Rail freight transportation is a system service where a multitude of players, participants and systems providers bear a high degree of responsibility for its attractiveness and performance. It shows high efficiency as transportation means, in terms of land use and energy consumption and low greenhouse gas emissions. However rail’s market share of freight transportation and its economic efficiency continues to be limited. Aimed at overcoming such uncertainty, this project addresses one of the most important key resources for further developing rail freight transportation: the optimization of the performance of the rail freight wagon. The continuous pressure on environmental issues and energy efficient transport is forcing the rail transportation sector to enhance the rail logistics services and to incorporate innovative solutions to improve load capacity to keep the “best-in-class” position and, therefore, acquiring a much privileged position beyond alternative terrestrial transport source, as truck transportation. Thus, aimed at optimizing rail freight transportation, the main objective of this project is to holistically address the aspects that may improve freight wagon performance: enhanced logistics, improved multimodal operative, higher load capacity, optimized filling/emptying time and flexibility to transport multi-products. This project aims to achieve such optimization by combining industrial expertise on the freight wagon design and construction, advanced materials for lightweight construction and logistics with the research capabilities to incorporate innovation solutions and optimize material performance.

The NextGen initiative will evaluate and champion innovative and transformational circular economy solutions and systems that challenge embedded thinking and practices around resource use in the water sector. We will produce new understandings to underpin the exploitation of techniques and technologies that enhance our ability to recover, refine, reuse, repurpose, capture value from, and extend the use-life of, an ever-increasing range of resources and products, thereby projecting the European water and allied sectors as global circular economy pioneers. NextGen will demonstrate innovative technological, business and governance solutions for water in the circular economy in ten high-profile, large-scale, demonstration cases across Europe, and we will develop the necessary approaches, tools and partnerships, to transfer and upscale. The circular economy transition to be driven by NextGen encompasses a wide range of water-embedded resources: water itself (reuse at multiple scales supported by nature-based storage, optimal management strategies, advanced treatment technologies, engineered ecosystems and compact/mobile/scalable systems); energy (combined water-energy management, treatment plants as energy factories, water-enabled heat transfer, storage and recovery for allied industries and commercial sectors) and materials (nutrient mining and reuse, manufacturing new products from waste streams, regenerating and repurposing membranes to reduce water reuse costs, and producing activated carbon from sludge to minimise costs of micro-pollutant removal). The project mobilises a strong partnership of water companies, industry, specialised SMEs, applied research institutes, technology platforms, city and regional authorities and builds on an impressive portfolio of past research and innovation projects, leveraging multiple European and global networks guaranteeing real impact.

While the scientific understanding of the dissolution of standard spent uranium oxide fuel has reached a certain mature state, new types of fuels with additives (“doped fuels”) have been developed. These fuels are already in use in some reactors, and their use is foreseen to be expanded. Dissolution data is now required to confirm that the dissolution behaviour of such fuels in a geological repository environment is similar to that of standard fuel. Similarly, there is a dearth of dissolution data from MOX fuels, which are also currently in use in several reactors. This project is therefore targeting oxide fuels containing additives, including Cr, Gd and Pu, in order to ensure that relevant characteristics are understood to a level commensurate with standard fuels. This project aims to expand the database on spent fuel dissolution with results from dissolution studies performed in truly reducing conditions, with hydrogen present. The effects of dopants will be investigated through experiments using both spent nuclear fuel and synthetic materials specifically designed for the project. In addition, chemical modelling will be employed to improve the understanding and description of the dissolution process relevant to the expected chemical conditions inside a failed waste container in a deep geological repository environment.

BlueSCities aims to develop the methodology for a coordinated approach to the integration of the water and waste sectors within the 'Smart Cities and Communities' EIP. It will identify synergies in accordance with the Smart City context and complement other priority areas such as energy, transport and ICT. It will seek to contribute to the achievements of the 20-20-20 objectives. Placing emphasis on local solutions for global issues, the proposal seeks improved public engagement and enhanced decision-making processes at all political levels based on scientific knowledge and adequate social and economic awareness. BlueSCities will build on the hitherto successful implementation of the EIP Water Action Group, CITY BLUEPRINTS, which will provide the data required for a practicable planning cycle. The necessary socio-technological tools will be produced. It will aim to improve exchange synergies between researchers and users, decision-makers and consumers, industry, SMEs and national and international authorities. The project in order to achieve this, will further review the current situation in 50 European cities employing its unique methods of analysis, produce detailed case studies of four specifically chosen municipalities/cities, and demonstrate a self-assessment baseline assessment tool for water and waste in cities, which will enhance the implementation of European Smart City activities, to be published in the Blue City Atlas. It will, in a carefully planned step-by step process, collate data and formulate sufficient recommendations in order to produce an administrative methodology capable of eliminating cross sector barriers between water, waste and Smart City sectors to be described in a practical guidance document for the use of all relevant stakeholders. This will be supported by a programme of dissemination ensuring a wider public understanding of the nature of water and waste systems within the structures of European municipalities, regions and countries.

The scope of the project is to develop and test methods for designing and implementing innovative and sustainable Strategic Plans for Waste Prevention and Management in various urban contexts that will enhance urban environmental resilience and guarantee progress towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns together with improvements waste recovery and recovered materials use. Urban_Wins will define a data set, based on material flow indicators, capable of supporting and orienting decision making processes for urban waste prevention and management. Knowledge of the factors that influence the metabolism of cities will be improved together with the understanding of how those factors can be transformed in positive drivers of technological, non-technological and governance changes. The information set produced by the consortium will also focus on how a more efficient use of resources and a better management of waste can improve urban quality and citizens’ welfare, key points for urban stakeholders involvement, both in the planning and implementation of actions. The proposal reunites diverse actors such as cities, research institutes and universities, environmental NGOs, IT&C, technological innovation and waste management companies, professional associations that represent EU regions, sectors and levels of governance. The complex partnership guarantees that advancement in EU research in the field of urban metabolism and waste management strategies is directly linked to stakeholder engagement and mutual learning and contributes to the achievement of resource efficiency and waste management objectives. Urban_Wins analytical tools will be built on the base of datasets and experiences of 24 EU cities from 6 European countries and the Strategic Plans will be tested by 8 EU cities and will encompass regulatory measures, educational initiatives and sector specific actions.