The overall aim of the H2Heat project is to demonstrate the full value chain for green hydrogen (H2) heating for commercial building heating. 40% of total energy consumed and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions in EU correspond to buildings, with 79% of that energy used for heating of water and air conditioning. H2HEAT, in exciting alliance with the Canary Health Service (SCS), wish to create a full demonstration of Green H2 for heating (and later energy). This will serve as the replicable model to be rolled out across the SCS hospitals enabling the SCS fulfil its ambitious ‘Health Zer0 net Emissions Strategy’ delivering deep decarbonization. H2HEAT will use offshore wind renewable energy (RE) to produce H2, from Esteyco 6MW EU funded WHEEL project. The centralised onshore H2 facility, will produce H2 initially with a 1MW electrolyser, to be used to substitute conventional fuel by the large end-user hospital CHUIMI with substantial heating requirements (>0.5MW), using a novel combination of an advanced combustion technology burner specifically designed for H2 operation H2-CHP, and a heat pump. The H2-CHP will produce heat and energy and the energy will power the heat pump for substantial heat provision to the hospital with no waste. Full end-to-end infrastructure for H2 transport and use will be planned, installed and commissioned. Comprehensive and complementary mixture of expertise and know-how provided by the consortium partners will ensure an efficient realization of the technical objectives of the project, reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) of H2 fuel for consumers, and develop replicable business models for wide-scale commercial usage of H2 as a direct heating alternative across Gran Canaria. H2Heat will contribute to enabling Gran Canaria become part of the H2 valley economy through locally produced H2 from RE.

The mission of INPACE is to actively support the implementation of the Digital Partnerships with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore, and the cooperation with India in the context of the Trade and Technology Council, by creating a sustainable and interactive multi-stakeholder Indo-Pacific European Hub. The INPACE Hub is organised in 3 pillars: Policy (Activity Cluster 1 - Digital Dialogues, Policy and Education), rolling out digital technologies (Activity Cluster 2 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Well-being), and pushing key technologies forward (Clusters 3 - Trustworthy Decision Support, 4 - Chips of the Future and 5 - Future Networks). The Hub will create a INPACE Community Platform to support the implementation of Digital Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. A key element of INPACE is to organise thematically focused discussions on the expert level in 17 areas of strategic interest in Thematic Working Groups. This will lead to detailed and strategic outputs based on analytical work and deep domain knowledge. 28 events, both thematic and integrated, will provide networking opportunities. INPACE combines three levels of interventions, feeding each other: the expert level, the government level, the broader community of stakeholders. INPACE integrates co-creation, stakeholder engagement, community building. Particular attention is given to the impact and implications of digital technologies from the social and humanistic point of view. Regular communications with the EC and policy makers will ensure compatibility with ongoing efforts and priorities. It will also be assured, through the Asian partners, that the counterparts in the partner countries are informed and supportive of the activities. INPACE will from the start embed sustainability in the project execution, aiming at the hub becoming a sustainable long-term expert-driven mechanism for EU-Indo-Pacific collaboration in Digital Technologies and possibly beyond.

Central Bohemian Region (Czech Republic) and Lithuania represent European regions, where researchers in the photonics, resp. laser technologies sectors are internationally recognised, and the business has a high added value. The interaction between science and business is intense and promotes development, so there is great potential to create new companies. There are opportunities to create a new generation of industry based on laser technologies, and there is an increasing potential to create more integrated solutions. The inclusion of laser technologies in the priorities of smart specialization of both regions shows that this sector has a huge potential for further development and improvement. On the other hand, the main challenge in this area is the creation of the photonics and laser technology sector, where operating companies would produce products with higher added value and exceptional functionality. Thus, the Excellence Hubs initiative represents a unique opportunity for a teaming up of two laser-based innovation ecosystems creating a real-place-based innovation culture in the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Through activities such as the creation of a joint R&I strategy, the realization of joint research projects, setting up action and investment plans as well as mutual learning and skills development, the linkages between academia, business, government, and society will be strengthened, and sustainable R&I ecosystem in the cutting-edge domain of lasers and their applications will be created. Excellence Hub LASER-PRO is centered around key academic institutions HiLASE Laser Centre in the Central Bohemian Region and the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology in Lithuania. Complementary stakeholders include innovation centers, research clusters, and industry associations. Ukrainian partners are also involved through a mentoring scheme to enhance collaboration and innovation opportunities.

Three key global drivers underpin the increased interest in plant protein-based diets: population-growth, important role of proteins in a healthy diet, and the environmental impact of animal-based food chains. While an increasing trend in proportion of plant sources included in diet is obvious, the current generation of commercial plant-based alternatives is suboptimal. Therefore, more research is needed to develop mild processing techniques for plant proteins and to obtain a comprehensive understanding on the impact of plant proteins on technological and nutritional functionality. Addressing current challenges and shortcomings, Excel4Pro aims to support, with underpinning research and knowledge exchange, the capacity of the national Excellence Hubs of Türkiye, Greece, and Ukraine as a regional launch pad for plant-protein-based novel food economies. Excel4Pro will be used as a critical tool to connect and scale up the strategically selected plant-based protein ecosystems in a single, interconnected and cross-border Excellence Hub dedicated to growing and changing the agri-food sector in Türkiye, Greece and Ukraine by developing novel food products based on plant-based proteins. Collaborative R&I strategies, mentoring programmes, action plans to attract dedicated investment, and an array of upskilling activities for researchers and entrepreneurs will help close knowledge gaps between place-based innovation ecosystems and support the development of more sustainable food systems. Excel4Pro's consortium contains 17 partners (4 Academic, 8 Business, 2 Public Authorities, and 3 Societal Actors) that are well balanced and fully completes the quadruple helix. Excel4Pro is a 4 years project with 6 carefully designed Work Packages that efficiently exploit the consortium's diverse knowledge and expertise to develop solutions to Global Challenges in line with EUGreen Deal, the Farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environment-friendly food system.