Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into added value products via highly selective bimetallic MATerials and innovative process dESign (ECOMATES)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Doctoral Networks
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Chemistry
Countries involved: Italy,Iceland,Ireland,France,Belgium,Greece,Spain
Call: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01, 2021)
Start date: 2023-02-01
End date: 2027-01-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2895716.57
EU funding (EUR): 2684829.6
Participants: 14
Project status: SIGNED

The main aim of this Marie-Curie ETN is to instruct a new generation of scientists who will bring innovation in the field of electrocatalysis with particular emphasis on the design of new nanomaterials and processes based on Cu/M bimetallic compounds with improved selectivity and efficiency towards CO2 reduction to value-added products (CO, HCOOH and C2H4). The ECOMATES network gathers large European universities, international research laboratories (VITO, and IIT in the area of sustainable development), the ESRF (an international European facility), and two SMEs (ADVENT, for innovation in MEA preparation, and APRIA, for the design of testing of a CO2 electrolyzer). The diverse know-how of the involved teams guarantees that the ten involved DCs will be trained in an interdisciplinary, intersectoral and international environment. The training program consists of cutting-edge research projects executed by the DCs across the network institutions: three 3 DCs will be mainly focusing on the synthesis and characterization of innovative bimetallic Cu/M catalysts for CO2RR, four DCs on the understanding (through simulations and experiments) of the reaction mechanism occurring at Cu/M surfaces with the aim of devising more efficient catalysts, and three DCs will work on the realization of electrodes , MEA functional testing and CO2RR processes design. The DCs will be intensively interacting with all the participating organizations during secondments, regular work package meeting and discussions, and network workshops. Moreover, network-wide innovative courses have been scheduled following the path that leads from catalysts discovery to industrial process design and have been organized with well-defined and clear objectives to ensure effective knowledge uptake. Such a unique research and educational environment will allow the DCs to develop scientific and technological knowledge that we believe will be fundamental to increase their employability outside academia.

Keywords: co2rr,bimetallic cu m catalysts,machine mearning,in silico design,electrolyzer,mea
Monitoring Earthquake Mechanics under Evolving Natural TectOnic stress (MEMENTO)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Earth System Science
Panel description: Physical geography, geo logy, geophysics, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, climatology, cryology, ecology, global environmental change, biogeochemical cycles, natural resources management
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2025-STG, 2025)
Start date: 2026-03-01
End date: 2031-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2246176.0
EU funding (EUR): 2246176.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Earthquakes pose a major threat to society, yet short-term forecasting remains elusive due to our limited understanding of how they initiate. Recent advances in seismology and geodesy have significantly enhanced the resolution of observations, revealing the stressed and fractured nature of the earthquake-hosting crust at plate boundaries. However, laboratory rock deformation studies still fall short—focusing on far-from-reality optimal fault orientations in intact elastic crust. MEMENTO—Monitoring Earthquake Mechanics under Evolving Natural TectOnic stress—will bridge this gap by replicating, for the first time, a critically stressed and highly fractured crust during the earthquake preparatory and nucleation phases, under diverse stress regimes, including pioneering experiments on extensional earthquakes. MEMENTO is structured around three main objectives: (1) decoding the role of a critically stressed crust in earthquake mechanics, (2) advancing experimental capabilities for simulating diverse tectonic stress conditions, and (3) integrating laboratory findings with natural seismic sequences using numerical and seismological tools. The project will employ a novel rock deformation prototype, DANTE—Deformation Apparatus simulating Natural Tectonic stress Evolution—to capture the interplay between stress, damage, and slip across the entire earthquake cycle and the full spectrum of tectonic stress regimes. MEMENTO will provide an unprecedented perspective on how diverse stress regimes govern earthquake precursors and nucleation. To ensure the relevance of laboratory findings to natural seismic sequences, MEMENTO will integrate experimental results with state-of-the-art quasi-dynamic simulations and high-resolution seismic observations. This upscaling effort bridges the gap between controlled experiments and real-world seismicity, establishing a new benchmark for understanding earthquake mechanics and informing the development of more reliable forecasting tools.

Keywords: mechanics of earthquake and faulting,experimental rock deformation
Understanding the integration of body schema in the cortical representations of space during tool use (WhiskerSchema)

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: France
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2025-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 195914.88
EU funding (EUR): 195914.88
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

When walking with a cane, a blind person can localize the objects they touch. Tool-based sensing requires the brain to combine sensory signals at the hand and proprioceptive information together with knowledge of the physical properties of the tool. To correctly interpret the signals sensed with a tool, the brain incorporates the tool in its internal representation of the body in space, known as the body schema. However, the neuronal basis for integrating somatosensory with the body schema information is largely unknown. I hypothesize that feedback projections from higher cortical areas involved in body schema shape cortical somatosensory processing to create a spatial representation of touch. I propose to tackle this question at the cellular and circuit levels by introducing the mouse as a model organism. Mice use their whiskers to effectively localize objects in space, yet the whiskers themselves lack mechanoreceptors. Here, I will record neuronal activity in the somatosensory cortex (S1) using two-photon imaging while presenting mice with objects at different locations in a two-dimensional horizontal plane. From my preliminary experiments, I found that individual layer 2/3 neurons in S1 have preferences for different spatial positions. Using optogenetics, I will test the impact of feedback projections from the body schema network on the spatial representation in S1. Finally, I will employ a “prosthetic whisker” designed in the host lab to vary the physical parameters of the mouse whisker. This experimental design will allow exploring the consequences of a mismatch between the body schema and the actual physical properties of the tool used in the cortical representation of space. Through the development of a prosthetic whisker, this proposal aims to leverage the mouse model to shed light on a major open question in cognitive neuroscience.
Boosting CBRNE Innovation in Southern CEE: Building a Resilient Ecosystem through Fostering Academy-Industry Collaboration (GROUNDUP)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: European innovation ecosystems
Theme: Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems
Destination: Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Serbia,Romania,Hungary,France,Ireland
Call: Expanding Academia-Enterprise Collaborations (HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-02, 2024)
Start date: 2025-06-01
End date: 2027-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 585200.9
EU funding (EUR): 499593.76
Participants: 5
Project status: SIGNED

CBRNE technologies have crucial civil applications, enhancing public safety, environmental protection, food and water safety, industrial safety, and border control. In the Southern CEE region, the adoption of cutting-edge, research-based CBRNE technologies is essential to address challenges like geopolitical tensions, environmental issues, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and border security. Despite strong research capacities, the region struggles with fragmented networks and slow market adoption. In contrast, Western and Northern Europe have seen success due to better funding, collaboration, and innovation ecosystems. The GROUNDUP project aims to build a strong CBRNE innovation ecosystem in the Southern CEE region by uniting diverse stakeholders, including researchers, students, businesses, and NGOs. Through collaboration, engagement, and capacity-building activities, the project seeks to enhance knowledge exchange and technology development. GROUNDUP focuses on mentoring high-potential young innovators and connecting the Southern CEE region to more developed innovation networks. This initiative aims to create sustainable impacts regionally and across the EU. The GROUNDUP project focuses on four key objectives to strengthen the CBRNE innovation ecosystem in Southern CEE. First, it will establish a Business Community, integrating stakeholders from the European CBRNE technology market value chain to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. Second, it aims to create an Education and Research Hub, bringing together higher education institutions and research organizations to advance knowledge and technology development in CBRNE fields. Third, GROUNDUP will enhance entrepreneurship by linking young innovators with enterprises through a mentoring program. Lastly, the project seeks to expand its impact through communication activities and large-scale clustering to ensure the widespread dissemination of results.

Keywords: cbrne capacity building mentoring
exploring microbial adaptation to agricultural systems mediated by plasmids and IS elements (MicroplIS)

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: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Belgium,China
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-13
End date: 2027-05-12
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 200400.0
EU funding (EUR): 200400.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Higher demands for increased agricultural production will arise in the future to secure the food supply for an expanding world population. Sustainable agricultural approaches are urgently needed to meet this demand today as well as in future. It is well known that bacterial communities contribute to the ecosystem functions of soil; however, very little is known about the composition and diversity of those communities. One important factor for bacterial adaptation is the horizontal transfer of genetic material. MicroplIS aims to identify mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that are important for bacteria-plant interactions with special regard to insertion sequence elements (ISs). The rhizosphere of plants is a hotspot for horizontal gene transfer and some of the MGEs might carry plant beneficial traits. Therefore, I hypothesize that plant beneficial traits can be found associated with MGEs in the rhizosphere. Identifying these elements will help to harness their contribution to ecosystem services like biofertilization (siderophore release, inorganic phosphate solubilization) and biostimulation (auxin production, VOC release, ACC-deaminase activity, EPS production). Furthermore, the identified traits will be linked to climate change influences in a growth chamber experiment with changing drought and wet conditions. Through this approach it will be possible to link the prevalence of plasmids and ISs with extreme weather events. In conclusion, the findings from MicroplIS will contribute to optimizing ecosystem services to effectively address shifting environmental conditions.
Where the wild things were: how the rise of farming changed human-wildlife relationships (WILDERFARM)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Study of the Human Past
Panel description: Archaeology and history
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2025-STG, 2025)
Start date: 2026-01-01
End date: 2030-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

WILDERFARM explores the significant changes in human-wildlife relationships that occurred with the rise of farming in western Europe between 6000 and 2000 BCE. Up until now, research on this period has focused strongly on the domestication of animals and plants and the emergence of the new relationship between humans and domesticates. WILDERFARM shifts the perspective, examining how farmers renegotiated the age-old relationship with wild animals and how the rise of farming and its activities, such as livestock grazing and crop husbandry, affected wildlife. WILDERFARM addresses three critical gaps in current research: wild animals are under-represented in archaeological research compared to domestic ones, particularly in research on farming societies; there is still much debate on the nature and timing of the Neolithic transition in western Europe; and in light of the current biodiversity crisis, archaeological perspectives on human-wildlife relationships are valuable but under-utilised. To achieve novel, multi-dimensional insights on the human-wildlife relationship, WILDERFARM integrates methods from zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, biomolecular science, and ecological modelling within a conceptual framework encompassing archaeology, multispecies anthropology, and conservation biology. Three case study areas in western Europe form the basis for a comparative, diachronic exploration of human-wildlife relationships: central Germany, the Netherlands, and southern Scandinavia. Through targeted dissemination and outreach, WILDERFARM seeks to generate an alternative perspective on the emergence of farming, increase awareness of the importance of wild animals in the human past, and offer valuable insights for today’s wildlife conservation education.

Keywords: neolithisation human animal studies multispecies zooarchaeology archaeobotany biomolecular archaeology computational modelling biodiversity farming
Application iCapital 2026 Rotterdam (iCAPROT)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EU prize
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: Recognition Prize
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: The European Capital of Innovation Award (iCapital) (HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2, 2025)
Total project cost (EUR): 0.0
EU funding (EUR): 0.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Rotterdam is a city of continuous transformation. Innovation is therefore in our DNA. The city has developed from a classic port city into a vibrant urban testing ground for spatial planning & architecture, life sciences & health, industry & logistics, digitisation & technology and social & administrative innovation. The city is used as a living lab and has realized several experimentation places. Rotterdam's innovative approach is rooted in a pioneering mentality and a focus on accelerating transitions. The municipality acts as a booster, facilitator, coordinator, and launching customer, providing physical room, legal, and financial support. The City supports the innovation ecosystem through the Up!Rotterdam program, which helps start-ups and growth companies access talent, funding, and international markets. This commitment is yielding significant results, with start-ups and scale-ups securing a record €437 million in 2024. Rotterdam's innovation ecosystem is powered by leading knowledge institutes Erasmus University Rotterdam and TU Delft. The city reinforces the ecosystem with the Upstream Festival, which attracted over 2,200 start-ups and investors in 2025. Key initiatives like Rotterdam Square and Convergence boost Life Sciences and Health innovation. The MKB010»Next program assists SMEs in adopting digital, sustainable, and circular practices. The presence of the Cambridge Innovation Centre, recognized as a leading European start-up hub, further solidifies Rotterdam's position. Rotterdam prioritizes citizens' rights, inclusion, and participation, investing in initiatives that build trust and self-organization The CityLab010 program has supported over 200 citizen and entrepreneur-led initiatives since 2016. Many programs and projects strengthen the active participation of – also vulnerable – our citizens in policymaking. The city plans to leverage the iCapital Award prize money to further strengthen its innovation ecosystem and accelerate innovation scaling.
Biophysical Genetic Design Automation Technology (PLATE)

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: 2022-07-01
End date: 2023-12-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Advances in our capabilities to program, synthesize and modify DNA has led to a surge in the field of synthetic biology. Various gene circuits have been proposed and designed in various organisms for application domains ranging from biomedicine over biotechnology to biomaterials. Our current bottleneck is not anymore our ability to program and synthesize custom DNA, but rather our ability to design regulatory circuit that realize the desired functionality and operate reliably in a specific target host cell or in vitro systems. The largest hurdle that we identify is the context-dependency of synthetic circuits, i.e., their perturbation by other molecular factors belonging to the host cell. Given the complexity of these molecular systems, current design approaches that rely on trial-and-error will not be able to produce meaningful designs in a reliable, fast and systematic manner at the scale required for industrial applications. Although genetic design automation tools are available to overcome this unsatisfactory state of affairs their practical impact have been limited. This is due to the fact that the used models are not accurate enough, in particular, they cannot predict reliably the performance of a circuit design when operating within a host cell. The main reason for this limited predictive power is that models do not take into account the named context-dependency of circuits. The current project PLATE takes on this challenge and leverages methods developed within the ERC Project CONSYN that allow for accurate modeling of context-effects through the use of detailed biophysical models. The aim of PLATE is to integrate all those computational methods into a coherent design environment for the synthetic biology researcher in academia and in industry. The resulting PLATE software suite follows a modular approach where different analysis types and different design methods can be selected according to the specific need of a given academic or industrial project.
Ring laser gyroscopes for ground motion sensing (GyroRevolutionPlus)

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 GRANTS (ERC-2024-POC, 2024)
Start date: 2025-04-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Sensors for rotation are ubiquitous in our daily life, ranging from consumer electronics to navigation systems. Applications that require highest sensitivity for very small rotation rates rely on active ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs) or fiber-optic gyroscopes (FOGs). These devices, however, suffer from intrinsic bias drift and do not reach the sensitivity requirements of applications such as seismology and monitoring of ground motion. Out of the parent ERC project on optical precision measurements grew the innovative concept of a three-dimensional array of so-called passive RLGs which would be entirely fiber-coupled and digitally controlled. This concept circumnavigates the shortcomings of previous designs and has the potential to reach the low drift rates at high sensitivity required in the field of environmental sensing. Such a scalable device would have a revolutionary impact on natural disaster early warning systems, in particular earthquakes and landslides, and structural health monitoring, each with a market size in excess of 2 bn USD. In preliminary work, we demonstrated the feasibility of our approach and tested individual technology packages outside the lab. A market analysis has been issued, and the IPR situation has been clarified. With no patents close to our innovation, we filed patent applications for a total of six individual inventions and methods of our approach. Within this project, we will prepare the ground for a successful market entry. Objectives of GyroRevolutionPlus include the removal of remaining uncertainties related to FPGA selection and performance, operation of the RLG outside the lab (TRL 5-6), drafting a go-to-market strategy, and selecting business partners for a reliable supply chain. We will assemble a powerful team to drive the founding of a spin-out company. Promising technology developments and a favorable IPR situation in combination with large market volumes create an exquisite starting point for the transition.
Conveniant, advanced, secure and touchless fingerprint scanning for identification purposes (cast)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Challenges
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Germany
Call: EIC Accelerator Challenge: Technologies for Open Strategic Autonomy (HORIZON-EIC-2022-ACCELERATOR-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-03-01
End date: 2025-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5717750.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Our solution is the first contactless multi-fingerprint scanner for identification purposes which scans the ridge and valley structure of the humand finger in full 3D. This enables unambigously the differentiation between the fingerprint's ridges and valleys and ensures the interoperability with contact-based scanners, where only the ridges are scanned in 2D. This interoperability enables access to the governmental biometrics market where compatibility with existing data-bases ist a must have. Furthermore, the 3D Scanner is hard to fake as the 3D structure of the finger with its fine 3D-details is really hard to get. This gives a huge boost in terms of security of the system compared to contact-based systems, where you leave your fingerprints on the device as latent imprints. The AI-supported data evaluation and the specialized design lead to a unmatched user experience in terms of conveniance and security.