Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Precision confiner for mechanical cell activation (ACTICELL)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC-Proof of Concept-2016 (ERC-2016-PoC, 2016)
Start date: 2017-06-01
End date: 2018-11-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In tissues, cells have their physical space constrained by neighbouring cells and extracellular matrix. In the PROMICO ERC project, our team proposed to specifically address the effect of physical confinement on normal and cancer cells that are dividing and migrating, using new pathophysiologically relevant in vitro approaches based on innovative micro-fabrication techniques. One of the devices we developed was meant to quantitatively control two key parameters of the cell environment: its geometry and its surface chemical properties. The main technical breakthrough was achieved using micro-fabricated elastomeric structures bound to a hard substrate (Le Berre Integrative Biology, 2012). The method led to important fundamental discoveries in cell biology (Lancaster Dev Cell 2013, Le Berre PRL 2013, Liu Cell 2015, Raab Science 2016). In part based on our findings, the notion that confinement is a crucial parameter for cell physiology has spread through the cell biology. Based on this, our idea is that cell confinement could be used as a powerfull cell conditioning technology, to change the cell state and offer new opportunities for fundamental research in cell biology, but also in cell therapies and drug screening. However, our current method to confine cells is not adapted to large scale cell conditioning applications, because the throughput and reliability of the device is still too low and because the recovery of cells after confinement remain poorly controlled. It is thus now timely to develop a robust and versatile cell confiner adapted to use in any cell biology lab, in academy and in industry, with no prior experience in micro-fabrication. Achieving this goal involves a complete change of technology compared to the ‘homemade’ PDMS device we have been using so far. We will also perform proofs of concept of its use for its application in cell based therapies, such as cancer immunotherapy, by testing the possibility to mechanically activate dendritic cells.

Keywords: cell confinement,microfabrication,mechanical cell activation
Cyanotoxins in Irrigation Waters: Surveillance, Risk Assessment, and Innovative Remediation proposals (TOXICROP)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Research and innovation staff exchange
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Spain,Egypt,Spain,Cuba,Colombia,Slovenia,Denmark,Morocco,Peru,Portugal,Portugal
Call: Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-02-01
End date: 2024-07-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 469200.0
EU funding (EUR): 469200.0
Participants: 14
Project status: SIGNED

Water scarcity and food production are some of the greatest challenges of our times. Fresh water resources in many countries are vulnerable due to their biogeographical and climatic characteristics. Moreover higher water consumption and higher human impacts in the downstream water bodies is leading to a higher eutrophication with increased incidence and intensity of cyanobacteria blooms and their toxins. The scarcity of clean water resources leads to the compulsory use of water containing cyanobacteria and their toxins in agriculture. This project aims through Research and Innovation Staff Exchange to map agricultural risk areas of cyanotoxin occurrence in consortium member countries, to access the fate of cyanotoxins in crops as also bioaccumulation in crops and food contamination related to the use of eutrophic waters in irrigation. Environment-friendly, low-cost techniques of water treatment will also be developed, and methods to detect and assess toxicity of cyanotoxins improved. This project seeks to integrate the activities already developed by the partners, and develop new multidisciplinary activities which could lead to the maximization of the research and foster the creation of knowledge in the domains of water toxicology, food safety and eco-technologies of water treatment. The main innovation aspect of this project rely on the multidisciplinary approach to the subject under study, which is expected to contribute to the elucidation of the minimum quality requirements applied to the irrigation waters. The integration of countries with different weather regimes and agricultural practices in one single project will constitute a unique approach to this subject and to consolidate the transnational collaborations. The expected results will be delivered as guidelines for water management and treatment and will contribute to the implementation of a more sustainable and safe agriculture in Europe and worldwide.

Keywords: harmful algal blooms habs,cyanobacteria
BEyond ARCHAEOlogy: an advanced approach linking East to West through science, field archaeology, interactive museum experiences (BE-ARCHAEO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Research and innovation staff exchange
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Italy,Italy,Belgium,Greece,Portugal,Japan
Call: Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-02-01
End date: 2023-07-31
Duration (months): 54.0
Total project cost (EUR): 823400.0
EU funding (EUR): 708400.0
Participants: 8
Project status: SIGNED

Although approaches combining archaeology and archaeometry in the investigation of past records are presently well established, recent technological advances, especially the new IT tools, push for a general update of the consolidated procedures. Researchers and professionals need to develop expertise and skills under new perspectives, to enable a new trans-disciplinary storytelling from the archaeological site to the museum display. BE-ARCHAEO launches a trans-disciplinary approach in the investigation of past social experience registered at archaeological sites, where the involvement of IT experts within an on-the-field interplay between archaeologists and an exhaustive set of interlinked archaeometry experts will enable R&I and will expose the involved individuals to a truly interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral environment, thus improving their career perspectives significantly. The participants, belonging to various domains of archaeology, archaeometry, museology and IT, will commit skills and instruments to the project for performing cutting-edge scientific investigations and for developing the most capturing interactive museum experiences. The Japanese partners will give the opportunity of developing the BE-ARCHAEO approach in a new area of archaeological excavation and will give access to their archaeological collections for investigations and analysis. Bidirectional knowledge transfer among the participants - set up on the tailored Japanese case–study - will lead to the development of cultural heritage professionals with a trans-disciplinary vision of the archaeological records; new procedures for integrated archaeology and archaeometry; new IT tools for storing/retrieving interdisciplinary data and for communicating to the general public the new knowledge stemming by combining archaeology and science. Intersectoral interactions and connections with the stakeholders will keep the research tightly linked to the needs of the final users.

Keywords: archaeometry,field archaeology,trans disciplinary approaches and storytelling,interactive,museum experiences,new it tools
MATERIALS FOR NEXT GENERATION ALKALINE ELECTROLYZER (NEXTAEC)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology
Theme: Advanced materials
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Germany,Belgium,Greece,Sweden,Korea, Republic of,Norway,Czechia,Denmark,Denmark
Call: Materials for non-battery based energy storage (RIA) (H2020-NMBP-ST-IND-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-04-01
End date: 2024-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4550725.0
EU funding (EUR): 4399445.0
Participants: 12
Project status: SIGNED

The aim of the NEXTAEC is development of next generation alkaline electrolyzer with a performance comparable to a good PEM electrolyzer or better without the use of noble metals. In brief, the PEM electrolyzer can operate at high current densities (several amperes pr. cm2) due to the low internal resitstance of a thin acidic ion conducting membrane (an ion-exchange membrane). The main drawback is that the acidic system demands noble metal catalysts on both electrodes and expensive noble metal coatings on the bipolar plates and electrode backing. The alkaline electrolyzer, does not rely on noble metals for neither catalysts nor bipolar plates, but it suffers from higher internal resistance because it does not have a thin ion conducting membrane. Despite many years of research, no research groups or companies have been able to develop a satisfactory ion-exchange membrane for the alkaline system. All attempts suffer from sigificantly lower conductivity and poor stability. The alkaline electrolyzer have so far been left with thick porous diaphragms with a significantly higher area-specific resistance, which practically limits the current density to a fraction of an ampere pr. cm2. In the proposed project, an alkaline electroyzer will be developed around a new membrane concept. The membrane is an ion-solvating membrane. It is a polymer, which dissolves the electrolyte of the electrolyzer (aqueous potasium hydroxide). Like an ion-exchange membrane it is nonporous and it can therefore, in contrast to a porous diaphragm, be as thin as an ion exchange membrane. The absense of noble metals makes it possible to roll out the technology in the multi GW scale that is needed in the green transition away from the dependence fossil fuels.

Keywords: alkaline membrane,alkaline electrolyzer,high rate electrolysis,3 d electrodes
All-Phononic circuits Enabled by Opto-mechanics (PHENOMEN)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
Theme: EIC Pathfinder
Destination: Novel ideas for radically new technologies
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Italy,Italy,Spain,Finland,France
Call: FET-Open research projects (H2020-FETOPEN-2014-2015-RIA, 2015)
Start date: 2016-09-01
End date: 2020-02-29
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2915886.25
EU funding (EUR): 2915885.75
Participants: 8
Project status: CLOSED

This project is at the intersection of photonics, RF signal processing and phononics, aiming to achieve an all-optical phononic circuit using coherent phonons as the state variable. The concept is based on cavity optomechanics (OM) to develop GHz- frequency in-chip phononic circuits for room temperature operation. The circuits will integrate OM-pumped phonon sources and detectors as well as phonon processing components (waveguides, splitters, memories, photonic RF signal processing) to process information with phonons outside the cavity. The project seeks to prove two concepts. One is the efficient generation of GHz to tens of GHz coherent phonons, coupling them efficiently into a waveguide, engineering their propagation with low losses and detecting them at room temperature. The other is the synchronisation of two or more self-sustained OM cavities, which relies on the integration of several phononic components. Phonon-based processing will enable on-chip synchronisation and transfer of information carried between optical channels by phonons, which could eventually serve as a future scalable platform for, e.g., practical information processing with phonons. The technical work is organised in three work-packages: Theory, Components and Integration. The consortium is made up by three leading research institutes, three universities with an internationally recognised track-record in their respective areas of expertise and an industrial partner bringing their photonics, phononics, optomechanics, electrical engineering, integration, nanofabrication, theory, multi-physics/multi-scale modelling, instrumentation and application of detectors to the project.

Keywords: phononics,opto mechanics,photonics,integration,rf signal processing,room temperature,operation
Unlocking the potential of thermo-sensitive bioactive ingredients through a disruptive encapsulation method (CAPSULTEK)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Spain
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-2, 2019)
Start date: 2019-08-01
End date: 2022-07-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 985062.5
EU funding (EUR): 689543.75
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Functional foods provide additional health benefits beyond its nutritional value by adding certain bioactive ingredients to its basic formulation, like Omega-3, probiotics or vitamins. They are massively consumed, being a long-lasting megatrend in food industry, started in the 80’s, and currently living its best moment. Their generated revenue will grow by 50 % until 2022. 1 out of 4 new food products launched have a functional claim. So, global food industries are eager to increase their functional food products portfolio due to its high consumers’ acceptance, potential for deploying new markets, and higher added value. However, most of these bioactive ingredients are easily vulnerable (prone to oxidation, thermolabile…), so, there is a challenge in assuring their integrity and bioavailability when introducing them in food products (complex matrix!). To protect them they are usually encapsulated. Most encapsulation methods work at high temperature damaging the ingredients. Moreover, most methods are energy-intensive, and entail high production costs. In Bioinicia we are experts in nanoencapsulation, and we have developed CAPSULTEK: an innovative own-developed technology called Electrospraying Assisted by Pressurized Gas of which we have a 1 t/year prototype. With our technology we can work at room temperature, encapsulate any kind of molecule, enhance its stability and extend its shelf-life. Besides, industrially-wise, we can scale it up to reach industrial volumes, to reduce encapsulation costs by 40% and to increase concentration bioactive ingredients by 50%. We need Ph.2 to reach market readiness. We will build an industrial demo plant of 10 tonnes/year and will optimize the processing parameters for Omega-3 and probiotics. We have designed a bold and effective highly scalable business model to make the most of CAPSULTEK. First-line food companies have already stated their interest on it, and we foresee an 8 M€ profit by the fifth year of its commercialization.

Keywords: food encapsulation,nanotechnology,bioactive compounds,omega 3,pufas,functional food,probiotics,infant nutrition,food stability,thermosensitive,bioavailability,controlled release
Dynamic control of assembly, directonnality and chirality in hydrogen bond networks. (DYNASSEMBLY)

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: Chemistry
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2016, 2016)
Start date: 2018-01-01
End date: 2019-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183454.8
EU funding (EUR): 183454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

By combining biology's information storage and replication strategies, namely specific hydrogen-bonding between nucleobases, with the potential for hydrogen-bond reorganisation in novel 'refoldable foldamers', we propose to develop a new, artificial but bio-inspired mechanism for the transfer of information in chemical systems. Based on preliminary modelling studies, we will focus on one type of polyurea structures, built from 'Nowick'-style motifs, which spontaneously fold in solution, forming intramolecular polarized hydrogen-bond networks. Upon addition of simple chemical additives forming competitive intermolecular hydrogen bonds with the foldamer, the directionality of these networks could be modified, transforming a conformational mixture to a well-defined unidirectional network. Molecular events such as reversible switching, chemical sensing, and long-distance information communication will be studied. Then, biomimetic additives such as nucleobases will be investigated, and their impact on the folding of the oligomers will be analysed. We will also investigate 3D hydrogen bond networks, which will provide highly functionalised, well-defined macromolecules in a bottom-up approach, and study the change of macromolecular structure and chirality upon stimulus. Finally, structures that give a non-spectroscopic 'readout' of the interaction with the additive will be built, which for example exhibit 'off-on' fluorescence or 'off-on' catalytic activity. The application of these foldamers in the construction of photochemically switchable molecular devices will also be investigated.

Keywords: hydrogen bond networks,foldamers,systems chemistry
Efficient algorithms for sustainable machine learning (SLING)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Panel description: Informatics and information systems, computer science, scientific computing, intelligent systems
Countries involved: Italy
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2018-COG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-11-01
End date: 2024-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1977500.0
EU funding (EUR): 1977500.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

This project will develop and integrate the latest optimization and statistical advances into a new generation of resource-efficient algorithms for large-scale machine learning. State-of-the-art machine learning methods provide impressive results, opening new perspectives for science, technology, and society. However, they rely on massive computational resources to process huge manually annotated data-sets. The corresponding costs in terms of energy consumption and human efforts are not sustainable. This project builds on the idea that improving efficiency is a key to scale the ambitions and applicability of machine learning. Achieving efficiency requires overcoming the traditional boundaries between statistics and computations, to develop new theory and algorithms. Within a multidisciplinary approach, we will establish a new regularization theory of efficient machine learning. We will develop models that incorporate budgeted computations, and numerical solutions with resources tailored to the statistically accuracy allowed by the data. Theoretical advances will provide the foundations for novel and sound algorithmic solutions. Close collaborations in diverse applied fields will ensure that our research results and solutions will be apt and immediately applicable to real world scenarios. The new algorithms developed in the project will contribute to boost the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence, modeling and decision making in a world of data with ever-increasing size and complexity.
Improve urban cleanliness while optimising resources and environmental footprint (Clean City)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2018)
Start date: 2018-06-01
End date: 2018-11-30
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A clean city is instrumental for the inhabitants’ wellbeing and sense of security. It creates value by increasing the city’s attractiveness for economic development and for tourism. Litter and cleaning have an impact on the environment. The cost of cleaning is estimated at 50 €/inhabitant/year or 10 to 13 billion € for Europe6. Paradoxically, according to our findings, a clean city has lower costs than a dirty one. There is a true potential to achieve higher cleanliness level at less cost. Our value proposition is a solution to improve urban cleanliness while reducing the costs and the environmental footprint of cleaning. What cannot be measured cannot be improved. We propose a timely monitoring of litter supporting the city’s investments, prevention and operations decisions. The city will allocate the cleaning means where it is necessary and engage the adequate means according to the soiling type. The monitoring is produced automatically by mobile cameras, which identify, classify and count litter thanks to intelligent vision algorithms. For a yearly fee of about 0,5 € per inhabitant, the city can significantly improve cleanliness while saving 5 € on its 50 € costs. The project has already raised genuine interest from important European cities and anti-litter organizations. Commercialization will start in Spring 2018. The fundamental critical success factor is the speed of market penetration: rapidly establish a reference panel and growth the number of customer cities. The municipalities have complex decision processes. Many hypotheses in the go-to market strategy have to be challenged in order to establish a viable plan: local offices vs distributors, collaborations and alliances, pricing. The potentially high secondary market of cleaning service providers has not been evaluated yet. It is the aim of this study to establish a success-oriented go-to market plan.

Keywords: littering,urban management