The EMBEDED project aims to demonstrate alternative business models in 36 months by transforming waste from Europe traditional agrifood industries into biochar and construction boards, with a long-term carbon sink effect and short resilient value chains. The validation of the km.0 application of biochar on primary producer plantations and the regional market characterization will be conducted. Valorisation streams aim to combine marginal revenues from mainstream residues (olive pomace, olive stones, grape mark) with overlooked or underutilised ones (cork bark left on field, press-cake from fresh grass, grape stems), with five demonstration pilots planned in Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Czech Republic. Four of the pilots will have pyrolysis for the manufacture of biochar, using a modular method that fits pre- and post-conditioning phases into a single-maned portable unit. In two of the pilots, extractive methods aimed at bio-active chemicals will be evaluated to determine the added benefit of a cascade valorisation. Using a modular but stationary pilot, the Board production plant will capitalize on the cork outputs geographical. The consortium comprises 14 participants, comprising 5 SMEs and 1 LE that includes 2 technological developers and many influential figures in the agri-food industry of each designated region. In order to implement technology replications and technical transfer using the multi-actor strategy, the EMBEDED project will use 15% of the requested grant (750 k€) as financial support.

As (peri-)urban areas become increasingly digital, interconnected, and complex, alongside growing threats such as climate change, natural disasters, or cyber-attacks, there is an urgent need to enhance the resilience and security of critical infrastructures (CIs) and the essential services they support. ECHO addresses these challenges by creating a multi-level Resilience Ecosystem that unites CI operators, Emergency Service Providers (ESPs), local/regional authorities (AUTs), and emergency service providers (EMPs) to co-create innovative tools, services, and strategies, for enhanced (urban) resilience planning and management. ECHO develops an EU-sovereign Knowledge Hub and a suite of interoperable, modular, and cost-effective services, accessible via a centralized Platform. These include tools for threat forecasting, risk assessment, situational awareness, decision support, resilience plan evaluation, and scenario-based simulations, tailored to address diverse multi-hazard threats. Our Information Sharing Protocol ensures cost-effective resource pooling and collaboration, helping smaller municipalities overcome budget constraints. By using cutting-edge technologies such as Generative AI, we enable advanced modelling, forecasting, and decision-making while ensuring transparency and data security. ECHO operates through 4 pilot sites in Slovenia, Italy, Spain, and the cross-border Italy-Slovenia region, addressing multiple hazards (floods, landslides, drought, earthquakes, wildfires, infrastructure failures, cyber-attacks) and engage diverse stakeholders (AUTs, ESPs, EMPs) to test and validate our solutions in relevant settings, ensuring scalability and adaptability across Europe. Through comprehensive impact-generation activities, ECHO promotes best practices, empowering stakeholders of all sizes to strengthen the resilience of interconnected systems, enhancing the security and wellbeing of European citizens and communities.

NURISH aims to enhance climate resilience and sustainable development in rural and small urban communities by implementing transformative nature-based, technological and circular economy solutions. It supports the EU’s long-term vision for stronger, connected, resilient, and prosperous rural areas by 2040, contributing to territorial cohesion, innovation, job creation, skills development, better infrastructure and sustainable agriculture. The project will develop the Regenerative Rural Resilience Framework to help rural areas mitigate climate risks through nature-based solutions (NBS), fostering entrepreneurship and creating green jobs. Resilience Hubs (RHs) in Greece, Cyprus, Finland and the UK will demonstrate tailored NBS to address flooding, water scarcity and land degradation, while digital tools will support real-time monitoring and decision-making. Communities in the demonstration and replication areas will actively participate in the EU Rural Pact, promoting rural perspectives, fostering collaboration and advancing nature restoration and conservation through NBS. By sharing knowledge and scaling solutions across rural regions, NURISH ensures its strategies are adaptable and replicable throughout Europe, contributing to the EU Green Deal, the Climate Adaptation Strategy and rural prosperity goals by 2040.