If food loss and waste (FLW) were a country, it would be the third leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions. FLW also burdens waste management systems and exacerbates food insecurity, , contributing significantly to the three global crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. PRECIOUS, an transdisciplinary alliance of 20 entities from 11 EU countries, believes that reliable data on the environmental impacts of FLW is crucial for accelerating EU progress towards climate targets and reducing environmental impacts (including biodiversity) across the food supply chain. The project´s collective understanding is that the challenge goes beyond measuring the amount of food saved or CO2 emissions. When food is wasted, valuable and limited resources such as water, land use, and energy are lost, while 8.9% of the worldwide population is suffering from hunger accordingto FAO, therefore, depleting the planet's natural resources. It is critical to broaden our understanding of the issue to transform the food system and raise public awareness that motivate change. PRECIOUS aims to contribute to the transformation of food systems by addressing existing data gaps and developing a unified and openly accessible evaluation framework to quantify the economic, environmental, and social impacts of strategies to reduce FLW, taking into account potential rebound effects. The project will engage stakeholders from 2 Use Cases (Spain and Greece) and 3 Co-creation and Replication Nodes (Poland, Lithuania, Hungary) to address systemic causes across geographical boundaries. The project aims to induce a fundamental change in attitudes and behaviours towards food consumption and disposal through collaborative efforts and innovative methods, fostering a more just and sustainable EU food system.

Human pathogens can persist on textiles and high-traffic surfaces for hours, days or even longer when protected in biofilms, increasing risk of infection spreading. Conventional cleaning has no lasting effect as contamination can re-occur almost immediately. Available antimicrobial coatings are based mainly on the release of silver ions and other biocides that present risks for resistance development and environmental damage. Inorganic nanoparticles are also a concern for human health. Nanocellulose is a versatile nanomaterial obtained from wood pulp or biotechnological methods, which has excellent physical properties for coatings, enabling controllable and standardised application of antimicrobial functionalities. In Triple-A-COAT the 3 forms of nanocellulose will be augmented for antimicrobial/antiviral activity through grafting/adsorption of novel, resistance-proof compounds with excellent activities against bacteria, fungi and/or viruses, and nanopatterning to create bio-inspired antimicrobial surfaces. Spray coating and thin film applications will be developed, optimising adherence to plastic, metal, textiles and glass. The most effective coatings will be evaluated for antimicrobial/antiviral activity, durability and non-toxicity using ISO standard tests, and in a simulation of a bus environment over 6 months to reach TRL6. A life cycle assessment of the platform will also be completed. The project consortium involves companies, academic and SME partners with leading expertise in novel antimicrobial and antiviral technology, nanocellulose production and functionalisation, coatings development and characterisation, as well as a bus manufacturer and an external User Committee. Within 5-10 years after the end of the project, the results will be commercialized for impact in the transportation and healthcare sectors, contributing to the better control of infectious disease, and boosting the competitiveness and research leadership of EU industry including SMEs.

Artificial photosynthesis (AP) is a promising approach for solar fuel production, but current systems are inefficient, expensive and unsuitable for industrial deployment. The interdisciplinary SUNGATE consortium of 12 partners from six EU countries and Turkey will overcome these limitations by combining the principles of AP with photoelectrocatalysis and flow microreactor technology, leading to the first modular full-cell continuous flow microreactor technology that requires only sunlight (as an energy source) plus water and CO2 (as simple, abundant feedstocks) for conversion into solar fuels such as methanol and formate. The technology will operate at room temperature and neutral pH using aqueous solutions. In contrast to state-of-the-art photoelectrochemical (PEC) technologies, SUNGATE will not use toxic or critical raw materials, and will combine efficient water oxidation catalysts, with biological components such as photosystem I and enzymes, novel CO2 reducing catalysts and nanostructured diamond-based cathodes to radically improve the efficiency of conversion. The unique modular and scalable design of SUNGATE technology will allow the decarbonised production of solar fuels by increasing the size of the microfluidic PEC device or by numbering up the PEC modules, thus providing the flexibility for diverse applications ranging from decentralised energy infrastructure to closed carbon cycles for industries that emit large amounts of CO2. SUNGATE aims to achieve proof of concept at TRL5, heralding a technology breakthrough that has the potential to secure the future global energy supply at an affordable cost. This meets the central goal of the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. SUNGATE’s diverse mix of academic, RTOs and industry partners will allow the full validation of the technology, including life cycle assessment, as well as effective dissemination and knowledge transfer to accelerate industrial take up.