fluid converts input thermal and mechanical energies into another useful energy form (work or heat) by cyclically transforming its thermal energy content. Although the selection of the working fluid is the main lever to increase their performances, whatever the fluid is, recorded efficiencies remain far below the highest achievable ones. This deficiency is strongly affecting the exploitation of waste heat and renewable thermal energies by closed power cycles, as well as representing the main cause of the slow performance improvement of heat pumps and cooling technologies. With the aim to effectively increase the performances of thermodynamic cycles, I propose to investigate a radically new thermodynamic structure, resulting from the use of equilibrated reactive working fluids instead of inert ones. Preliminary calculations have indeed shown that the simultaneous conversion of the thermal and chemical energy of reactive fluids may result in the intensification of these energy conversion processes. This project applies an original methodology that integrates thermodynamic and kinetic predictive tools to discover and characterize suitable reactive fluids, allowing for the quantification of the effects of reaction features on cycle performance and the optimization of the cycle?s configuration. The novelty of such a solution approach and comprehensiveness of the applied methodology builds the innovative character of REACHER. Probably due to the complex multi-disciplinarity of the problem or to the negligence of this possible way to convert chemical energy in thermodynamic cycles, this field has remained substantially unexplored. The successful development of REACHER will provide the former fundamental understanding on how chemical energy can be efficiently exploited in the intensification of thermodynamic cycles for power, refrigeration and heating purposes.

Can we extend nonequilibrium thermodynamics to probe complex quantum phenomena? In the 90s, the scope of thermodynamics broadened to include small systems and far-fromequilibrium transformations. Building on these advances, the emerging field of quantum thermodynamics has recently lead to breakthroughs formulating nonequilibrium thermodynamics in the quantum regime. Motivations range from the search of quantum advantages in heat engines or quantum batteries, to the expression of global constraints on many-body quantum dynamics stemming from the Second Law. However, deep quantum regimes where largest deviations from classical thermodynamics are expected remain elusive, limiting applications: At weak system-reservoir coupling, a finer description of the coherent-dissipative regime is lacking to evaluate the resource costs of quantum control, optimize quantum heat engines or understand the energy transfers during a quantum measurement. This in turn hinders experimental developments of quantum thermodynamics in more platforms. To express fundamental nonequilibrium bounds on the energy exchanges with quantum materials and use thermodynamics to probe many-body dynamics, new coarse-grained description are crucially needed. Project QARNOT will address those timely issues owing to a novel strategy combining cutting-edge methods from quantum open system theory beyond the most common approximations with newly-derived universal thermodynamic descriptions of quantum systems, to bridge the gap between quantum thermodynamic laws and experimentally or theoretically accessible physical variables. By unlocking the deep quantum regimes of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, QARNOT will provide a new versatile analytical toolbox to probe quantum many-body and dissipative dynamics. Notably, QARNOT’s advances will be employed to solve the important bottleneck of the thermodynamic description of realistic quantum measurement, and enable a broad experimental use of thermodynamic concepts.

Aiming to contribute to a substantial increase in the sustainability of thermal power plants, heat pumps, and climatization systems, the ERC-StG-REACHER is introducing new working fluids for the thermodynamic cycle underlying these systems. These new fluids are mixtures of dimers “A2” and monomers “A” undergoing a reversible dimerization reaction, A2 ⇄ 2 A, evolving instantaneously and spontaneously in the unit operations of the machine. REACHER has introduced about 200 of these reactive fluids. Among them, the family of carboxylic acids (e.g., formic, acetic, propionic acid) seems very promising as working fluids for residential heat pumps: other than owing excellent environmental properties, their use promises an outstanding 17-43% relative efficiency improvement compared to state-of-the-art heat pumps. In this context, the main objective of the ERC-PoC-CREATIVE is to perform the first step towards the realisation of a residential heat pump prototype operating with formic acid, enabling the validation of the -theoretically observed- positive chemical reaction effects. This step consists of preliminary verifying the feasible compression of formic acid with a finely controlled series of available compression technologies, using air as working fluid in the sub-atmospheric pressure conditions characterising operation with formic acid. Within CREATIVE, these results will further allow the design of a pilot operating with formic acid to test, in a future PoC, the compressors preliminarily selected and pre-tested with air, in CREATIVE. The realisation and design of the experimental setups for the formic acid compression feasibility assessment are supported by thermodynamic calculations carried out in CREATIVE, using tools developed in REACHER. This PoC is supported by the expertise of two industrial partners, and involves the Host Institution’s Technology Transfer Office which will handle IP management and explore valorisation pathways for the key exploitable results.

Low regularity dynamics are used for describing various physical and biological phenomena near criticality. The low regularity comes from singular (random) noise or singular (random) initial value. The first example is Stochastic Partial Differential Equations (SPDEs) used for describing random growing interfaces (KPZ equation) and the dynamic of the euclidean quantum field theory (stochastic quantization). The second concerns dispersive PDEs with random initial data which can be used for understanding wave turbulence. A recent breakthrough is the resolution of a large class of singular SPDEs through the theory of Regularity Structures invented by Martin Hairer. Such resolution has been possible thanks to the help of decorated trees and their Hopf algebras structures for organising different renormalisation procedures. Decorated trees are used for expanding solutions of these dynamics. The aim of this project is to enlarge the scope of resolution given by decorated trees and their Hopf algebraic structures. One of the main ideas is to develop algebraic tools by the mean of algebraic deformations. We want to see the Hopf algebras used for SPDEs as deformation of those used in various fields such as numerical analysis and perturbative quantum field theory. This is crucial to work in interaction with these various fields in order to get the best result for singular SPDEs and dispersive PDEs. We will focus on the following long-term objectives: - Give a notion of existence and uniqueness of quasilinear and dispersive SPDEs. - Derive a general framework for discrete singular SPDEs. - Develop algebraic structures for singular SPDEs in connection with numerical analysis, perturbative quantum field theory and rough paths. - Use decorated trees for dispersive PDEs with random initial data and derive systematically wave kinetic equations in Wave Turbulence. - Develop a software platform for decorated trees and their Hopf algebraic structures.

Global healthcare associated with chronic non-healing wounds can be considered a main public health problem as affects up to 2% of the world population. A novel approach is needed mainly to support the quality of life of the people suffering from this silent epidemic and additionally, alleviate the impact in costs and resources for the healthcare system. Up to date, no smart bandages have made it to the real market and research state is still going on for a reliable and sensitive inspection method. The main goal of WOUNDSENS project is to lead the development of a novel generation of wearable biosensors with a synergy of technological breakthroughs in transversal fields of knowledge. Sensor elements, for the first time, will directly become a compatible part of the wound dressing material itself resulting in enhanced wearing comfort and operability. Accordingly, they will be integratable into manufacturers' existing standard processes (suturing, embroidery, roll-to-roll). Our proposal presents a parading shift in smart wound dressings constructed on novel hollow fibers with radial bio-signaling based on engineered novel enzymes. WOUNDSENS presents a leading-edge new technology with the design and development of innovative electrochemical materials with step forward advances in CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL, the development of electrospun neofibers and processes with leading edge methodologies on ELECTROSPINNING and the ENZYME ENGINEERING of a new family of detection biocatalysts (resurrected and extant enzymes) to secure a sensitive and reliable signal. WOUNDSENS proposal accepts the challenge of pushing forward the new technological platform to design a new concept in continuous wound control and monitoring improving the life of millions of people.