Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Investigation of Nanoscale properties of Topological Weyl semimetals (InNaTo)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Society and Enterprise panel
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Physics
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-07-01
End date: 2022-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 191149.44
EU funding (EUR): 191149.44
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Weyl semimetals are a recently-discovered class of topological quantum materials predicting unexpected and extraordinary transport properties. Their electronic band structure features valence and conduction bands crossing in paired Weyl nodes with opposite chiralities. In such systems the conduction electrons behave as topologically-protected massless quasiparticles with an ultra-high carrier mobility and well-defined spin-momentum locking configurations. The unique combination of these properties has attracted the attention of the scientific community that is currently striving to unveil the complex physics underlying Weyl semimetals. Besides, from a technological perspective, Weyl semimetals are expected to provide an ideal platform to test novel device functionalities in the areas of information technology, energy conversion and sensing. Nonetheless, being a newborn field in science, so far the research activities have focused on Weyl semimetals in the form of bulk single crystalline materials. The main objectives of this action are to comprehensively investigate the yet-unexplored properties of Weyl semimetals at the nanoscale and to define possible integration routes for new-generation microelectronic devices. For this purpose, epitaxial thin films of Weyl semimetals will be used as referent systems to probe the influence of different control parameters (e.g. by substrate-induced strain, film thickness, interfaces, external electric and/or magnetic fields) on their structural and electronic properties. Eventually, the potential impact of Weyl semimetals in current microelectronic schemes will be evaluated by designing prototypes based on field-effect and magnetic heterostructures. In this context, the state-of-the-art facilities and the well-established expertise in the fabrication and characterization of complex nanostructures present at IBM Research Zurich offer an ideal environment to tackle the challenge of studying Weyl semimetals at low-dimensionality.

Keywords: weyl semimetal,epitaxial thin films,field effect transistor,magneto transport,electrical measurement
Brillouin Distributed sensor for Aeronautical Structures (BRIDAS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Smart, green and integrated transport
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Sky 2
Action type: Innovation actions
Partnership: CS2 (Art-187)
Countries involved: Spain,Italy,Italy,Italy
Call: System development for optical fiber sensing technology measurements for industrial aeronautical contexts: composite manufacturing plants, structural test platforms and airborne conditions (H2020-CS2-CFP02-2015-01, 2015)
Start date: 2016-07-01
End date: 2019-03-31
Duration (months): 33.0
Total project cost (EUR): 354593.75
EU funding (EUR): 350281.25
Participants: 4
Project status: CLOSED

The proposal is addressed to the development of a prototype for distributed strain measurements in optical fibers for industrial aeronautical contexts: composite manufacturing plants, structural test platforms and airborne conditions. The prototype will be based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and will be aimed to the structural health monitoring of composite parts employed in the aeronautical industry. The developed prototype will have performance significantly superior to those offered by commercial SBS-based interrogation units. In particular, the prototype will have the following characteristics: (a) A spatial resolution of 5 mm; (b) A measurement range of 150 m; (c) A total weight less than 4.75 kg; (d) A specific software for each monitoring scenario, providing all relevant data in an effective and accessible way. The developed sensor will implement a Brillouin Optical Frequency-Domain Analysis (BOFDA) configuration, characterized by the fact that measurements are carried out in the frequency domain The prototype will be assembled with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) components, selected in order to minimize size and weight, in particular by making use of a vector network analyzer (VNA) operating up to 20 GHz. The prototype will be employed in the evaluation of quality and structural health of composite parts for the aeronautical industry, such as complete fuselage, wings, vertical or horizontal tail plane of passenger commercial aircrafts. By measuring the strain along optical fibers embedded into composite parts during their manufacture, damage detection will be possible both in the manufacturing stage and during service life. The developed system will be integrated into one typical industrial application that will be selected with the Topic Manager. At the end of the project, the delivered prototype will be validated based on the research context.

Keywords: distributed optical fiber sensors,structural health monitoring,damage detection,brillouin scattering
Greenhouse film covers with tailor-made properties for enhanced performance (FILMCO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology
Theme: Nanotechnologies
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Cyprus
Call: Accelerating the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs (H2020-SMEINST-1-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2015-05-01
End date: 2015-10-31
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

FILMCO by Elysee Irrigation Ltd. – a Cyprus-based manufacturer and worldwide supplier of piping and irrigation systems for agricultural, domestic and public use - will bring to the market a high performance film cover for greenhouses based in nanomaterials technology, offering significant benefits to growers due to the use of advanced polymer nano-composites. FILMCO is a greenhouse film that has already probed to provide the growers with energy consumption savings by 24-28%, and increase their crop production by 20%. FILMCO’s main innovation is the ability to regulate the Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for a given Infrared Radiation (IR), thus controlling the degree of rightness/darkness according to the location requirements. The novel film will have increased robustness, added to higher pesticide and UV and oxidation resistance. The film will create a controlled environment in the greenhouse while lowering energy demands, reducing costs and promoting a better use of resources and higher crop yield. The longer lifespan will also reduce plastic waste and decrease waste management expenses. Although nanotechnology has emerged in industrial applications over the last decades, there is no similar commercial product available in the growing greenhouse agriculture market that matches the benefits and competitive advantages of FILMCO. FILMCO, with TRL 6, is the outcome of a national research project in which Elysee already demonstrated these promising results benefits for growers, so it became a success history. Via FILMCO, Elysee estimates a new revenue stream valued at 13.7M€ over the first 5 years of commercialisation, and also will hire 10 new employees for the production line. The feasibility assessment will address both, business and technological aspects, aiming to obtain end-user feedback and market knowledge that will be the basis for identifying the steps to take towards up-scaling the technology and for review the business plan.

Keywords: greenhouse film covers,agriculture,energy efficiency,crop production increase
HISTORICAL ROOTS OF CONFLICT AND DEVELOPMENT: FROM PREHISTORY TO THE COLONIZATION EXPERIENCE (HISTROOTS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Panel description: Economics, finance and management
Countries involved: Spain
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2014-CoG, 2014)
Start date: 2015-05-01
End date: 2020-04-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1699664.0
EU funding (EUR): 1699664.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

I plan to study the effect of history on conflict and economic development with two historical microscopes. Following the lead of the new institutional economics, part of the literature argues that institutions cause differences in productivity and factor endowments which, in turn, explain economic development. An alternative view assumes that human capital shapes institutional changes and, therefore, institutions are endogenous. In the first part of the project, which is the core of the research proposal, I will try to move one step further in this debate by taking an approach that uses administrative data on the first colonizers of Latin America. The data contain some personal characteristics on each of the settlers from 1492 to 1599 (town of origin in Spain, occupation, education, city of arrival in the Americas, etc). Using within-country analysis, since we have information on the precise destinations of the first “pobladores” (settlers), and the different institutional set-ups during the first years of colonization for different geographical areas in Latin America, I will reexamine the issue of institutions versus human capital in the explanation of economic development and conflict. The institutions in the initial times of colonization were not the same in all the regions of Latin America and, in many cases, represented an evolution of pre-Colombian institutions. The new data allows also the analysis of the interaction between human capital and institutions in the initial times. In addition the migrations and the evolution of institutions during the first century of colonization provide also some guidance for the research on the sources of institutional persistence. In the second part I plan to go further back in time to understand how very old conflicts influence current conflict. I will construct a dataset with the location of old conflicts using archaeological evidence to analyze the dynamics of conflict by regions in the very long run.

Keywords: historical roots,colonization,conflict,human capital and institutions
SYMbiosis, Microbiota and immUNITY (SYMMUNITY)

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: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Denmark
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2019-04-01
End date: 2021-11-24
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 212194.8
EU funding (EUR): 212194.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Symbiosis and sociality define the evolutionary success of life, but the large-scale synergy between hosts and microbiotas is poorly understood. New phylosymbiotic approaches aim to understand how and why hosts have evolved in association with microbiota that track and shape host ecologies. At present it is virtually unknown whether and where clear phylosymbiotic signatures of coevolution exist. In principle, microbiota can either track the phylogenetic diversification or the biogeography of hosts. The former would imply that phylosymbiotic trees are largely homologous, while the latter would induce convergent evolution and be more informative about habitat-specific adaptations. Social insects are interesting targets for phylosymbiotic analysis because microbiomes combine functions of nutrient supplementation, individual immunity and colony-level immunity. This applies most explicitly to the ants, which have huge species diversity (>14,000 species), massive ecological footprints (dominant in biomass in most terrestrial ecosystems), and high diversity in life styles (e.g. predatory, omnivory, herbivory, aphid husbandry, fungus farming). The ants also have a unique variety of glands to produce antibacterial compounds that may interact with microbiota, and some lineages have domesticated antibiotics-producing bacteria. I propose to assemble and analyze metagenomic data for 50 ant species (covering 15 subfamilies) exploiting a grand sampling initiative by the Global Ant Genomics Alliance (GAGA, antgenomics.dk) to understand: 1) The evolutionary and functional dynamics of homologous or analogous microbiota across the family Formicidae (ants), and 2) the functional adaptations that have shaped immune defenses across the ant subfamilies and genera.

Keywords: microbiome,phylogenomics,hologenome,insect immunity
Agricultural-robotics technology company enabling a modular swarm of autonomous drones for spraying (Skyx)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Israel
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2018)
Start date: 2018-12-01
End date: 2019-05-31
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Skyx is an Agriculture technology company developing the "brain" (in software) for a swarm of modular and autonomous spraying robots. Started with drones. The technology: proprietary algorithms for complex space coverage (including static and dynamic obstacles), real-time swarm operation, homogeneous farmland coverage or “hot-spots” coverage for an unlimited number of spots and shapes. The innovative agriculture-technology “compiles” the terrain + crops + pesticides + the available machinery into an optimized mission planning, mission control, and auto-piloting of the robots. The product: you push a button and a group of robots sprays your farmland. There is no need to install the product on each robot. Each robot in the modular swarm can have different performance and accuracy level and therefore the optimized solution fit for small, medium, or large scale farmlands. Skyx product is for agriculture spraying service providers, and not for growers. The company: was founded by Eylon Sorek and Dr. Itzik Turkel, developed a working demo and established on-going cooperation with a Tier-1 agriculture spraying applicator. The team works intensively with the entire ecosystem including specialty crops growers, tier-1 aerial operator, tier-1 pesticides vendor, and drone builders. Recently an agriculture venture capital firm invested 500K EUR to continue the product development. An additional challenge is to analyze the potential of our solution internationally and validate our value proposition to every member in our commercial environment. Therefore, Phase-1 grant will help us testing our technology in various agriculture service providers in the EU and in America and also will help us validate our business model and alternative business models.

Keywords: drones,agritech,autonomous,precision agriculture,variable rate application,spraying,robots
Development of an Efficient Microwave System for Material Transformation in energy INtensive processes for an improved Yield (DESTINY)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology
Theme: Sustainable, resource-efficient and low-carbon technologies in energy-intensive process industries
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Italy,Germany,Spain,Spain,Italy,Austria,Germany,Belgium,Greece,Switzerland,Switzerland,Portugal
Call: Processing of material feedstock using non-conventional energy sources (IA) (H2020-NMBP-SPIRE-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2018-10-01
End date: 2023-03-31
Duration (months): 54.0
Total project cost (EUR): 8442000.0
EU funding (EUR): 7058006.25
Participants: 16
Project status: SIGNED

The DESTINY project aims to realize a functional, green and energy saving, scalable and replicable solution, employing microwave energy for continuous material processing in energy intensive industries. The target is to develop and demonstrate a new concept of firing granular feedstock for materials transformation using full microwave heating as alternative and complement to the existing conventional production. The DESTINY system is conceived as cellular kilns in mobile modular plant, with significant advantages in terms of resource and energy efficiency, flexibility, replicability and scalability with reduced environmental footprint. The DESTINY concept will be proved in a demo site located in Spain, covering high energy demanding sectors of strategic interest as Ceramic (Pigments), Cement (Calcined clay) and Steel (Sinter, Iron Pellets/DRI, ZnO), to validate the critical parameters of the developed technology in relevant environment (TRL 6). It will be implemented with 2 feeding modules and 1 mobile microwave kiln module and product treatment. Influence of the DESTINY solutions in terms of stability, process efficiency and characteristics of raw materials, intermediate/sub/final products will be investigated to improve performance of the industrial processes addressed and guarantee the required quality of products. Numerical simulation tools will be used to drive the design and support the testing activities The industrialization and sustainability of DESTINY high temperature microwave technology will be assessed through the evaluation of relevant KPIs, with Life Cycle Methodologies. With the final aim of ensuring a large exploitation and market penetration for DESTINY, technology-based solutions business model, economic viability and replicability analysis will be conducted. For guaranteeing industrial transferability appropriate exploitation and dissemination activities have been defined during and even after the end of the project.

Keywords: microwave firing process,cement industry,ceramic industry,steel industry,cellular kiln,rotary kiln,fluidized bed feeding,mobile plant,energy efficiency,environmental friendly
Flow Control for Industrial Design (FLOWCID)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Global Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Spain,United States
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-08-01
End date: 2024-07-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 263732.16
EU funding (EUR): 263732.16
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Aviation contributes to more than 2% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in the absence of further measures, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from international aviation are estimated to almost quadruple by 2050 compared to 2010. Efforts to reduce GHG through the development of alternatives to traditional fossil-fuelled thermal engines have made great strides. Yet large capacity, long-range electric vehicles with operating speeds similar to or faster than current commercial vehicles are not expected to become feasible for several decades due to the limitations of battery energy density and cost. An alternative short-term solution that is being investigated in Purdue University by Prof. Paniagua with intense interest worldwide is to utilize a rotating deto-nation engines (RDE) to improve the efficiency and reduce the size/weight of current thermal gas turbines. If utilized with hydrogen, with high energy-to-mass ratio and robust detonation properties, RDE will provide the best chance to realize long-range, high-payload flight with zero greenhouse gas emissions . However, the development and performance of a high-efficiency RDE is inhibited by two main fluid dynamic problems: the flow separation caused by high pressure gradients, and the unstarting phenomena across the internal turbine pas-sages. The numerical solution, analytical analysis and control of those problems is the main objective of FLOWCID. FLOWCID proposes a 24-month long outgoing phase (and 12 months return phase) of Prof. Eusebio Valero (the Researcher) from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid UPM (the Beneficiary), to Zucrow Labs, at Purdue University, USA (the Host) under the supervision of Prof. Guillermo Paniagua (the Supervisor).

Keywords: numerical simulation,flow control,optimization,aerospace design
Uncovering Ion-Electron Interactions in Organic Mixed Conductors (UMICs)

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-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-05-10
End date: 2023-05-09
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 224933.76
EU funding (EUR): 224933.76
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) have risen as a promising material choice for bioelectronic devices due to their low impedance, soft mechanical properties, and ability to transduce ionic signals to electronic currents. The ion-electron interactions, which are unique to mixed conductors, have been exploited to produce high performance sensors and electrophysiological recording devices. However, the fundamental interactions between ions and electrons that determine the performance of these materials is still poorly understood, impeding their translation from a research setting to commercial use. This proposal aims to address this gap in knowledge using state-of-the-art analysis of the nanoscale electronic and chemical properties to better understand the macroscale materials performance. The proposed project consists of three central goals: (1) direct observation of nanoscale ion-electron interactions in OMIECs, (2) identifying the relationship between these interactions to OMIEC materials properties, and (3) leverage the findings to optimise next-generation bioelectronic devices. Spectroscopic scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) techniques will be used to study the spatial distribution and electronic structure of ions in OMIEC films during operation with ultra-high spatial resolution. Optical spectroscopy and electronic characterisation will be used to study the transport properties of ionic and electronic charge carriers in OMIECs. The work will be supervised by Prof. Malliaras, an expert in both fundamental physics of OMIECs and their clinical applications, Prof. Ducati, an expert in advanced multidimensional STEM techniques, and Dr. Rao, an expert in optical characterisation of organic semiconductors. The fundamental insights drawn from investigating the ion-electron interactions in OMIECs will inform the design of next-generation bioelectronic materials and devices to advance beyond the lab into commercial and clinical applications.

Keywords: bioelectronics,organic electrochemical transistors,electron energy loss spectroscopy,pedot pss,in situ electrochemistry