Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : LowLiteScope (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Institute of Photonic Sciences — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ICFO
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Bioluminescence microscopy offers a powerful tool for background free imaging of biological samples without an excitation laser. This enabling technology would afford a wide range of applications in the life sciences, where fluorescence microscopy is prohibitive. Currently, commercial solutions for bioluminescence imaging suffer from low spatiotemporal resolution, due to photon-starved samples. LowLiteScope aims to overcome these limitations by radically redesigning the optical path, data acquisition and post processing based on artificial intelligence. LowliteScope leverages a new light field approach to capture the spatial and angular information of light rays that pass through the sample. In contrast to conventional light field microscope, this technique records three-dimensional images with high spatial resolution and a large depth of field. To econstruct the 3D volume from single exposure light field images, we will use new deep learning models based on artificial intelligence (WP1). The use of generalized and optics-informed deep learning techniques will also increase the spatial resolution beyond conventional light field microscopes. We will test the performance of the LowLiteScope prototype using photosensitive samples and samples with high intrinsic autofluorescence (WP2) - two properties that often render long-term, high-resolution imaging via fluorescence microscopy difficult. Ultimately, success is measured by the ease to adopt our technology. To facilitate the adoption of LowLiteScope by the enduser, we propose a new lens design, which can be used as a modular add-on to any conventional, fluorescence microscopes (WP3). In summary, LowLiteScope marks a significant breakthrough in bioluminescence microscopy. Its ability to non-invasively capture 3D images of live cells and tissues with high precision will be an invaluable asset for the advancement of biomedical research.
Projet ERC : IRQUAL (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Institute of Photonic Sciences — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ICFO
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

IRQUAL addresses the critical need for compact, integrated lasers operating in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrum (1.3 – 2.5 μm) for diverse applications such as consumer electronics, automotive, IoT, and AR/VR. Specifically, lasers in the eye-safe window (around 1.4 μm and > 2 μm) are crucial for LIDAR systems, 3D face recognition, and environmental monitoring. Current technologies, including solid-state lasers and III-V semiconductor laser diodes, face limitations in size, cost, performance and scalability. IRQUAL aims to develop a versatile heterogeneous-integrated laser platform. This platform will exploit SWIR CQD laser technology pumped by established GaAs-based high-power laser diodes to develop a device that covers the range 1.5 to 2.5 μm. IRQUAL will further focus on the commercialization and exploitation of the technology described above. To achieve this aim, efforts will be made to develop a strong intellectual property portfolio and also engage with leading industrial figures that could assist in the development and validation of the technology. Achieving IRQUAL’s objectives will revolutionize SWIR light applications, enabling widespread use in automotive, mobile phones, machine vision, and sensing. Eye-safe illumination systems aligned with safety standards will further enhance commercial prospects. The technology's low-cost and compatibility with consumer electronics laser technology will transform LIDAR, 3D imaging, and remote sensing, contributing to a significant socioeconomic impact. In essence, this project pioneers a new era in SWIR laser technology, introducing unprecedented compactness, cost-effectiveness, and scalability for a multitude of high-impact applications.
Projet ERC : NextENERGEIA (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université Charles-III de Madrid — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

NextENERGEIA plans to develop and test a proof-of-concept prototype of an analytical tool for simulating the social and private impact on power markets of low-carbon investments (renewable energies, energy storage, electric vehicles, and hydrogen production). The tool would shed light on issues central to the energy transition’s success, making it precious for regulators, policymakers, energy-intensive consumers, and energy firms. In particular, the tool would be instrumental in informing the current policy debate on the electricity market reform. The tool would build on state-of-the-art game-theoretical models developed by the PI through her ERC Consolidator Grant ELECTRIC CHALLENGES, providing the basis to simulate firms’ competitive and strategic behavior in electricity markets with large shares of renewable energies and energy storage. Those models also serve to assess the low-carbon investments’ impact on several metrics reflecting electricity market outcomes (prices, market shares, emissions, etc.) and firms’ financial profitability (pay-back period, NPV, IRR, etc.) The algorithm would be programmed in Python, and an internet-based interface would be developed for ease of use. Data from the Spanish electricity market would be used to test the tool, which would be further extended to other European power markets. Relevant stakeholders in the sector have already shown their support and willingness to participate in the training and testing stages. The team comprises the PI (Natalia Fabra), postdocs at EnergyEcoLab (the research lab she created under her ERC grant), and software programmers who would carry out the programming activities. The team combines a deep knowledge of the power sector and the energy transition policies, a deep understanding of the relevant economic questions, and a deep command of the methods for modeling and quantifying the performance of electricity markets.

Mots-clés : energy transition,electricity,renewables,simulations
Projet ERC : MAGLIFT (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de technologie de Delft — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Delft
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Autonomous vehicles rely on GPS-based navigation, but in GPS-denied environments like tunnels, dense urban areas, and parking garages, they need high-precision accelerometers to stay on course. While current MEMS accelerometers provide a potential solution, they lack the necessary sensitivity, and their high-end alternatives are too expensive for mass production. To address this, I propose a magnetically levitating accelerometer that leverages magnetic force to keep the proof mass in a highly sensitive floating state. This approach enables high-resolution motion detection while reducing power consumption and fabrication expenses. MAGLIFT will convert acceleration and position changes into electrical signals via a PCB-based sensing system, offering a compact, low-cost alternative to the state-of-the-art accelerometers. Building on insights from the ERC Consolidator Grant NCANTO (101125458), which focuses on taming mechanical noise in nanomechanical systems, I realized that our state-of-the-art noise suppression and nonlinear dynamic optimization solutions can significantly enhance the performance of magnetically levitating mechanical objects. By integrating NCANTO’s dynamic range improvement and advanced noise reduction techniques, I aim to develop an accelerometer with record-breaking performance, ensuring precise, reliable navigation for autonomous vehicles. MAGLIFT will further evaluate market potential of this technology and benchmark it against existing solutions to determine the optimal strategy for market entry.
Projet ERC : BioParacetamol (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de technologie de Delft — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Delft
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Current paracetamol production relies on century-old chemical methods that have significant environmental drawbacks, including high energy consumption, low process efficiency, and substantial waste generation. The BioParacetamol solution offers a more sustainable alternative by using enzymes to catalyse reactions at lower temperatures, producing fewer toxic by-products. This innovative process utilises a simplified one-pot, two-step synthesis, reducing energy demands, increasing efficiency, and minimising waste, particularly harmful by-products. Designed to be both scalable and commercially viable, BioParacetamol presents a major opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry to adopt greener chemistry practices. The BioParacetamol innovation is still in the early stages of development, with a technology readiness level (TRL) of 2, but aims to reach higher TRLs through rigorous testing and optimisation. The project’s primary goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of this process at an industrial scale, alongside a comprehensive business feasibility study to evaluate its commercial potential. BioParacetamol represents a high-risk, high-gain opportunity with the potential to not only improve the environmental footprint of paracetamol production but also position Europe as a leader in sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Mots-clés : aromatic hydroxylation,paracetamol,peroxygenase,
Projet ERC : EXALT (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Mim.ai spolka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia — Pays : Pologne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MIM.AI
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 27671.69 €

Deploying algorithmic solutions in real-world applications raises two challenges. First, we need easy-to-use and universal algorithms. Second, we need to guarantee that algorithmic solutions can be understood by people using them. We address the first of these challenges in TUgbOAT project, which aims to deliver unified algorithmic tools. Here, we propose to develop tools that would address the second of these challenges. In many use scenarios, algorithms propose a solution to a human operator. The main challenge in such cases is to convince him to use the returned solution. Traditionally we think of algorithms in a black-box manner, i.e., as a tool to find a good solution. We do not expect algorithms to give a human-understandable explanation of why this is the best solution, or what alternatives exist or what are the bottlenecks. Nevertheless, we humans still tend to ask these questions even if we understand the algorithms that are used. Currently, we lack good tools that could explain the results of optimization algorithms, e.g., for the assignment problem. For practitioners, like ourselves, that work together with companies to deploy algorithmic solutions in real-world cases, the need to provide explainable algorithms becomes immanent. Here we will test and implement results developed in TUgbOAT that can be used to complement the algorithms with human explanations. In particular, we plan to: - enrich algorithms to give meaningful alternative solutions, - apply Shapley value methods to determine key solution elements, - work with perturbed inputs to create robust and more concise solutions, - generate concise decision trees that would explain steps taken by algorithms. This project aims to deliver the base parts of a software library that would give explainable algorithms. We plan to concentrate on the task assignment problem (i.e., matchings) where we already cooperate with companies.
Projet ERC : miRToTALL (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine — Pays : Portugal — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : GIMM
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematological malignancy. Although outcome has improved throughout the years with the use of combined chemotherapy, the aggressive regimens required for treatment efficacy often lead to significant short- and long-term side effects. Moreover, a significant fraction of T-ALL patients relapse, which have extremely poor prognosis. The current project aligns with the core goal of our ERC Consolidator Grant IL7sigNETure (CoG-648455) to generate new targeted therapies for improved treatment of T-ALL, by aiming to develop a gene therapy cell death-inducing system (miRTo) that uses cell-endogenous microRNAs to regulate the expression of a cell death-inducing gene specifically in T-ALL cells (miRToTALL). While our innovative strategy has the potential to treat T-ALL patients more effectively and safely, it also displays market potential that extends well beyond T-ALL. This is because our technology is designed so that it can be adapted to the disease of choice or to particular disease subtypes through simple modifications, making it ideal for precision medicine in T-ALL, other cancers or other indications in which patients may benefit from the targeted delivery of a therapeutic gene. Our project will build upon the preliminary data that we have already generated, and make use of our models and expertise in the molecular and cellular biology of T-ALL, to provide preclinical validation of miRToTALL, laying the ground for a spin-off that will fully explore the miRTo technology platform.
Projet ERC : 2P-MINOPS (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The revolution in optogenetics began with the discovery of light-sensitive microbial opsins and their use to control neuronal activity with cell-type specificity, allowing for the first time functional mapping of the brain with cell type specificity. However, the wide-field illumination traditionally used in optogenetics synchronously activates large populations of neurons, lacking the precision needed to reproduce the complex, natural firing patterns of neural circuits. To overcome this limitation, Emiliani’s lab developed “circuit optogenetics,” combining computer-generated holography, temporal focusing, and two-photon excitation to achieve optogenetic control of circuits with millisecond-scale spatiotemporal precision, targeting single cells in depth. These methods have enabled unprecedentedly precise mapping and manipulation of neuronal circuits in mice, both head-fixed and freely moving. Building on advances from the HOLOVIS project—notably increased targeting capacity with ultra-fast sequential holographic targeting (FLiT), deeper brain layer access with three-photon (3P) holography, and performing circuit optogenetics in freely moving mice using two-photon holographic endoscopy—the current goal is to extend this precision to non-human primates. The project aims to develop 2P-MINOPS, an integrated and miniaturized two-photon system leveraging recent advances in miniaturized sources, modulators, and detectors. This platform will enable wireless optical study and manipulation of brain circuits in freely moving primates, paving the way for novel research into complex brain functions in models closer to humans.
Projet ERC : FAMEPIC (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The wide-range deployment of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) is hindered by high costs and design constraints, a large fraction of which is assigned to the packaging process. FAMEPIC will address these head-on. Our breakthrough approach leverages the potential of volumetric grey scale lithography via Two-Photon Polymerization for 3D-print photonic connections between and to PICS. The process enables on-the-fly alignment thanks to the fabrication of a variety of optical components directly onto the PICs’ substrates, realizing fabrication and chip-mounting in a single-step. Such a breakthrough in PIC packaging is of strategic importance. Integrated photonics is a fast-growing market set to cope with future lack of progress in miniaturisation of electronics and with the exponentially increasing demands on optical data loads in the context of data- and tele-communication applications.  Our process- and software-driven approach reduces fabrication time by a factor 10 while allowing precise control of optical modes combined with record-low bending radii of less than 10 µm. Building on very promising results obtained in the past 5 years, including impressive performance and functionality of new types of optical components and wire bonds, the project aims to apply our unique knowhow to unsolved integration problems put forward by our numerous industrial and academic partners. FAMEPIC will demonstrate key characteristics (low optical losses, fast design iterations, low production costs) for accelerated photonic integrated circuit prototyping. This will result in new industrial capabilities supporting the whole European ecosystem of Integrated Photonics.
Projet ERC : CAVICLEAN (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a significant environmental and health risk due to their extreme persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. Existing treatment methods, such as adsorption, incineration, and electrochemical degradation, suffer from high operational costs, secondary waste generation, and limited scalability. CAVICLEAN introduces an innovative catalytic cavitation-based approach, based on ERC funded project ConCASM, that leverages engineered catalytic cavitation membrane agents (CCMAs) to nucleate and stabilize cavitation bubbles, enhancing localized energy concentration and radical generation for efficient PFAS mineralization. The core innovation of CAVICLEAN lies in the development of specialized CCMAs that act as both cavitation nuclei, catalysts and membrane filters, promoting intensified acoustic cavitation while minimizing energy consumption. This process ensures complete mineralization of PFAS into harmless byproducts, addressing a critical gap in existing treatment technologies. Unlike traditional approaches that either capture or partially degrade PFAS, CAVICLEAN achieves direct molecular breakdown without secondary waste formation. The plug-and-play reactor design enables seamless integration into existing wastewater treatment infrastructure, offering a scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient solution. The project follows a structured methodology, beginning with fundamental investigations of cavitation dynamics and CCMA material properties, followed by laboratory-scale validation of PFAS degradation kinetics. A pilot-scale continuous-flow reactor will then be deployed in real wastewater treatment plants to assess long-term stability, energy efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, life cycle assessments (LCA) and techno-economic analyses will establish the environmental and economic viability of the technology.
Projet ERC : FlashCaps (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Münster — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Universität Münster
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) have recently entered the stage as therapeutic modality. Examples are the mRNA-based vaccines against infection by SARS-Cov2. Hundreds of research groups in academia and industry aim to better understand the multiplicity of the mRNA technology and its possible applications. However, at present researchers are unable to control when and where the mRNA is translated into proteins – which then have a pharmacological effect. This is a bottleneck that severely limits the research needed to further develop mRNA as a therapeutic modality.  We present FlashCaps, the first applicable solution that allows mRNA studies to be driven by light without altering the structure or sequence of the natural mRNA. Light is an excellent external control element that can be applied with high precision in space and time and without interfering with cellular processes. FlashCaps prevent the translation of the mRNA until activated by light. FlashCaps are compatible with all standard mRNA production and application procedures and thus of interest to all research groups and companies working on mRNA to date.  In this proof of concept, we will determine the innovation potential of FlashCaps with a team of highly qualified scientists and innovation managers. Technological research to ensure reproducibility, stability, scalability, and quality of FlashCaps will be performed. User-friendly applicability of FlashCaps is achieved through the involvement of beta-testers. Innovation management research, including market analyses, data analytics and consumer interviews, is conducted to define the potential customers and their needs, to analyse the market potential and to investigate our competitors. Based on the research results and the agile exchange between the technological and innovation management research, we will decide on the best way of knowledge transfer to make FlashCaps available to the growing number of mRNA researchers.