Project Ô intends to demonstrate approaches and technologies to drive an integrated and symbiotic use of water within a specific area, putting together the needs of different users and waste water producers, involving regulators, service providers, civil society, industry and agriculture. The project seeks to apply the pillars of integrated water management (IWM) as a model for “water planning” (akin to spatial planning) and to demonstrate low cost, modular technologies that can be easily retrofitted into any water management infrastructure at district/plant level, hence enabling even small communities and SMEs to implement virtuous practices. Technologies and planning instruments complement each other as the first make possible the second and the latter can provide as example or even prescribe the former (and similar technologies allowing virtuous water use practices). Indeed the technologies support the regulators in implementing policy instruments, as foreseen by IWM, for convincing stakeholders (like developers and industry) to implement water efficiency strategies and could include instruments for e.g. rewarding virtuous behaviours (for example: advantageous water tariffs), planning regulations that award planning consent more swiftly or even prescribe the use of water from alternative sources (including recycling). Project Ô has in summary the overall objective of providing stakeholders (everybody using or regulating the use of water in an area) with a toolkit that enables them to plan the use of and utilise the resource water whatever its history and provenance, obtaining significant energy savings in terms of avoided treatment of water and waste water and release of pressure (quantity abstracted and pollution released) over green water sources. This overall objective will be demonstrated in up to four sites each in different Countries of Europe and in Israel, involving industries, aquaculture and agriculture as well as local authorities of different sizes.

The new emerging generation of microsystems represents a major opportunity for a substantial EU economic growth, in an industry counting already more than 200.000 workers and a turnover in 2019 of €450 billion. The Mesomorph concept provides the means to overcome the following 4 main hurdles: 1. The intrinsic physic of microsystems doesn’t allow the simple downsizing of conventional technologies to industrialize micromanufacturing processes. Mesomorphallows to limit the number of micromanipulation tasks by integrating an all-in-onemachine featuring novel processes for the direct creation of functions (electronic, fluidic, optic) directly on a substrate, with a RESOLUTION down to 300nm, by combining multi-material addition (Two-Photon Polymerization, Atomic Layer 3D nano printing) and subtraction (Femtolaser micro-ablation) in a self-contained white room. 2. Because of the intrinsic slowness of physical processes at microscale, productivity cannot be achieved by sequencing multiple single steps. Mesomorph proposes a scaleup throughput by PARALLELIZATION and batch processing UP TO 50k PARTS/YEAR, leveraging a new multiple micronozzles system to extend the SADALP working area from 10x10mm up to 500x500mm, and concurrently leveraging on the beam splitting technique of a high-power fs laser for ablation. 3. Microsystems cannot be conceived with subcomponents. Mesomorph includes a specific Design-to-Lifevalue Platform to guide the development of new microsystems by fully exploiting the new processes. 4. Innovation cannot be limited by the financial risk associated with the necessary investments. Mesomorph implements a new “Manufacturing as a Service” business model in which all the value chain’s actors can benefit from a positive net cash flow since production's start, effectively removing entry barriers for innovators. Mesomorph consortium is composed of 13 partners from 5 different countries. Each partner represents excellence in its own field.

Remanufacturing is critical for Circular Economies, extending product life, creating jobs and revenue streams, and reducing waste, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. The main challenges that need to be addressed for successful remanufacturing in an industrial value chain or, more appropriately, value cycle are related to process, design, and business models. To meet these challenges, RESTORE will offer sustainable by design remanufacturing process and materials along with supporting tools for digitalization of remanufacturing ecosystem or value chain. RESTORE is aiming to advance potential SoA cladding technologies including laser direct energy deposition, plasma transfer arc process for sustainable remanufacturing application. To increase the deposition rate for large scale applications, we are aiming to develop a novel hybrid process combining laser and PTA process. We are aiming to manufacture wire feedstock with recycled content and develop a wire feeding system coupled with auxiliary feeding system to transfer machining swarf/unused powder directly into the melt pool, this will pave the way to zero waste and low-cost remanufacturing technology. For digitalization, we are also aiming to develop RESTORE platform, which will offer digital technologies and tools, which are digital technologies to increase process automation, recipe book and simulation tools for product and process optimisation, decision support framework, ecoDESIGN framework, blockchain enabled digital product passport, digital marketplace, business model templates, and collaborative spaces that can help to facilitate and streamline the remanufacturing process, providing greater traceability, transparency, and efficiency. The digital collaborative space will bring all relevant actors of the remanufacturing domain under one umbrella to share data and leverage a decision support framework and supporting tool, guiding the optimal remanufacturing of industrial products and components.

FormulaGP aims to recruit a specialist researcher (grade R3 “Established Researcher) able to take forward the work undertaken so far by IRIS on a small scale thermal waste treatment technology, the GreenPlasma. The device is an original idea of the Company and it is currently at TRL6 but it requires a redesign and further work in order to: 1. Transform the process from batch to continuous; 2. Complete the device by adding same scale pre- and post-treatment, by miniaturising existing technologies and by optimising the overall process, considering the likely efficiency and efficacy issues due to its very small scale; 3. Ensure all the requirements of the foreseen main application (a “domestic” waste pyroliser) are met in terms of e.g. safety of use by non-technical users and for improper use, and ability to integrate in a domestic context including connecting to the grid (electricity and methane distribution); 4. Devising an innovation project (industrialisation and commercialisation) that will start at the end of the 12 months if the objectives are achieved and that will be implemented by the SME Associate if he/she wished to accept the challenge and the position; 5. Initiating the declination of the GreenPlasma device in other applications, including scale ups, use on board of unmanned vehicles and vessels, etc in a longer term role as Head of product development once the commercialisation of the device is starting. The first step of this plan, i.e. the 12 months leading to an improved version of the original GreenPlasma, requires a PhD figure of experience with a strong engineering background and ideally with a specialist expertise in thermal processing of waste but also a problem solving approach and an applied research attitude. The same set of skills is valuable for the innovation project to follow after successful completion of this project, with the Associate being rewarded with a permanent contract in a prominent and permanent position.

Borealis project presents an advanced concept of machine for powder deposition additive manufacturing and ablation processes that integrates 5 AM technologies in a unique solution. The machine is characterized by a redundant structures constituted by a large portal and a small PKM enabling the covering of a large range of working cube and a pattern of ejective nozzles and hybrid laser source targeting a deposition rate of 2000cm3/h with 30 sec set-up times. The machine is enriched with a software infrastructure which enable a persistent monitoring and in line adaptation of the process with zero scraps along with number of energy and resource efficiency optimization policies and harvesting systems which make the proposed solution the less environmental invasive in the current market. Borealis idea results from a consortium composed by the excellence of developers of worldwide recognized laser machines and advanced material processing together with the highly precision and flexible mechatronic designers. These two big clusters decided to join their expertise and focus on new manufacturing challenges coming from complex product machining in the field of aerospace, medtech and automotive represented by major partners in the market. Borealis project targets a TRL 6 and will provide as outcome of three years work two complete Borealis machine in two dimensions – a lab scale machine and a full size machine – which are foreseen to be translated into industrial solution by 2019.