Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Polymer pRobes fOr a VISual prOsthesis (PROVISO)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2023-POC, 2023)
Start date: 2024-07-01
End date: 2025-12-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Approximately forty million people across the world are blind, a condition with serious consequences for a person’s autonomy. Restoration of visual function in blind individuals is an important scientific goal with large societal benefits. In a large fraction of blind patients, the connection between the eye and the brain has degenerated so that restoration of a rudimentary form of vision can only be achieved in pathways downstream from the retina, like the visual cortex. PROVISO tests the feasibility of a new approach for a cortical visual prosthesis by implanting flexible polymer electrodes into the visual cortex that can be stimulated electrically to create a rudimentary form of vision. Weak electrical currents applied to an electrode in the visual cortex induce an artificial percept of light, called “phosphene”. Multiple phosphenes can be used to build up a shape, just as the lights of a matrix board along the highway generate letters. A promising approach to restore vision involves inserting tiny electrodes into the visual cortex, close to the neurons, so that weak currents result in phosphene perception. There are two problems that need to be solved before the prosthesis can become a treatment for blind individuals. The first problem is that the electrodes available for chronic implantation are made of silicon or metal, which causes a tissue response (gliosis) causing the interface with the tissue to degrade after several months. The second problem is coverage of the visual field. In humans, much of primary visual cortex (V1) is not located on the surface of the brain, but inside a sulcus, making it difficult to access. PROVISO will develop methods to implant flexible electrodes, that cause little tissue damage and remain functional across longer time scales, into the brain. These electrodes will be implanted deep into several brain areas, thereby providing a good coverage of the visual field.
Multi-level Process Flexibility for Enhanced Efficiency and Cost Savings in Power to Methanol (FlexP2Me)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Denmark,Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-06-01
End date: 2027-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 263393.28
EU funding (EUR): 263393.28
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

Power-to-Methanol (P2Me) technology is emerging as a scalable solution for energy storage during the transition to net zero. However, P2Me's efficiency and cost competitiveness are hindered by the intermittent nature of wind and solar energy, and the stable energy demand required for continuous methanol production. This leads to higher production costs for e-methanol compared to fossil-based alternatives. Introducing process flexibility offers a promising strategy to lower these costs by approximately 20%. Flexibility allows the P2Me process to adapt to the fluctuating availability of renewable energy, incorporating demand-side management to better align power generation with methanol production needs. Despite this potential, no specific flexible process design has been proposed, nor have comprehensive evaluations of the benefits and trade-offs of flexible P2Me processes been explored from a multi-dimensional perspective. The FlexP2Me project aims to revolutionize the P2Me process by integrating flexibility into its multi-level design, optimization, and assessment. This project will pursue two goals with high techno-economic and social impacts: (a) proposing an innovative flexible P2Me process featuring load-adaptable reactor and distillation configurations, and (b) optimizing and evaluating the P2Me process across various dimensions—efficiency, cost, environmental impact, and safety. To achieve this, FlexP2Me will develop a novel multi-stage reactor and a flash vapor circulation-based distillation system, coupled with thermal storage, to dynamically adapt to the fluctuations in renewable energy inputs. This unique approach, absent in current processes, is expected to enhance efficiency by at least 15% and lower e-methanol production costs to within 20% of fossil-based methanol. Additionally, FlexP2Me aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% through complete process electrification of P2Me and ensure operational risks are tolerable to society via risk-informed design.

Keywords: power to x
Distributed wireless EEG sensor patches for auditory attention decoding in hearing technology (DisPatch EEG)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Belgium
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2023-POC, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2025-06-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Over 400 million people worldwide suffer from disabling hearing loss. While the majority can be helped with a hearing aid, users still experience major difficulties in situations where multiple people talk simultaneously, leading to social isolation. Although algorithms exist to extract a single speaker from such a speech mixture, the current bottleneck is that a hearing aid does not know which of these speakers the user aims to attend. Recent research has shown that this auditory attention can be decoded from the brain via electroencephalography (EEG). However, a practical realization in hearing aids is hindered by current EEG form factors: headsets are too bulky, while miniaturized sensors lack a wide scalp coverage. Furthermore, conventional EEG requires applying a gel on the skin, which dries out over time. To address these issues, we propose a novel modular approach using 4 wireless EEG sensor patches strategically positioned on hairless scalp locations. This offers several advantages, such as (1) increased scalp coverage for improved decoding accuracy while maintaining comfort and discreteness due to a far-driven miniaturization and absence of wires; (2) the use of dry adhesive patches with skin-conforming microneedle electrodes for high-quality EEG recording without gel; (3) efficient algorithms that process signals and exchange compressed data wirelessly over short distances with minimal energy usage, thereby maximizing battery life. In this project we will develop an operational prototype of this system drawing from our recent ERC-originated innovations, and validate it on hearing-impaired subjects.
A NOVEL NON-INVASIVE DNA METHYLATION TEST FOR MELANOMA (SkinPatch)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Early cancer detection is a key to improve survival rates. For melanoma the survival falls from >98% at Stage 1 to 22% at Stage 4. Currently, skin biopsy is the only method of melanoma detection. It is an expansive and invasive procedure. Our patented technology, is a combination of a unique non-invasive tape strip skin sample collection technique and proprietary DNA methylation panel specific for melanoma. This will allow quick and inexpensive testing for melanoma at GP level and as an at-home test kit. Our proof of concept study with Guy’s Hospital (UK) showed over 95% specificity and 85% sensitivity in detecting melanoma compared to standard biopsy procedures. Mitra Bio is a female-led team of 6 scientists and business developers with experience in building diagnostics platforms. We aim to improve melanoma detection and reduce melanoma health and economic burden, which currently results in 15K deaths/year in the EU.

Keywords: cancer,melanoma,skin disease,dna,methylation,biopsy
Effective management strategies to tackle Clavibacter sepedonicus and Ralstonia solanacearum outbreaks on POtato and toMATO crops (POMATO)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Theme: Bio-Environment
Destination: Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Poland,Colombia,Ecuador,Netherlands,Slovenia,Italy,Serbia,Belgium,Portugal
Call: Tackling outbreaks of plant pests (HORIZON-CL6-2024-FARM2FORK-02, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-01
End date: 2029-04-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6526081.5
EU funding (EUR): 6498944.0
Participants: 16
Project status: SIGNED

The Solanaceae family, encompassing economically significant genera like Solanum, plays a vital role in global agriculture, particularly through crops. The Solanaceae family, encompassing economically significant genera like Solanum, plays a vital role in global agriculture, particularly through crops like potatoes and tomatoes. These crops, crucial for human consumption and nutrition, face significant threats from pest diseases, with annual losses amounting to billions of euros. Notably, the bacteria Clavibacter sepedonicus – Cs (ring rot in potato) and Ralstonia solanacearum - Rs (bacterial wilt in potato and tomato) pose severe economic and environmental risks, warranting stringent regulatory measures in EU and globally being included in Part B Annex of the Regulation 2019/2072 and are classified as EPPO A2 quarantine pests. In response, the POMATO project aims to safeguard potato and tomato health by focusing on four key pillars: isolation and molecular characterization of resistance genes of potato and tomato native and wild varieties against Cs and Rs, early detection using advanced technologies like AI and digital predictive platforms, development of natural bio-control solutions, and field validation at TRL 5 of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies. This collaborative 48-month initiative involves a multi-actor approach of the potato/tomato value chain, including academic research institutions, agrochemical companies, farmers, and international partners from affected regions like Latin America. By leveraging expertise and resources, POMATO seeks to mitigate the spread of these quarantine pests and enhance food security sustainably by aiming to decrease between 40-60% the incidence of Cs/Rs. Sharing IPM POMATO’s strategies among relevant stakeholders in the policy and decision-making cycle will ensure economic sustainability of EU potato/tomato production, increase farm competitiveness as well as replicate the outcomes of the project to other crops.

Keywords: clavibacter sepedonicus ralstonia solanacearum potato tomato resistance genes digital tools,ai predictive and mathematical models polymeric sensors international cooperation validation trl5
Mika TaaS: purpose-built Transport-as-a-Service for cost-efficient flow of goods (Mika TaaS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Sweden
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Freight transport is experiencing unprecedented volatility and challenges related to driver shortages, scaling costs, inefficiencies in the supply chains and regulatory changes. Moreover, trucks are responsible for over 20% of road transport emissions in the EU while witnessing very slow electrification. Current electric truck design heavily relies on traditional combustion-engine truck models with a human driver, leading to increased asset costs and reduced efficiency. Businesses performing repetitive routes for moving goods as part of their operations are actively seeking freight solutions to address these challenges, regain control over their operations and reduce transport costs. At Mika Innovation we have developed Mika TaaS, a purpose-built Transport-as-a-Service integral solution that addresses the need of factories, industrial sites and logistic centres engaged in transport of goods in repetitive routes. Mika TaaS offers them a transport flow efficiency of 83%, minimising their fixed and running costs by 50% and significantly reducing their carbon footprint. Our integral TaaS solution combines a Transport Management System (TMS) and a purpose-built fully electric, autonomous and connected carrier. We have patented our proprietary steering device, which enables a cost efficient all electric steer-by-wire system for a modern efficient vehicle architecture. Mika TaaS is currently at TRL5 and we now seek the EIC Accelerator support to finalise prototype development, demonstrate and certify our solution, and prepare for scaling up. With the help of the EIC, Mika will make advanced flow of goods widely available to the industry in a sustainable and efficient manner. We will address the issues of rising costs and driver shortages in the freight industry, and contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal as well as the recently passed EU law aimed at reducing truck CO2 emissions by 90% by 2040.

Keywords: freight,transport,electrification,autonomous vehicles,transport management system,truck,steer by wire,transport as a service,safety,decarbonisation,net zero,mobility,logistics,engineering
A mechanism-based approach to the prevention of chronic pain and its comorbid mental disorders (MECHPAIN)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Human Mind and Its Compl exity
Panel description: Cognitive science, psychology, linguistics
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANTS (ERC-2023-ADG, 2023)
Start date: 2024-10-01
End date: 2029-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2424481.0
EU funding (EUR): 2424481.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Chronic pain is a major health problem typically associated with mental disorders such as depression or anxiety and is still difficult to treat despite enormous efforts in the biomedical community. This project proposes a radical shift from the symptomatic focus on chronic pain and predefined diagnostic categories to a mechanistic analysis and treatment of psychobiological factors that shape the transition to chronic pain and its associated mental diorders in a transdiagnostic approach. The proposal aims to identify transdiagnostic mechanisms of the development of chronic pain across three major diagnostic subtypes of pain (primary musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, primary headache) that are usually analyzed and treated in isolation and conducts a proof of principle study of mechanism-based modular digital and virtual reality-based interventions. Work package (WP) 1 will use meta-analyses to determine common and specific transdiagnostic mechanisms of chronicity across these three diverse pain disorders, WP 2 will analyze longitudinal data from existing databases on pain development, using machine learning and knowledge graph approaches. WP 3 will develop an assessment battery for core psychobiological mechanisms and identify predictors of chronicity as well as comorbidity with mental disorder across diagnostic groups using advanced unsupervised learning algorithms. WP 4 will devise easy to apply real life digital and virtual reality interventions that target core psychobiological processes. WP 5 will contain a proof of principle study that contrasts standard cognitive-behavioral pain management with the mechanism-based intervention modules. They will be applied in a digital format and contain virtual reality-based interventions. Statistical analyses will include linear mixed models, an n=1 design as well as a microrandomized trial. We believe that this transdiagnostic mechanistic approach will make a major contribution to the prevention of chronic pain.

Keywords: prevention,subacute pain,machine learning,psychobiological mechanisms,psychological interventions,digital assessment,virtual reality
Signal-enhanced MRI contrast agents for neurodegeneration (NeuroHyp)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS2 (ERC-2022-POC2, 2022)
Start date: 2022-10-01
End date: 2024-03-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Despite decades of research, neurodegenerative diseases remain challenging to diagnose and identify on time. At the point external symptoms, such as memory or motor deficits become evident, the patient has usually suffered irreparable neuronal damage. This not only decreases life quality and expectancy of the patient, but also severely limits our ability to design new effective treatments and apply existing ones in a timely manner. A promising approach for early diagnosis could be the visualisation of metabolic changes in the brain. There are specific differences in the points of origin for different neurodegenerative diseases. The fact that the metabolism of neurons change when they are exposed to internal or external stressors, makes detecting changes in the metabolism of specific brain regions in comparison to the rest of the organ a possible powerful tool to early diagnose the onset of neurodegeneration. During the course of my ERC starting grant my team and I have developed new magnetic resonance technologies and contrast agents based on body own metabolites. These metabolic contrast agents can not only visualize overall metabolism of observed tissues but also show differences in the rate of resulting metabolites, further increasing the potential diagnostic accuracy. Before the developments made in my ERC project, especially a fast and simple approach to obtain such contrast agents was out of reach. In first experiments we provided evidence that my approach can be used to detect the onsets of Parkinson’s disease, one severe neurodegenerative illness. With the project outlined in this PoC we now aim to determine the feasibility of our technology as a clinical solution and a business opportunity, to enable timely, straight forward, fast and non-invasive diagnosis for neurodegenerative diseases. The success of this project will be the first important step to bring our technology into the clinics and improve patient’s health on a global scale in the future.
Tumor recurrence and therapeutic resistance: exploring and exploiting the post-radiotherapy brain microenvironment for therapeutic opportunities in malignant brain tumors (RESISTANCEPROGRAMS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Panel description: Medical technologies  and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, therapeutic approaches and interventions , pharmacology, preventative  medicine, epidemiology and public health , digital medicine
Countries involved: Sweden
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2021-COG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999444.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999444.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Gliomas are the most common brain tumors and the highest-grade glioma, glioblastoma (GBM), is arguably the most aggressive tumor type, with no long-term survivors. Patients with GBM are treated with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and tumor treating fields. Despite initial response all tumors recur as incurable lesions; there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic approaches for this patient group. The majority of GBMs recur within the treatment field receiving high-dose radiotherapy during treatment of the primary tumor; the recurrent tumor thus forms in an irradiated microenvironment. Despite the fact that it is the recurrent tumor that ultimately kills the patient and that the majority of new therapeutic agents for GBM are tested clinically in the recurrent setting, the majority of experimental models and clinical materials for drug discovery are based on primary disease. Recent advances established a central role for the tumor microenvironment in determining the therapeutic response of GBM cells, and our lab demonstrated that standard of care radiotherapy of the primary tumor can shape the microenvironment to generate tumor-supportive conditions in the recurrent tumor; These findings suggest that there is untapped potential in targeting the irradiated microenvironment. This proposal aims to explore and exploit the recurrent brain tumor microenvironment by i) consolidating the contribution of the irradiated brain tumor microenvironment to GBM resistance by integrating spatial transcriptomics, single cell RNA sequencing, and multiplexed immunohistochemistry from state-of-the-art murine and human models of GBM treatment and recurrence, and ii) discovering and targeting novel therapeutic targets unique to the post-radiotherapy brain tumor microenvironment by high-throughput phenotypic screening, with the ultimate goal of exploiting reversible stromal radiation responses and leverage novel therapeutic opportunities unique to the irradiated brain.

Keywords: tumor microenvironment,therapeutic resistance,brain tumors,radiotherapy