In the past 25 years, many integrated photovoltaics (IPV) products have been introduced and demonstrated. Mostly BIPV products, but more recently also IIPV and VIPV products. However, large scale deployment and massive market adoption of these technologies and products have not yet taken place. We are at the brink of a huge scale-up and capacity build-up of PV in Europe, that will have a large effect on our living environment. Therefore, it is now urgent and essential that IPV products become widely available and affordable. This is important (1) to generate solar electricity where the demand is (in the built environment) and (2) to enable multifunctional use of area and space in the built environment. Several parties in the MC2.0 consortium have more than 20 years of experience in IPV development and as such have been involved in many earlier projects and studies. We believe that the number one barrier for large scale market uptake of IPV is the high cost. Other - secondary but also important – barriers are immature sector cooperation and certification issues. The overarching ambition of the MC2.0 project is to demonstrate a cost breakthrough for IPV by means of an advanced manufacturing approach, referred to as “mass customization”. In coherence with this approach, we will contribute to solving the other identified barriers. To realize this ambition, the MC2.0 consortium brings together experts and companies on materials for PV laminates (including PV cells), on manufacturing of PV laminates, on manufacturing of IPV products and on market and application of IPV products.

The BIOS MATER aims to develop and demonstrate advanced bio-based construction products and building elements with tailored functional properties such as durability, fire resistance, water barriers, acoustic and thermal insulation, lightweight structure, mechanical strength, and antimicrobial features, ensuring safety and sustainability. At the core of the concept are the four Production routes which are built around four pillars. Specifically: Production route A will focus on the development of bio-based core product and sandwich structure for flooring applications, Production route B will focus on the development of bio-based wall panels and flooring tiles, Production route C will focus on the development of fiber reinforced bio-resin composite panels applied as exterior façade cladding panels and Production route D will focus on the development of biodegradable and plantable bio-based tiles from foams applied as drywalls panels. Moreover, the four pillars are: Pillar 1. Innovation in bio-based construction and building product development; Pillar 2. Health, safety, and environmental impact through Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD), Pillar 3. Circular economy integration and scalability and Pillar: 4 Driving market adoption of bio-based products through digital transparency, stakeholder engagement, and social acceptability. Key elements include life cycle assessments (LCA), circularity, and SSbD assessments. BIOS MATER will test and demonstrate the compatibility of these products with existing construction practices and regulatory frameworks at the controlled real-world application of a DEMOpark. The project also incorporates stakeholder engagement, training, and awareness programs, with 22 partners from 10 EU countries working together to achieve these goals across 7 work packages.

The W2W project will produce and validate a comprehensive framework for multi-dimensional cascade valorisation of wood from C&D and furniture waste, consisting of four core components: 1) Advanced separation & sorting technologies: Adaptive Separation and Sorting system based on cascade valorisation thresholds, making use of human-robot collaboration and mixed reality technologies 2) Upcycling Processes and Technologies: mechanical, chemical, and bioremediation processes to recover wood or resources from waste and use them in new products which have the same quality as the ones produced by primary resources3) Digital Tools for Improving Circular Flows of Secondary Materials: LCA-based tool to predict and assess the impact of different cascade paths, Supply Chain Management Tool for the optimisation of upcycling of secondary materials, Digital Product Passport, and Digital Platform for circularity/upcycling information exchange.4) Supportive Framework in Policy, Market, and Skills: Framework for CDW Cascade Valorisation, Harmonised Waste Wood Classification Framework, skills development, contribution to standards and certification schemes, business models. W2W will demonstrate efficient and sustainable value chains in 3 Use Cases for the production of: wood without pollutants; biocomposite building materials; biopolymers; polyols; chemical detergents; and the recovery of nutrients, through the use of technologies and tools that allow the selection of optimal cascade paths for further uses of wood products and their materials.The W2W holistic approach will reduce the demand for virgin materials, reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills or incineration facilities, allow for the creation of new value-added products from waste materials, and support the transition towards a circular economy by promoting closed-loop systems where materials are continually repurposed and reused, extending their useful life.