INNOQUA will accelerate the path to market of a modular set of innovative, patent protected, award winning and scalable fully ecological sanitation solutions that address wide market needs in rural communities, for agricultural industries, for sustainable home-builders or collective housing owners and for developing countries worldwide. The modular system is based on the purification capacity of biological organisms (worms, zooplankton and microorganism) and sorption materials bringing ecological, safe and affordable sanitation capacity where it is needed most while fully addressing the thematic and cross cutting priorities of the EIP on Water. We will perform demonstration scale deployment and resulting exploitation of the system to include commercial development, technology integration, eco-design, controlled environment pilots (in NUI Galway facilities in Ireland and UDG facilities in Spain), real use demo sites and market uptake preparation in several EU and non-EU countries (France, Italy, Ireland, Romania, UK, Ecuador, Peru, India and Tanzania), and further preparation for post project uptake. Such an integrated solution is innovative and has not been employed in the past. This integrated but modular solution for the final reuse of wastewater is particularly attractive for small to medium remote water stressed European communities with high water demand for either agriculture and/or the conservation of natural freshwater ecosystems. The system is aimed at being a sustainable solution for ‘zero’ wastewater production with the complete reuse of wastewater. The system is ideal for small to medium scale situations where an integrated solution for the treatment of wastewater is required to reduce the waste directed to surface freshwaters for the attainment of good quality water, as stated by the Water Framework Directive. The robust but efficient technologies are also ideal for deployment in markets where resources are limited and skilled staff unavailable.

The WaterWise Excellence Hub is a vibrant, action-oriented initiative that aspires to serve as a catalyst for R&I (creation and uptake), business development, and knowledge dissemination for water in the circular economy (CE). It leverages CE principles to rethink and transform water management in Romania, Greece and selected Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries (MD, SB, AL, NM and UA). WaterWise perceives the water sector not only as sustainable, but also regenerative, emphasizing closed-loop systems, optimal resource use, and reduced waste, in line with EU policies and RIS3 strategies. It is based on a quadruple helix model of innovation, and works at the nexus of technology acceleration, entrepreneurial support and R&I, boosting water innovation in the Region and beyond. To this effect the Hub’s partners co-create an R&I Strategy, an Action and Investment Plan, a FundFinder Portal, a Strategic & Tactical Decisions Toolbox as well as an Operational Decisions Toolbox, setup Water Tech Challenges, develop and launch an Innovation Accelerator, produce LLL Training Courses, create and share a Knowledge Hub and develop and deploy a Mentoring Scheme through a bottom up approach in collaboration with a wide range of key actors and stakeholders across the region. The Hub is empowered by its strong partnership that brings together actors from government, R&I-driven universities and research centres, funding bodies, business, water utilities, SME associations and civil society to create services tailored for post-project sustainability and real-world impact.

The Talent Pass initiative is designed to: - strengthen the innovation ecosystem towards a borderless research, innovation (R&I) and technology market by addressing the critical need for geographically balanced talent circulation and increased cross-sectorial interoperability, as outlined in Action 4 of the ERA Policy Agenda (2022-2024); - cultivate and support cross-sectorial partnerships between academic and non-academic organizations that operate in areas of proven scientific excellence, particularly within the realm of the circular economy. The Talent Pass project aims to: - significantly enhance talent mobility and expertise development within circular economy, particularly focusing on researchers, innovators, and other R&I academic/non-academic talents from widening countries; - build a critical mass of competent researchers having the necessary high-quality knowledge, skills, and tools to drive forward innovation and sustainability in the circular economy; - improving access to excellence by consolidating an interdisciplinary network of highly skilled human resources and enhance the efficient utilization and valorization of complementary research capacities, infrastructure and results, aligning with the Horizon Europe Work Program (2023-24) - WIDERA and the Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe (2020); - bridge the gap between research and application and effectively translate advancements in circular economy into real-world solutions, by fostering collaboration between academia and industry. Talent Pass will subsequently focus on strengthening the research capabilities of WC institutions, ensuring they are on par with leading European entities. This will be achieved through strategic use of research resources (human, know-how and infrastructure) to foster capacity-building initiatives and targeted training and secondment programs addressing current and future challenges in circular economy.

PROGENY targets a foundational and sustainable innovation, exploiting unique properties of designer soap films as advanced functional materials, to be used in fundamentally new type of biomimetic devices and sensors categorized as Proto-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (POEMS). A common soap film is uniquely characterized by a proton conducting, flexible, semipermeable, quasi 2-D aqueous phase, which doubles as a smooth (3.2Å roughness) and low defect substrate for self-assembled surfactant monolayers on its opposite surfaces. Synthetic surfactants are aliphatic oligomer tails modified with hydrophilic head groups, and have been traditionally designed for use as detergents or colloidal stabilizers. The scope of modifying 1D molecular wires and 2D conjugated polymers, to create novel surfactants, is wide open. These electronic molecules will be designed to significantly reduce surface tension in aqueous solution, self-assemble at water-gas interfaces, and mechanically stabilize a new class of electronic soap films, allowing radical innovations in POEMS. PROGENY will consolidate an interdisciplinary team of pioneering European experts, and its seminal set of deliverables will be foundational to consequent R&D activities in POEMS. As a final demonstrator (TRL 3-4), we will deliver - Gated electron-proton hybrid transistors that can host living cells, as foundational precursors to bionic device prototypes targeted in Phase II. Within the project, new electronic surfactant molecules will be synthesized, characterized and modelled; new categories of electronic soap films will be characterized and tested; new devices will be designed and fabricated. In an environmentally responsible research effort, all new materials will be tested for eco-toxicological impact. Sustainability of POEMS technology and its socio-economic impact will be indicated by a prospective (ex-ante) life cycle assessment (LCA). PROGENY will also deliver a white paper and a basic business plan.