Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Enabling on-site mechanical analysis of drill cores for sustainable and efficient mining (LASO-LIBS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Open to supporting projects in all areas of science, technology,...
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Finland
Call: EIC Accelerator Open 2024 (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-02, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-01
End date: 2027-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3565000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2495500.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Mining companies face growing challenges related to efficiency, sustainability, and resource utilization. With increasing demand for metals driven by global megatrends such as electric transportation, renewable energy, and geopolitical pressures, there is an urgent need for advanced technologies that optimize mining operations. We are at the forefront of this transformation with our innovative LASO-LIBS technology, which provides instant, on-site analysis of mechanical, elemental, and mineral properties of ore bodies. Currently, the mining industry relies heavily on laboratory-based mechanical tests such as the Bond Ball Mill test, resulting in 2-3 month waiting period. Our solution enables instant on-site mechanical analysis, allowing for faster, more accurate decision-making in mining operations. By leveraging proprietary algorithms that analyze optical and acoustic signals generated through laser ablation, our technology provides precise estimations of rock's mechanical properties, as well as elemental and mineral compositions, directly in the field. This technological breakthrough addresses a critical gap in the industry, as mining companies typically lack adequate tools to estimate mechanical properties on-site. As a result, operations often suffer from inefficient use of electricity, excessive chemical consumption, and the generation of significant waste. Our solution empowers mining companies to optimize operations, reducing energy consumption and environmental impact while improving productivity. Our solution aligns with the European Union's objectives to increase self-sufficiency in critical mineral production and meet the demands of the green transition. With on-site mechanical analysis now a reality, we are leading the way toward a more sustainable, efficient, and responsible future in the mining industry.

Keywords: on site analysis core scanning core logging libs
Preserving and improving organs ex vivo for transplantation (LIVER PHOENIX)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Spain
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 30.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Liver disease is increasing in incidence and accounts for 2 million deaths globally each year. For chronic or acute organ failure, organ transplantation is, many times, the only definitive treatment to save lives - the only alternative to transplantation is death. The rising demand for organ transplantation is not linked with a similar increase in the donor pool due to the incidence of chronic conditions that lead to discarded suboptimal grafts. As a result of this organ shortage, 15% to 30% of patients die while waiting for a suitable liver. EBERS is developing LIVER PHOENIX, an innovative preservation system based on normothermic perfusion. The uniqueness of LIVER PHOENIX extends the preservation times up to 7 days, determines organ viability, and minimises organ injuries, enabling the reversal of ischemia damages and the use of suboptimal organs that are typically discarded. LIVER PHOENIX will double the liver donor pool, saving the lives of more patients. Our cost-effective liver preservation device will reduce the healthcare economic burden by reducing the treatment costs of patients while on the transplant waiting list, improving the patients' clinical results after the transplant of a better preserved organ, and simplifying logistics. With the support of the EIC, EBERS aims to revolutionise organ transplantation by increasing the number of donor organs available, enhancing the survival rate of patients suffering acute liver failure and optimizing the logistics of transplantation.

Keywords: liver transplant,exvivo normothermic perfusion,extended preservation time,automated preservation,continuous monitoring,organ viability assessment,reversing ischemia damage,donor pool expansion
AQUA-INTEL: Smart Underwater Networks for Enhanced Water Quality Management (AQUA-INTEL)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Destination: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Malta
Call: ERA Fellowships (HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-02, 2024)
Start date: 2026-01-01
End date: 2028-06-30
Duration (months): 30.0
Total project cost (EUR): 256642.8
EU funding (EUR): 256642.8
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Water quality monitoring is essential for protecting aquatic ecosystems and ensuring safe water resources in the EU and associated countries. Traditional sampling methods provide limited data and are resource-intensive. Recent technological advances have enabled more continuous and automated monitoring approaches, but implementing comprehensive underwater sensor networks remains challenging. The Mediterranean region faces unique water quality issues due to its climate and human pressures. Only 40% of EU surface waters achieve good ecological status, with southern European countries particularly affected. The EU has prioritized real-time water quality monitoring through key directives. Smart underwater sensor networks offer potential for revolutionary monitoring capabilities, providing continuous, high-resolution data across diverse aquatic environments. These networks can enable early pollution detection, improve understanding of ecosystem dynamics, and support evidence-based decision-making. However, research challenges persist in network optimization, energy efficiency, and data processing. The AQUA-INTEL project aims to develop next-generation underwater sensor networks for comprehensive water quality monitoring in the Mediterranean and broader European context. As human pressures intensify, there's an urgent need to quantify, monitor, and mitigate pollutant impacts across multiple scales. Current monitoring efforts often fail to capture complex interactions in large, interconnected aquatic systems. Addressing these challenges requires interdisciplinary collaboration, combining expertise in sensor technology, data analytics, environmental science, and policy implementation. By developing innovative monitoring solutions, researchers and policymakers can enhance water resource management and safeguard Europe's water bodies for future generations.

Keywords: gis,water quality management,network management
ABILITYPHARMA: DELIVERING SOLUTIONS FOR PANCREATIC CANCER “PanC-NOW” (PanC-NOW)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Spain
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2480000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2480000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

In 2020, AbilityPharma received an EIC Accelerator Pilot (€2.35M grant, €2.8M equity) to conduct a Phase 2b clinical trial in metastatic pancreatic cancer (PDAC) with ABTL0812 (ibrilatazar). This grant, along with two financing rounds totalling €2.8M by the EIC fund (in 2021 and 2024), is financing the trial (with results expected by June 2025). Preliminary blinded results are promising, suggesting a doubling of time to relapse compared to the control group. However, AbilityPharma faced challenges in accessing private capital, leading to a tough €7.2M funding round in Feb.2024 with high dilution for founders and old investors. The new EIC Accelerator application seeks funding for additional development activities for ibrilatazar needed to start Phase 3 trials, as requested by the EMA and FDA. This will enable the initiation of the Phase 3 trial immediately after Phase 2b results, accelerating regulatory approval and patient access. The equity part would allow the trial to start without waiting for a license agreement with a multinational pharmaceutical company (Big Pharma). Pancreatic cancer is a major health issue with high mortality rates and limited effective treatments. Less than 5% of patients survive five years post-diagnosis. Ibrilatazar aims to offer a more effective therapy, addressing the urgent need for PDAC treatments. Ibrilatazar is an oral autophagy-inducer targeting cancer cells, enhancing chemotherapy efficacy without added toxicity. The project's focus is to accelerate ibrilatazar’s clinical development for metastatic PDAC by initiating the Phase 3 trial. The goal is to secure a licensing agreement with Big Pharma, delivering a new PDAC treatment option by 2028. Objectives include completing all regulatory activities required by the EMA and FDA. AbilityPharma is in contact with several Big Pharma companies. Successful development and commercialization of ibrilatazar could significantly improve survival rates and quality of life for PDAC patients.

Keywords: ibrilatazar,abtl0812,pancreatic cancer,pdac,innovative treatment,survival improvement,game changer,market access,innovative treatment,phase 3,unmet medical need
Pioneering vegan whole cuts through mycelium solid state fermentation (Esencia Foods)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Challenges
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Spain,Germany
Call: Food from precision fermentation and algae (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-02, 2024)
Start date: 2025-06-01
End date: 2027-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2886666.87
EU funding (EUR): 2020666.81
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Esencia Foods is the first company in Europe to exploit the unique properties of mycelium combined with the advantages of an enhanced solid-state fermentation for whole cuts of any kind, starting with fish and seafood. We stand as the pioneering company in Europe, employing solid state fermentation with mycelium to achieve natural textures with minimal processing, two ingredients and a lower price point than animal-based counterparts. Solid state fermentation utilising tray bioreactors allows novel texturizing technologies to mimic the texture of whole cuts when exploiting the natural fibrous texture of mycelial fibres and mycelium’s gelation properties. This is a key step for re-producing complex textures; it also significantly reduces the need for expensive additives and intensive post-processing for texturization. By harnessing solid-state fermentation, we can cultivate mycelium (filamentous fungi) in controlled conditions that surpass natural growth and do so quickly and on a scalable level. Additionally, this process can be carried out locally, close to where (otherwise unused) side streams arise, and it requires minimal water compared to Liquid State Fermentation (most used technology today for the production of mycelium-based alternative products) We anticipate operating within a serviceable obtainable market (SOM) of approximately €5.3 billion by 2028. We project that we can realistically capture approximately €18 million of this market share by 2029. We have received LOIs from 9 restaurants based in Barcelona, Spain, 1 Canteen and 1 business caterer in Germany, 2 Catering companies based in Barcelona, Spain, 2 Chefs based in Germany and Spain, 4 Food Producers from Germany and The Netherlands, and 3 Food retailers/Grocers from Switzerland, The Netherlands and Germany. Potential customers who have provided LOIs have expressed a strong demand for our products which translates into a market opportunity of €20M+ per year.

Keywords: solid state fermentation alternative wholecuts alternative fish fillet alternative meat whole cuts
Leveraging Graph Theory for Food Delivery Logistics Optimization (GraphEats)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Destination: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Türkiye
Call: ERA Fellowships (HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-02, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-01
End date: 2027-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 165205.2
EU funding (EUR): 165205.2
Participants: 1
Project status: TERMINATED

The Online Food Delivery (OFD) industry has experienced rapid growth, largely driven by third-party platforms such as UberEats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. Central to the efficiency of these platforms is the Food Delivery Dispatch Problem (FDDP), an optimization problem that aims to match couriers with orders in real time, balancing delivery speed and costs. Current methods to solve this problem rely heavily on general-purpose optimization tools that do not fully exploit the structural properties of the underlying problem. This project, GraphEats, aims to bridge this gap by integrating advanced graph-theoretic methods, pushing the boundaries of logistics optimization in the OFD domain. GraphEats approaches the FDDP as a graph theory problem on an appropriately constructed graph, referred to as the conflict graph. In this graph, vertices represent potential plans (courier-order assignments) and edges represent conflicts between plans. Despite their pivotal role, there is currently no systematic academic study on the conflict graphs emerging in food delivery applications. Leveraging structural properties of the conflict graph, GraphEats will develop innovative, tailored preprocessing methods and algorithms for solving the FDDP, improving both the efficiency and running time of dispatch algorithms. Additionally, the project will explore how Graph Neural Networks (GNN)-based techniques can be customized for food delivery logistics by identifying meaningful structural patterns in the problem to further boost solver performance. GraphEats seeks to deliver both immediate improvements to current dispatch technology and long-term advancements in the application of graph theory to real-world logistics problems. Ultimately, this research will establish a versatile framework adaptable to a variety of logistics challenges, advancing both academic knowledge and practical solutions for the fast-growing OFD industry.

Keywords: logistics optimization,dispatch algorithms,structural graph theory,maximum weight independent set,mixed integer linear programming,graph neural networks
Viral hijacking of the Hippo pathway - HCMV-encoded viral GPCRs US28 and UL78 differentially modulate the Hippo pathway in cancer. (ViHiHippo)

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: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-07-01
End date: 2024-10-31
Duration (months): 28.0
Total project cost (EUR): 187624.32
EU funding (EUR): 187624.32
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a herpesvirus that infects large parts of the population, with a prevalence of 80-100% in Europe. In healthy individuals, HCMV infection usually induces little to no symptoms. However, recent findings indicate that HCMV might contribute to a variety of diseases, including cancer and heart disease, two of the leading causes of death in Europe. The aim of this project is to uncover how and why HCMV changes the progression of cancer. To achieve this, we will investigate two HCMV-encoded viral G protein-coupled receptors (vGPCRs), US28 and UL78. Like other viral proteins, these vGPCRs hijack the signaling network of the host cell. Specifically, US28 and UL78 modulate the Hippo pathway, which controls cell proliferation and organ growth. As dysregulation of the Hippo pathway has been linked to cancer, modulation of this pathway by these vGPCRs may be a crucial determinant of HCMV on cancer progression. Our preliminary findings show that US28 and UL78 activate distinct mechanisms to hijack the Hippo pathway. US28 couples to G proteins of the Gq/G12 family, which are known to lead to Hippo modulation. Conversely, UL78 does not signal to Gq/G12, and seems to hijack the Hippo pathway via a different, undescribed mechanism. Thus, we will use a combination of biochemical readouts to investigate the signaling of US28- and UL78-expressing cells, to identify the distinct signaling mechanisms by which each vGPCR hijacks the Hippo pathway. We will also investigate the outcomes of this Hippo pathway modulation in a viral cancer setting by infecting a glioblastoma cell line with HCMV strains that either encode or lack US28 or UL78. Our findings will contribute to a fundamental understanding of how HCMV can influence progression of cancer. Moreover, these studies might potentially identify a new mechanism linking GPCRs to cell proliferation. In the long term this project may lay the groundwork for the discovery of new cancer treatments.

Keywords: g protein coupled receptor gpcr,g proteins,cytomegalovirus cmv,signal transduction,hippo pathway
Protein degraders for targeting galectin-8 (PROTAG-8)

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: Chemistry
Countries involved: Slovenia,Sweden
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-09-01
End date: 2026-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 155559.36
EU funding (EUR): 155559.36
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

In the PROTAG-8 project, we aim to target galectin-8 by protein degradation using proteolysis targeting chimeras or shortly, PROTACs. Galectin-8 is a galactoside-binding lectin that exists as a soluble intracellular and extracellular receptor, with an extensive exchange between the membrane-bound and cytosolic forms. Its inhibitors are potential new anticancer drugs, but the affinity of classical galectin-8 inhibitors is in the low micromolar range, hardly sufficient for their use as drug molecules. The overarching aim of PROTAG-8 is to explore whether the PROTAC method can be implemented for galectin-8 and to answer the question of whether PROTACs offer advantages over classical selective galectin-8 ligands. Since PROTACs need only bind their targets with high selectivity and with an affinity high enough to stabilize the ternary complex between the protein of interest and the E3 ligase, the affinity in the micromolar range could be sufficient for their activity, unlike conventional ligands. The current state-of-the-art in the development of PROTACs focuses only on intracellular proteins, but galectin-8 exists as both an intracellular and extracellular protein. Based on this fact, we want to find out whether such a receptor, which occurs both in the cytosol and in the extracellular matrix, can be effectively targeted with PROTACS and its activity modulated. This scientific question will be tackled by a highly-qualified PhD Nives Hribernik with international experience in glycochemistry, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, and is expected to be an excellent springboard to her independent scientific career. The project proposal includes renowned principal investigators from two academic institutions: Prof. Dr. Marko Anderluh from the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Prof. Dr. Ulf Nilsson and Prof. Derek Logan from Lund University (Sweden), giving the PROTAG-8 international and interdisciplinary background.

Keywords: carbohydrate binding receptors,galectins,galectin 8,proteolysis targeting chimeras protacs
Electrifying Peptide Synthesis for Directed Evolution of Artificial Enzymes (E-VOLUTION)

Framework: Horizon Europe — 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: Germany
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): 1997993.0
EU funding (EUR): 1997993.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Global climate and energy challenges require efficient, robust and scalable catalysts for the conversion of renewable energies. Nature has evolved extremely active catalysts (enzymes) for the conversion of small molecules relevant to energy (H2, CO2, N2). The scalability of these enzymes offers distinct advantages over the rare, precious metals that are currently used in energy conversion. Unfortunately, the enzymes are unable to tolerate the extreme conditions of operating fuel cells or electrolyzers. Directed evolution is a powerful approach for improving enzymes, but is mostly restricted to natural amino acids and biological conditions, with limited compatibility for evolving enzymes toward enhanced resistance in abiotic systems. Here, I aim to establish directed evolution in fully abiotic systems, using artificial amino acids to make artificial enzymes that are stable even in extreme conditions. Towards this, I will establish new electrochemical peptide synthesis platforms to enable the generation of enzyme-length peptides using both natural and artificial amino acids. Extended libraries of artificial enzyme variants will be produced and screened directly on electrode microarrays. Top enzyme candidates for the conversion of H2 will be selected using fuel cell/electrolyzer conditions as the evolutionary criteria. By the end, I will have a new procedure for synthesizing libraries of full-length artificial proteins, enabling the creation of thousands of enzyme variants using artificial building blocks. The generation of high-quality datasets will be transformative to drive future machine learning-based evolution steps for both full size enzymes and small-molecule catalysts with applications beyond H2 evolution. We will have discovered highly active catalysts able to sustain conditions of large-scale energy conversion devices, accelerating breakthroughs toward the economically competitive use of renewable energies for fuel and chemical production.

Keywords: redox activation,peptide synthesis,redox hydrogels,electrochemical microarray,high throughput screening,directed evolution,energy conversion,catalyst discovery