Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Hearing protection device with situational awareness and alerts for the Industrial sector (MINUENDO INDUSTRY)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Norway,United Kingdom
Call: SME instrument (H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020-3, 2019)
Start date: 2020-02-01
End date: 2022-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1418750.0
EU funding (EUR): 993125.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The industrial sector exposes workers to very high levels of environmental noise that causes serious health problems such as hearing loss, tinnitus, stress, cardiovascular disease, etc. Many of these health problems are easy to avoid, however once they have occurred, they are irreversible. Moreover, there is a direct relationship between loud noises and labour accidents in the industry, since loud sounds are lowering situational awareness. Current Hearing Protection Devices (HPD) have many disadvantages. Firstly, many HPD are bulky, difficult to wear, incompatible with other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and hinder manoeuvrability. Secondly, they overprotect workers, which results in worker isolation and further increases the risk of occupational accidents. Many HPDs have a “hear-through” function using an external microphone, electronics and loudspeakers, but the reproduced sound is unnatural, speech is difficult to understand, and they lack the 3-dimensional experience which results in poor situational awareness. To solve the aforementioned problems, we are developing Minuendo® Industry which the world’s first HPD that automatically adjusts noise attenuation to safe and suitable sound levels and thus avoids overprotection. At the same time, Minuendo® Industry preserves a natural sound experience without any distortion. This patent-pending adjustment technology allows for a natural acoustic path and the system gives a smart alert in case of danger. Furthermore, the form factor is comfortable, together with exceptionally long battery life. The global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device market was valued at €366M in 2018 and is expected to be €1.18B by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 15.9%. We aim to obtain 2.2% of the market through established distribution network and direct sales by 2026. The proposed project is highly profitable and generates accumulated sales of 75.12 MM€, IRR of 83.79%, ROI = 6 by 2026, with a payback period of 2 years.
FibroFix™Cartilage, an innovative implant for cartilage repair and regeneration, introducing a new paradigm in osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. (FibroFix)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2018)
Start date: 2019-01-01
End date: 2019-04-30
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cartilage deterioration and injuries often lead to osteoarthritis (OA) – a long-term chronic disease resulting in bones rubbing together and creating pain, stiffness and severe disability. Knee cartilage injuries are very common and almost half of them go on to develop OA, which is second only to heart disease as a cause of work disability. Resulting from decreased quality of life, hospitalizations and loss of productivity, the economic cost of OA is particularly high in every country that it has been estimated. Currently, all treatments available, including Total Knee joint Replacement (TKR) as the ultimate recourse, are inefficient and expensive: they involve pain, lengthy rehabilitation, frequent complications and high costs. Therefore, given the increasing prevalence of knee OA, its associated burdens and the drawbacks of all available treatments, it is becoming increasingly important to develop an innovative cost-effective solution to this major public health problem worldwide. FibroFix™ Cartilage is a well characterised, regenerative orthopaedic repair product to address the unmet and pressing clinical need of large and/or osteoarthritic articular cartilage lesions in the knee, developed by Orthox. It is biostable, biocompatible, emulates cartilage function and supports cartilage regeneration at the minimum cost effectiveness ratio. It allows resurfacing of large and/or potentially OA cartilage lesions, prolonged use of the joint, increased mobility, reduced pain and postponement or prevention of TKR. Smooth, robust, resilient, durable and lubricious, it is a unique combination to be applied in orthopaedics and biomaterials shifting the paradigm in knee OA treatment and up to 10 times less expensive than other solutions. Over the previous 8 years, Orthox have led 11 major grant-funded programmes, raising more than €13M to finance product development. We are now seeking an additional €2.25M for the second investment round.

Keywords: cartilage repair,osteoarthritis,silk,knee injury,tissue regenerative
Hydrogen Underground storage in Porous Reservoirs (HyUsPRe)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure, clean and efficient energy
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Fuel Cells and Hydrogen
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Partnership: FCH2 (Art-187)
Countries involved: Germany,Austria,Germany,Italy,Germany,Italy,Austria,Norway,Hungary,Slovakia,Netherlands,Netherlands,Netherlands,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Underground storage of renewable hydrogen in depleted gas fields and other geological stores (H2020-JTI-FCH-2020-1, 2020)
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2024-06-30
Duration (months): 33.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3714850.0
EU funding (EUR): 2499850.0
Participants: 17
Project status: SIGNED

The HyUsPRe project researches the feasibility and potential of implementing large-scale storage of renewable hydrogen in porous reservoirs in Europe. This includes the identification of suitable geological reservoirs for hydrogen storage in Europe and an assessment of the feasibility of implementing large-scale storage in these reservoirs technologically and economically towards 2050. The project will address specific technical issues and risks regarding storage in porous reservoirs and conduct an economic analysis to facilitate the decision-making process regarding the development of a portfolio of potential field pilots. A techno-economic assessment, accompanied by environmental, social and regulatory perspectives on implementation will allow for the development of a roadmap for widespread hydrogen storage towards 2050; indicating the role of large-scale hydrogen storage in achieving a zero-emissions energy system in EU by 2050. This project has two specific objectives. Objective 1 concerns the assessment of the technical feasibility, risks, and potential of large-scale underground hydrogen storage in porous reservoirs in Europe. HyUsPRe will establish the important geochemical, microbiological, flow and transport processes in porous reservoirs in the presence of hydrogen via a combination of laboratory-scale experiments and integrated modelling, establish more accurate cost estimates and identify the potential business case for hydrogen storage in porous reservoirs. Suitable stores will be identified and their hydrogen storage potential will be assessed. Objective 2 concerns the development of a roadmap for the deployment of geological hydrogen storage up to 2050. The proximity of hydrogen stores to large renewable energy infrastructure and the amount of renewable energy that can be buffered versus time varying demands will be evaluated. This will form the basis to develop future scenario roadmaps and prepare for demonstrations.

Keywords: renewable hydrogen,energy storage potential,porous reservoirs,subsurface,biophysicochemistry,geochemistry,subsurface flow,techno economic assessment,hydrogen storage deployment roadmap
SUBMARINE CULTURES PERFORM LONG-TERM ROBOTIC EXPLORATION OF UNCONVENTIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL NICHES (subCULTron)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
Theme: EIC Pathfinder
Destination: Emerging themes and communities
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Italy,Italy,Italy,Germany,Austria,Belgium,Croatia,France,France
Call: Knowing, doing, being: cognition beyond problem solving (H2020-FETPROACT-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2015-04-01
End date: 2019-08-31
Duration (months): 53.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3987650.75
EU funding (EUR): 3987650.0
Participants: 9
Project status: CLOSED

subCULTron aims for achieving long-term autonomy in a learning, self-regulating, self-sustaining underwater society/culture of robots in a high-impact application area: Venice, Italy. Our heterogeneous system consists of 3 different agent types: On the sea-ground, artificial mussels are the collective long-term memory of the system, allowing information to stay beyond the runtime of other agents, thus allowing to continue learning from previously learned states. These mussels monitor the natural habitat, including biological agents like algae, bacterial incrustation and fish. On the water surface, artificial lilypads interface with the human society, delivering energy and information influx from ship traffic or satellite data. Between those two layers, artificial fish move/monitor/explore the environment and exchange info with the mussels and lilypads. Artificial mussels are a novel class of underwater agents. We aim to push forward the edge of knowledge with novel sensors (electric sense/electro-communication), novel bio-inspired algorithms (underwater hives) and novel energy harvesting in underwater scenarios. We will improve the world’s record for swarm-size in autonomous collective underwater robotics by almost one order of magnitude. Our application field is a human- and animal-co-inhabited real-world environment of high impact: Venice canals & lagoon. These habitats are highly dynamic and structured, expected to be reflected by a spatial self-structuring of our mussel population. These sub-populations locally perform memetic/ cultural learning algorithms on their specific local data. Thus our cultural evolution algorithms will promote sub-culture development, similar to the human society that does the same above the water level in parallel. Overall, we aim for an artificial society underneath the water-surface to the service of a human society above the water.

Keywords: underwater cultures,marine technology,energy harvesting,energy sharing,autonomy,electric sense,bio inspired design,bio inspired algorithms,long term learning,collective memory
MAcroscopic quantum Transport maTERials by nanoparticle processing (MATTER)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Products and processes engineering
Panel description: Product and process design, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, vehicle engineering, energy processes and relevant computational methods
Countries involved: Germany,Germany,Germany
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2019-COG, 2019)
Start date: 2020-06-01
End date: 2026-05-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999664.0
EU funding (EUR): 1180398.56
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

Ever since the discovery of topological surface states in three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TI), this fascinating physics has thrilled scientists. While arguable the transport properties of 3D TIs are of utmost importance for potential applications, they are extremely difficult to characterize, yet utilize for devices. The reason is that transport in those materials is always dominated by bulk carriers. Within this proposed research project, I will overcome the problem of bulk carrier domination conceptually by a nanoparticle-based materials’ design of interrupted early stage sintering. By this interrupted early stage sintering approach, I compact 3D TI nanoparticles at mild temperature and low pressure. The obtained highly porous macroscopic sample features a carrier density of the surface states in the order of 1018 cm-3, hence in a comparable order of magnitude as the bulk carrier density. Further, the interruptedly sintered nanoparticles impose energetic barriers for the transport of bulk carriers (hopping transport), while the connected surfaces of the nanoparticles provide a 3D percolation path for surface carriers. Within the preliminary work, my group tuned interruptedly sintered nanoparticles into a transport regime completely dominated by the surface states. Within this project, nanoparticle-based macroscopic 3D TI materials will be developed towards test structures for devices. Their properties will be tailored by the nanoparticle synthesis (Objective 1) and the materials processing of interrupted early stage sintering (Objective 2). This is complemented by an in-depth characterization of the transport as well as spectroscopic properties and data modelling (Objective 3). My group will use this know-how for the fabrication of test devices (Objective 4). This combination will provide the first macroscopic quantum transport devices that utilize the unique electronic properties of surface states, overcoming the problem of bulk carrier domination

Keywords: nanoparticle processing,topological insulator,transport properties,sintering
Healthcare applications of Stimuli-Responsive Elastin-Like Polypeptide Nanocarriers (HsrELPnano)

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: Netherlands
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-08-01
End date: 2023-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 187572.48
EU funding (EUR): 187572.48
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

One of the main challenges in drug delivery is the fabrication of carriers that possess a molecular trigger or property that induces tumor cell death or activates the release of the drug cargo from the vehicle once it has reached the desired place of action. Elastin like polypeptides (ELPs) are genetically engineered protein polymers with a reversible ability to from nanoparticles by phase separation when they are above its transition temperature (Tt), while below Tt they remain solubilized. My proposal aims to study a cutting-edge finding about a recently discovered thermal pathway-dependent assembly of ELPs and translate it into innovative solutions in drug delivery. This unique feature allows protein payloads to partake in the co-assembly itself making possible to encapsulate and protect the macromolecular cargoes in the nanoparticle interior. Additionally, I will expand this encapsulation possibilities to magnetic nanoparticles. HsrELPnano will enlarge the scope of the pathway-dependent co-assembly of ELPs. A further understanding and control of these assembly mechanisms will contribute to expanding the toolbox of stimuli-responsive systems, especially to their application as drug delivery systems. The final goal is to design novel ELP nanocarriers that can deliver a treatment in vivo under specific stimuli as pH, redox environment by therapeutic agents and magnetic hyperthermia. To carry out this project, ELPs will be engineered to assemble into nanoparticles above physiological temperature followed by internal crosslinking to retain their structure also below the Tt. Since the crosslinkers can be designed to render this susceptibility to specific triggers the coacervates will disassemble under these stimuli, releasing their payload within the target tissue. This action will enhance my future career prospects and skills, fulfilling an end-to-end training from synthesis to application, which is highly appealing in this multidisciplinary field.

Keywords: stimuli responsive,polypeptides,recombinant proteins,drug delivery systems,nanocarriers,hyperthermia
Support to Energy Stakeholders of the Zero Emission Platform (SESZEP)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure, clean and efficient energy
Theme: Low-cost, low-carbon energy supply
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Support to the energy stakeholders to contribute to the SET-Plan (H2020-LCE-2016-ETP, 2016)
Start date: 2016-08-01
End date: 2018-04-30
Duration (months): 21.0
Total project cost (EUR): 464046.75
EU funding (EUR): 464046.75
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The SESZEP project aims to draw together a broad, effective and inclusive network of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) stakeholders to support the development of zero emission fossil fuel power plants and energy intensive industries. Supporting the coordination of diverse stakeholders - including the private and public sectors and civil society - will contribute to a common agreement on the role that CCS technologies can play in the continued transformation of the European Union (EU) to a low-carbon economy. This will enable stakeholders to contribute effectively towards the SET-Plan activities and strategy. The project will build on the existing European Technology Platform (ETP) for CCS, the Zero Emission Platform (ZEP), which was established in 2005 with 3 main goals: 1) Enable CCS as a key technology for combating climate change. 2) Make CCS technology commercially viable by 2020 via an EU-backed demonstration programme. 3) Accelerate R&D into next-generation CCS technology and its wide deployment post-2020. Over a period of 21 months, the project would provide support to the energy stakeholders of the ZEP as it transitions to become a European Technology and Innovation Platform (ETIP). In particular, the project proposes the provision of secretariat, communications services and a contracted Chairperson to the ZEP. It would also seek to expand the ZEP membership to ensure a greater participation of energy intensive industries and EU Member States. The project would build on the existing structure, governance and operational framework of the ZEP to ensure that the organisation works most effectively and delivers robust, reliable and transparent recommendations to policy makers.

Keywords: carbon capture and storage association
An Artificial Intelligence Enhancing Video Quality Locally to Limit Internet Traffic Tied to Video Streaming (ENHANCEplayer)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Ireland,Belgium,Belgium,Netherlands,Portugal
Call: Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) (H2020-EIC-FTI-2018-2020, 2018)
Start date: 2018-11-01
End date: 2021-01-31
Duration (months): 27.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3343750.0
EU funding (EUR): 2400000.0
Participants: 5
Project status: CLOSED

Video streaming consists in the encoding, transcoding, delivering, decoding & displaying of videos on smartphones, tablets, PCs, smart TVs & consoles. Videos distributed “over-the-top” (OTT) are streamed rather than distributed through traditional networks (broadcast, pay TV) and distributors (cable, satellite). OTT is a vibrant $25bn market (2016) poised for spectacular growth: by 2025, it will reach $129bn, a 5.2x increase driven by powerhouses like Netflix and YouTube. Habits are changing fast: by 2020, 32% of videos will be consumed OTT (16h/week), vs. 5% in 2000 (2h/week). Video streaming represents 63% of Internet traffic (2018) and is on the rise, going from 76k petabytes per month in 2018 to 160k in 2021 (x2.1) and driven by a push to 4K that quadruples traffic. While developed countries are challenged to address this surge, half of the World’s population still doesn’t have the Internet and is unlikely to be able to stream content when they get it, reinforcing the “Digital Divide”. Reducing this burden will lead to a faster, cheaper and more stable Internet. It will slash content delivery costs, which reach millions of dollars a month for media companies. It will result in major savings for Internet providers that invest ~$300bn/year in infrastructure, or give them the opportunity to achieve much more for a similar investment. Our goal is to decrease video streaming traffic by 80% while retaining video resolution and increasing quality. To do so, Artomatix and THEO will develop ENHANCEplayer, a solution that leverages Deep Learning to automatically increase the resolution and quality of videos on consumer devices. Built on top of THEO’s successful THEOplayer, it will consume the data of, say, a 360p video but display a High Definition one (1080p), effectively saving 84% in traffic. Public broadcasters NPO, RTP & VRT will help Artomatix & THEO define the product specifications, provide them with test videos and test the product once it is developed.

Keywords: video streaming html5 based hls image enhancement deep learning convolutional neural networks super resolution compression artifacts removal sdr to hdr conversion noise removal digital divide
Fuel injection from subcritical to supercritical P-T conditions: a unified methodology for coupled in-nozzle flow, atomisation and air-fuel mixing processes (UNIFIED)

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: United States,United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2016, 2016)
Start date: 2018-10-08
End date: 2021-10-07
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 251857.8
EU funding (EUR): 251857.8
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Fossil fuel consumption is expected to almost double over the next 3 decades in order to meet the increasing demand for infrastructure, trade and transportation. Development of engines complying with the forthcoming 2020 emission legislations, relies on the effective design of advanced high-pressure fuel injection systems and represents a key industrial priority. Emissions can be reduced when fuel is injected against air at P-T conditions well above the fuel’s critical point; the prevailing supercritical fluid conditions result to disappearance of the liquid-gas interface, which in turn, reduces vaporisation time and enhances significantly air-fuel mixing. Combination of experiments (outgoing phase) with CFD simulations (return phase) of the in-nozzle flow, fuel atomisation and mixing processes under such conditions form the core subject of the proposed research. The experimental work includes currently unknown physical properties measurements near the fuel’s critical point; these will be modelled with complex equations of state for a wide range of P-T conditions. Moreover, the state-of-the-art experimental techniques and equipment of the US host, will be employed for quantifying the near-nozzle fuel atomisation and mixing at those conditions. These experimental data will guide the development and validation of a new state-of-the-art CFD model able to couple the aforementioned multi-phase flow processes through a combination of physical models and numerical methods. These include interface capturing of immiscible and diffused interfaces, scale-resolved turbulence, mass transfer rate (cavitation and vaporisation) and real-fluid thermodynamics addressing the compressibility effects for the liquid-vapour-air mixture. The project brings together research, academic and industrial experts from the US and Europe. It will advance scientific knowledge and will facilitate the design of less polluting engines for the benefit of the European area and society as a whole.

Keywords: fuel injection systems,supercritical fluids,diesel thermodynamics,diesel property measurement,cavitation,in nozzle flow,jet atomization,turbulent mixing