Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Unravelling Earth’s magnetic history and processes (UEMHP)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Earth system science
Panel description: Physical geography, geology, geophysics, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, climatology, cryology, ecology, global environmental change, biogeochemical cycles, natural resources management
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: ERC Advanced Grant (ERC-2018-ADG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-10-01
End date: 2024-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2494725.0
EU funding (EUR): 2494725.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

We wish to understand how magnetic fields are generated in the cores of planets. This process is called the dynamo mechanism, whose understanding remains one of the geophysical grand challenges. In cores of rocky planets and in gas giants, thermal forcing results in convection and the resulting flow of liquid metal transports heat and generates magnetic fields as a result of the electrical currents that are induced by their motion. Magnetic field generation affects heat transport and cooling, controlling planetary history and evolution (on Earth it is connected with the growth of the inner core); and ultimately the presence or not of magnetic fields can control the existence of life. To understand the process, the momentum, induction and heat equations must be solved in three dimensions as a function of time in a spherical geometry and linked to the numerous extant data sets that are available. Present-day computer simulations do this by implementing fluid viscosities that are too large by many orders of magnitude. Our aim is to correct this by creating a working computer code that correctly implements a novel theory for the dynamo process in which viscosity and inertia have negligible effects, as is correct for the planets. These dynamos are likely to be different from any previous computational dynamo presented over the last 25 years. The potential rewards of such a correct theory and implementation will be great. We will understand how self-sustained dynamos equilibrate in this never-explored regime, and discover strengths and geometries of generated magnetic fields as a function of forcing. We will discover how to find reversing dynamos, just like on Earth, and understand the mechanisms at play. We will understand the energy requirements, ultimately understand core cooling and also be able to make more accurate predictions of future field evolution. We also aim to understand the new data returning from missions to the giant planets.

Keywords: dynamo theory,earth s core
Woodoo Augmented Wood - transforming wood into construction material strong as concrete and translucent as amber (Woodoo)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: France
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-2, 2018)
Start date: 2018-09-01
End date: 2020-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3245777.5
EU funding (EUR): 2272044.25
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Woodoo transforms natural wood into an augmented material that is strong, light, durable and stunningly translucent. It uses a patented scalable technology to replace wood’s lignin with a bio-polymer that boosts its performance. The result is a material as strong as concrete and luminous as amber. It will be used to create unique auto interiors, lightweight car chassis and sustainable wooden buildings. It will benefit Europe by revitalising the forestry sector. Problem: Global shortage of construction materials (concrete, steel), even as the urbanisation boom exacerbates demand. Current building materials are unsustainable. Wood is too weak to replace steel and concrete. Solution: Woodoo creates augmented wood, a new material that is abundant, sustainable and extremely strong. Woodoo wood can be bent into any shape, used like touchscreens for electronics, and replace concrete to build massive wooden constructions with low environmental footprint. Innovation: Wood is treated to remove lignin, then impregnated with a proprietary polymer. This modifies wood’s structure, increasing strength and durability, while allowing light to penetrate. Commercialization: Woodoo will produce small batches for auto suppliers for interior panels and wooden touchscreens. It will later license technology to carmakers and sawmills to enable large-scale localized production. Demand: Interest from major premium car manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers. Markets: Auto outfitting, construction materials, lignin by-product. All large and growing. TAM of €125B for the automotive interior materials and €313B for wood construction. Company: Founded in 2016. Team of experienced managers and R&D experts. Ready to scale. Project: Woodoo will develop an auto interior part (a dashboard) from augmented wood. The outcome will be a ready-to-launch production process.

Keywords: construction engineering,sustainable,construction materials,polymer science
Development and characterization of extracellular vesicles an innovative cell-free therapeutical product for treatment of stroke (MEXOM)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Society and Enterprise panel
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Belgium,Belgium
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-09-03
End date: 2021-11-05
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 160800.02
EU funding (EUR): 160800.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Stroke is leading cause of long-term disability in Europe and worldwide with no effective treatment so far. Inflammation plays a vital role in brain’s response to ischemic stroke with deleterious consequences during early acute phase. Strong immunomodulatory effect of human mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) demonstrated in many preclinical stroke models, however, has failed in clinical experiments. Recent preclinical data indicate that MSCs exert their anti-inflammatory effects via secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) through microRNAs and this potential could be boosted by preconditioning MSCs ex vivo with small molecules. The aim of this Fellowship will be the determination of MSC-EVs anti-inflammatory mechanism of action specific for stroke for the first time. The Host has developed clinical-grade technology (GLP/GMP) for human cord MSC-EVs manufacturing at large scale with anti-inflammatory action. During this Project the Researcher will receive training-through-research and will investigate the small molecule potential impact on MSC-EVs cargo enrichment with specific microRNAs. Then he will study candidate microRNAs anti-inflammatory potential in vitro on the key brain inflammation cells. The Researcher will acquire transferable knowledge in regulations, quality assurance, intellectual property and entrepreneurship. Novel competences will reinforce the Researcher as mature and independent scientist in the field of regenerative medicine with new career opportunities in private sector. Communication and dissemination will be carried out with all stakeholders, including academia, industry, civil societies, policymakers and general public. The Researcher will transfer his molecular biology knowledge and skills, thus advancing the development of MSC-EVs product for treatment of stroke at the Host towards clinically applicable commercial innovation. This Fellowship will highlight Europe as world leader in innovations targeting unmet medical needs.

Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells,extracellular vesicles,glp manufacturing,microrna profiling,immunomodulation,anti inflammation,microglia,astrocytes,lymphocytes,stroke
A Comparative Study of Voice Perception in Primates (COVOPRIM)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Panel description: Cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, theoretical philosophy
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC Advanced Grant (ERC-2017-ADG, 2017)
Start date: 2019-01-01
End date: 2024-12-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2900000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2900000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

With COVOPRIM I propose to reconstruct the recent evolutionary history of one often overlooked component of speech and language: voice perception. Perceptual and neural mechanisms of voice perception will be compared between humans, macaques and marmosets –two highly vocal and extensively studied monkey species–to quantify cross-species differences and infer mechanisms potentially inherited from a common ancestor. Two key building blocks of vocal communication detailed in my past research in humans will be compared across species: (1) the sensitivity to conspecific vocalizations, and (2) the processing of speaker/caller identity. COVOPRIM is organized in three workpackages (WPs). WP1 will use large-scale behavioural testing based on ad-lib access of monkeys to automated test systems (following the highly successful model developed locally with baboons). Two main behavioural experiments will establish psychometric response functions for robust cross-species comparison. WP2 will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure cerebral activity during auditory stimulation in the three species. I will compare across brains the organization of what I hypothesize constitutes a “voice patch system” similar to the face patch system of visual cortex and broadly conserved in primates. I will also take advantage of the monkey models and use long-term, subject-specific enrichments of the auditory stimulation to probe the experience-dependence of neural coding in the voice patch system—an outstanding issue in human voice perception. WP3 will use fMRI-guided microstimulation in monkeys and transcranial magnetic stimulation in humans to establish the effective connectivity within the voice patch system and test the causal relation between voice patch neuronal activity and voice perception behaviour. COVOPRIM is expected to generate considerable advances in our understanding of the recent evolution in primates of the perceptual and neural mechanisms of voice perception.

Keywords: voice,perception,auditory cortex,evolution,humans,macaques,marmosets,fmri,voice patch,conspecific vocalizations,norm based coding,prototype,long term experience,microstimulation
ICT-based ENERgy Grid Implementation – Smart and Efficient (ENERGISE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure, clean and efficient energy
Theme: A single, smart European electricity grid
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Germany,Germany
Call: Distribution grid and retail market (H2020-LCE-2014-3, 2014)
Start date: 2015-01-01
End date: 2017-03-31
Duration (months): 27.0
Total project cost (EUR): 998000.0
EU funding (EUR): 998000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

ENERGISE sets out to facilitate the efficient deployment of smart grid solutions by offering to all relevant stakeholders – telecommunication providers; industry associations in the telecommunications and utility sectors; energy suppliers; energy industry associations; national regulatory agencies; ministries of Member States; other players being active in the relevant fields – a toolkit that supports their decision-making process as regards the use of telecommunication infrastructure for existing or projected business cases. Based on existing experience the consortium can deliver a particularly suitable toolkit that is based upon a broad survey of actual use cases. Concretely, the ENERGISE toolkit addresses the following issue. Smart grid solutions hold immense opportunities for both European businesses as well as society as a whole and contribute substantially to achieving the objectives of a low carbon economy. Telecommunication infrastructure constitutes a vital part of any smart grid solution. Given the penetration of telecommunication infrastructure in Europe, it is likely that significant synergies can be achieved in the process of implementing smart grid solutions if existing telecommunication infrastructure can be used. Identifying specific cases or business models, where shared infrastructure use is beneficial, is difficult for all stakeholders. ENERGISE sets out to solve this issue by providing energy suppliers and telecommunication providers as well as policy makers with a decision-supporting toolkit. This toolkit will be able to account for all relevant framework conditions and will deliver useful advice to relevant stakeholders based on a broad survey of and exchange about existing use cases for smart grid solutions including a thorough cost-benefit analysis. Insights gained from the toolkit will enable a more evidence-based appreciation of innovative business for both innovators in the private sector and research and innovation policy makers.

Keywords: smart grid solutions,smart grid communication infrastructure,deployment models,costs,capex,opex,business models,low carbon energy
The Rough Guide to Zero-Carbon Skåne: worldbuilding, placemaking and prototyping decarbonised lifestyles (RoughGuide)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Sweden
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-10-01
End date: 2022-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 191852.16
EU funding (EUR): 191852.16
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The Swedish government has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But while climate models can suggest future environmental conditions, and while sustainability transitions research can suggest pathways of sociotechnical reconfiguration, little research has yet engaged with the social and cultural meanings of lives to be lived in the climate-changed and decarbonised society described in the policy. In addressing this research gap, this action will pioneer a new paradigm in environmental politics, while breaking down the barriers between research and science communications. By drawing on the worldbuilding techniques of science fiction, it will disseminate cutting-edge futures from climate modelling and sustainability transitions research in an accessible, engaging format. By deploying the practices of creative participatory placemaking, it will enrol citizens from locations around southern Sweden into a process of co-designing and narrating visions of life in a decarbonised sociotechnical regime. And by taking up rhetorical strategies from design fiction and transitions design, it will combine the science-based worldbuilding with the citizen narratives of futurity in order to create an artefact from a co-created future: a speculative travel guide to a decarbonised Skåne. With communication at its core, this action will demonstrate a novel methodology for social engagement with climate policy which can be replicated in other contexts, through an innovative and interdisciplinary combination of theories and methods. Impact is promised through its intervention in the theory and practice of environmental politics, and through an ambitious strategy for communicating and publicising the project both within the academy and without. It also provides a comprehensive package of training and development for the fellow, resulting in a position of maturity, independence and visibility in an emerging field of urgent relevance to science and policymaking alike.

Keywords: narrative prototyping,design fiction,speculative design,creative placemaking
GENDER NARRATIVES AND POLITICS IN THE MONGOLIAN SACRED GRASSLANDS (MONGOL-GNP)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: France
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-08-01
End date: 2022-11-20
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 184707.84
EU funding (EUR): 184707.84
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This anthropological project investigates how sacred sites and connected ritual activities reflect gender narratives and political hierarchy among the Mongols in the People’s Republic of China. To put it another way, what can a monastery or a shamanic grave tell us about the evolution of gender roles and political legitimacy within a local community? For centuries, people have constructed religious sites to benefit from the magical power they are believed to provide. In the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, local people also build and worship at sacred monuments to ensure the fertility of their herds and the well-being of their community. Besides their accredited ritual power, religious sites also offer an accurate overview of the way local societies have been shaping the different social and political norms regulating their everyday lives. By taking religious sites as the starting point, the project explores two intertwined issues. The first analyzes the way gender practices have been narrated and performed throughout the 20th century in order to shed light on changing indigenous interpretations of sex difference and complementarity. The second examines how memorable characters and other mythical ancestors have redefined the political landscape of Inner Mongolia. More precisely, this focuses on how power holders gather and demonstrate authority, respect or allegiance to the administrative political powers. Sitting astride anthropology, gender studies and religious studies, the project combines ethnographic fieldwork with oral and written sources to provide a comprehensive framework of the changing social organization of the Mongols of China in terms of gender and politics. Taking Mongolian societies of China as a case study, this project will also echo contemporary issues topical in other parts of the world: the place of minority groups, relationships between the central state and local societies and gender equality.

Keywords: anthropology,mongols,gender,politics,religion,sacred sites
Dancing in the Dark (DANCE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Information and Communication Technologies
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Italy,Sweden,Netherlands
Call: Human-centric Digital Age (H2020-ICT-2014-1, 2014)
Start date: 2015-01-01
End date: 2017-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1276250.0
EU funding (EUR): 1276250.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

“The baby, assailed by eyes, ears, nose, skin, and entrails at once, feels it all as one great blooming, buzzing confusion” (W.James Principles of Psychology, 1890). The hyper-connected teenager may not be far from such a state of confusion. Information overload leads to new cognitive and attention problems with social consequences, as seen in dramatic growth of attention disorders. Too much information leads to emotional and social malfunctioning, such as in autism. In the non-clinical population, continuously bombardment of the senses from multiple sources may lead to blunting and cause a cognitive or emotional blindness that has undesirable social and cultural consequences. DANCE addresses the role of multisensory information and the risks of overload by creating sensory deprivation as a means of sharpening the senses. DANCE not only want to look at how dance can influence socio-emotional perception in healthy individuals, but also focus on the congenitally blind. DANCE will compare social perception of dance and participation-blindness, found naturally in the congenitally blind, and induced in normally seeing subjects. DANCE will lead to the development of ICT (1) to treat the individual as an interactive participant in auditory perception rather than as a passive receiver; (2) to enable blind people to perceive movement by sensory substitution by means of innovative techniques of interactive sonification and active (embodied) music experience; (3) to integrate the individual experience and social creation process; (4) to assess and measure cognitive and cultural enhancement through non-verbal, full-body expression, emotion,and entrainment, and to explore how non verbal emotion dimensions can contribute to sensory substitution in the perception of dance and movement in general, for both blind and seeing people; (5) to explore and integrate theories of artistic creativity and to inspire novel scientific research challenges.

Keywords: sonification,blind,dance,expressive,emotion
Electrochemical scission of dinitrogen under ambient conditions (NitroScission)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Panel description: Analytical chemistry, chemical theory, physical chemistry/chemical physics
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2019-COG, 2019)
Start date: 2021-01-01
End date: 2025-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2744880.0
EU funding (EUR): 2744880.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Present ammonia synthesis, via the Haber-Bosch process, occurs in centralised facilities above 150 bar and above 400 C; it consumes a colossal 1% of our global fossil fuel consumption. Electrolytic ammonia synthesis, i.e. below 100 C and at atmospheric pressures, could be far more attractive: it would be powered by renewable energy and would take place at the point-of-consumption. I have recently made a breakthrough, by demonstrating the first unambiguous and quantitative evidence that dinitrogen electroreduction is possible under ambient conditions on a solid electrode, albeit at low efficiency My aim for NitroScission is to elucidate pathways —at a molecular level— to catalyse the reaction at high efficiency. However, only the most reactive metal or metal nitride surfaces bind to dinitrogen. Such surfaces will bind even stronger to hydrogen or oxygen from water or air. To circumvent these constraints, I will use three strategies: (i) I will tailor the access of protons to the electrode-electrolyte interface, via in-situ deposited ionic interphases, exploiting recent advances in controlling the reactivity of electrolytes. (ii) I will tailor the binding to dinitrogen through oxygen-free fabrication and testing of metals and metal nitrides electrodes. By preventing air exposure, my team will gain access to a class of highly reactive electrodes, never previously tested in an electrochemical cell. (iii) I will use electrochemical looping, to dynamically separate dinitrogen adsorption from its subsequent hydrogenation. These experiments will be enabled by a novel method that allows us to observe gas evolution in real time. I will combine advanced thin film preparation methods, electrochemical tests, and in operando and ex-situ spectroscopy to establish the design principles for this important reaction. Guided by these unique tools and my scientific leadership, my team will shed unique insight into how to tailor electrode-electrolyte interfaces.

Keywords: electrochemistry,electrocatalysis,electrolysis