The CHARM project aims to radically transform the cancer diagnosing process and bring the emerging field of digital histopathology to the next level, introducing a novel technology for tissue analysis, capable to measure the molecular composition of the patient tissue samples and to recognize and classify the tumor in a completely label/stain-free way. The instrument, integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), will offer to histopathologists a reliable, fast and low-cost Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for cancer diagnosis and personalized cancer therapy. We will develop a Class C, (IVDR, In-Vitro Diagnostic Regulation) medical device consisting of a turnkey low-cost broadband Coherent Raman Scattering (CRS) microscope (enabled by our patented graphene-based fiber laser technology), named the Chemometric Pathology System (CPS), integrating an AI module based on deep learning, statistics and machine learning. The CPS will be capable of automatically analyzing unstained tissues, providing fast and accurate tumour identification (differentiating normal vs neoplastic tissues) with accuracy >98% and final tumour diagnosis prediction (differentiating and grading histologic subtypes) with accuracy >90%, thus offering to the histopathologist a decision tree compatible with existing clinical protocols but with biomolecularbased objectivity and reduced time to result (TRL6). We will develop a robust business case for the application and ensure the project continuation to higher TRLs and the final market entrance. This proposal builds on the results of the ERC POC project GSYNCOR.no project summary.

Rapid up-scaling and deployment of more cost-efficient and sustainable carbon capture solutions is needed to reduce the emissions of CO2-intensive industries. Solvent-based carbon capture is an important technology that can be readily adopted to many emission sources. Such technology can achieve high capture rates and deliver CO2 at high purity with a relatively low energy demand. In AURORA the open and non-proprietary CESAR1 solvent technology will be optimised and qualified for commercial deployment. The technology will be demonstrated at TRL7-8 for three CO2 intensive industries: refining, cement, and materials recycling, for which there are few other options to achieve climate neutrality. The partners will demonstrate negligible environmental impact (emissions being a potential issue for solvent technology), capture rates at 98%, and capture costs reduced by at least 47% compared to a benchmark process with the MEA solvent. This will be achieved due to the following innovations: 1) Holistic optimisation of solvent composition, process design, emission monitoring and control, and solvent management, 2) Validated models for use in commercial process simulators 3) enhanced waste heat integration with carbon capture for reduced external heat demand and operational costs 4) Improved and integrated advanced control system for reduced OPEX and optimised performances. These innovations will be integrated in four optimised capture processes and various aspects will be demonstrated in pilots of various size and complexity. The partners will ensure transferability of results to other CO2 intensive industries thanks to the large variations in CO2 source and developed clusters addressed in the project and a strong stakeholder participation. The project will also do full CCUS chain assessments for its end-users. It is noteworthy that the end-users are situated in two different regions of Europe offering different conditions for the implementation of CCUS value chains.

AEGIR’s main objective isto demonstrate a scalable, industrialised,smart, non-intrusive, quick, and affordable four-packaged renovation solution to boost the take up of deep retrofitting achieving nearly zerAEGIR main objective is to demonstrate a physical and digital sustainable framework that boosts the take up of deep retrofitting achieving nearly zero energy buildings. This approach is supported by (i) innovative, industrialized, high performance and non-intrusive multifunctional plug-and-play envelope solutions to increase the use of locally deployed renewable technologies. These solutions can also be modulated depending on the requirements of the target buildings. (ii) A digital ecosystem of services to improve the whole construction workflow (from design, manufacturing, construction, and operation) reducing costs with a sustainable approach. And (iii) a socio-economic model providing financial schemes and business models at building scale. To demonstrate these objectives the project will deploy all these solutions in four demos (Spain, France, Denmark, and Romania) mixing the retrofitting actions which will use the solutions in four different climates. The demos combine different building typologies (multi-family buildings, educational buildings, offices, and single-family buildings) to proof the concept in buildings and tenants with different requirements. One of the demos (Denmark) is social housing so the intention of the project is to demonstrate that these solutions are feasible for the more demanding public. A second demo is a public school to demonstrate the improved air quality and comfort provided by the solution to solve many of the air quality/ventilation problems in this type of buildings. The project involves all the actors from the construction and energy management value chain with local and international SMEs, large companies, public authorities. Local and international clusters are also included to verify the developments at European level.

Marine microbial communities perform critical life sustaining functions on Earth and represent a vast unexploited treasure trove of bioresources that have the potential to strengthen the European blue economy. To unlock this hidden potential, as well as responsibly conduct biodiscovery from marine microbes requires multiple developments. We need to amalgamate and apply advanced technologies to elucidate the composition, interactions and functional repertoire of the marine microbiome, while concomitantly ensuring sustainable and equitable exploitation, maintaining ocean health, and improving ocean literacy through an improved appreciation of ocean microbes. To address these needs, BlueRemediomics will: (1) develop and provide an integrated bioinformatics platform to explore the marine microbiome potential; (2) establish innovative culturomics and high-throughput screening platforms to experimentally exploit consortia of marine microbes; (3) apply the platforms to identify and develop natural products derived from marine microbes; (4) foster aquaculture and ecosystem services that embody the “do no significant harm” principle; (5) maximise equitable access to ocean microbiome resources and increase awareness of the marine microbiome to a diverse range of stakeholders; (6) Provide training, tools and resources to a variety of stakeholders. To achieve these objectives, BlueRemediomics interlinks an advanced “Discovery Platform” with “Applications”, so designed to facilitate cyclical and iterative crosstalk. By federating multiple, currently fragmented key data resources, the Discovery Platform will accelerate new product identification and development, reduce resource dependence, raise consumer benefits and address key societal issues. New modalities in access and benefit sharing will be established that balance sustainable and equitable use of marine genetic resources with intellectual property protection.

Marine microbiomes represent 90% of the total living marine biomass but only a small fraction of them can be cultivated. For this reason, they are an underexplored source of bioactive compounds, carbohydrate polymers and proteins, among others. Sampling the marine biodiversity, screening, identifying and isolating the relevant microbes is cumbersome, expensive and results in a heavy environmental burden, low yields, high costs and long times to market. Therefore, new approaches are necessary to overcome the limitations for the study of marine microbial communities and their “econological use”. BLUETOOLS will unravel the potential of marine microbiomes for healthier oceans and the Blue Bioeconomy through integration of different fields to develop cutting-edge tools that support fast, efficient AND sustainable exploration and exploitation of microbiomes, avoiding the drawbacks of conventional biodiscovery practices. The expected results of BLUETOOLS include discovering several hundreds of enzymes, rhodopsins, resistance genes, antimicrobials and anti-microfouling agents, thanks to a hybrid workflow of in silico and microfluidics-based functional discovery, resulting in the commercialization =400 enzymes for biocatalysis and =2 new solutions for plastic/polymer degradation, increasing the revenue of our industrial partners by 10-15%. BLUETOOLS assembles 5 leading European companies, 8 academic teams and 1 private RTO that have pioneered approaches in functional metagenomics, microfluidics, microbial ecology and synthetic biology. The presence of diverse, complementary industrial stakeholders in the consortium (from pharma to materials science to sustainability) at different stages in the research-to-market process (from RTOs to SMEs to large end-users) provides a unique opportunity for broad value creation. The planned activities will span 48 months and the project is estimated at ca. 9 M€, with 60% of the total dedicated to creating highly-qualified jobs