Europe has rich and diverse cultural heritage resources, which include urban and rural landscapes, comprising standing monuments and archaeological remains. Nowadays Europe’s Cultural Heritage (CH) is at risk, endangered by environmental processes and anthropogenic pressures. Physical and chemical destruction and degradation of structures and artefacts amplify the natural deterioration and reduce the ability of the soil to preserve CH. In addition to physical damages, the intensive human activities and the effects of climate changes are responsible of the increase of soil erosion affecting structure stability and producing significant negative consequences on the conservation of the archaeological artefacts. In this scenario, authorities in charge to CH preservation have a strong requirement for systematic, effective, usable and affordable tools and services to monitor the degradation process to enable preventive maintenance and to reduce the cost of the restoration. The broad spectra of Satellite Earth Observations (EO) provide the ideal platform to undertake a wide range of effective, cost-efficient and up-to-date programmable analysis, as a support to traditional tools. RESEARCH addresses the design and development of a multi-task platform, combining advanced remote sensing technologies with GIS application for mapping and long term monitoring of archaeological CH in order to identify changes due to climate changes and anthropic pressures. The EO processing chain will address the major risks affecting CH including the degradation due to soil erosion, land movement and vegetation as well as risks due to anthropic pressure. RESEARCH will coordinate the existing expertise and research efforts of seven beneficiaries into a synergetic plan of collaborations and exchanges of personnel to offer a comprehensive transfer of knowledge and training environment for the researchers in the specific area.

As the ongoing robotic exploration to Mars has made some tantalising discoveries, the next major step should be retrieving samples from the Martian surface, so they can be investigated in detail in terrestrial laboratories. However, considering the huge costs associated to suh missions, an in-situ dating of rock samples is a more cost-effective approach. Accurate estimation of absolute ages is required in order to understand Mars surface and atmosphere evolutionary processes. Furthermore knowledge on occurrence and time frequency of such processes allow a hazard evaluation for locations/areas, essential for future deployments, missions and eventually humans on Mars. However, a chronology for recent events on Mars is problematic, as uncertainties associated with current methodology (crater counting) are comparable to the younger ages obtained (~ 1 Million years). IN-TIME project addresses the technological and economic viability of a leading-edge instrument for dating of Mars’ surface: a miniaturized Luminescence dating instrument for in-situ examination. Thanks to the development of its innovative technology, and in addition to planetary exploration application, it will also address Earth's field applications as a light and portable dating instrument in geology and archaeology as well as a risk assessment tool for accident and emergency dosimetry and nuclear mass-casualty events.

Europe’s Cultural Heritage (CH) is at risk, endangered by environmental processes enhanced by climate changes and anthropogenic pressure. Specifically the slow (landslides, subsidence) and seismic (earthquake) movements of the ground have a strong impact on the structural stability of the CH. To have an idea of the dimension of the phenomena, the damage on the CH asset declared by the Italian Ministry of CH, caused by the recent earthquakes in Centre Italy, has been assessed in 2 Billion Eur. In this scenario, authorities in charge to CH preservation have a strong requirement for systematic, effective, usable and affordable tools and services to forecast and monitor the degradation process to enable preventive maintenance and to reduce the cost of the restoration. STABLE addresses the design and development of a Thematic Platform, combining structural stability models, damage assessment simulation tools, advanced remote sensing, in-situ monitoring technologies, geotechnics and cadastral data sets with WebGIS application for mapping and long term monitoring of CH. This will enable effective monitoring and management of the CH to prevent, or at least reduce, catastrophic damages. STABLE will coordinate the existing expertise and research efforts of the participant beneficiaries into a synergetic plan of collaborations and exchanges of personnel to offer a comprehensive transfer of knowledge and training environment for the researchers in the specific area. The development of Platform will constitute for scientist the way to share and improve CH safeguard methods, and to professionals to apply the most advanced technologies in the related fields.

The need to protect forests and cultural resources and preserve biodiversity are among the basic challenges of mankind. A step towards the effective implementation of these tasks is conducting the periodic, systematic inventory of naturThe need to protect forests and cultural resources and preserve biodiversity are among the basic challenges of mankind. A step towards the effective implementation of these tasks is conducting the periodic, systematic inventory of natural resources and their constant monitoring. Such activities require modern tools to assist in protecting the most valuable natural resources, including forests. In terms of monitoring and inventory of forests, there is planned an autonomous device, capable of navigating in a diverse environment and recording a wide variety of data. The main aim of E-FORESTER (Effective FOrest Research Electronic System Terrain Exploration Rover) project is to create and integrate, through staff exchange, an international team capable of responding to the challenges posed by the European Green Deal in the field of forestry. Such a large-scale project requires the selection and cooperation of an interdisciplinary team, which will include foresters, fauna and flora specialists, archaeologists, as well as engineers and machine learning analysts. The result of their work should be a rover with research tools, capable of operating continuously, regardless of terrain diversity and weather conditions, providing data and cartographic materials constituting documentation presenting the diversity of the forest environment. By detailed documenting plant and animal species, and through appropriate algorithms, also natural habitats, the project should also meet the challenges posed by of the European Union's tasks, which is the Natura 2000 network. Identification of archaeological relics through non-invasive methods will fulfil Valetta Convention (1992) recommendations and open a new area for archaeological/historical investigations.

As global energy consumption continues to rise, resulting in higher energy demand, the inadequate supply of fossil fuels becomes apparent. Conventional diesel fuel, which is produced by distilling crude oil, is essential for driving automobiles. Renewable energy sources could be a viable substitute for conventional diesel that comes from fossil fuels. Triglycerides and alcohol can be converted into biodiesel, a sustainable liquid fuel, using a straightforward procedure called transesterification. After conducting research, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that approximately 80% of the world's total primary energy comes from fossil fuels, with oil accounting for 32.8%, followed by coal at 27.2%, and natural gas ranking third at 20.9%. VERDEDRIVE [Harnessing by-products for the creation of eco-friendly and sustainable diesel fuel] rationale lies in suggesting investigating and examination of the possibility of utilizing by-products for the production of renewable and green diesel. Specifically, the project aims to conduct a comparative study of oils derived from alternative natural crops and raw materials—Roses petals, Sour Cherries (Variety Oblaćinska višnja), Maize, Local Soybean Variates and Cynara cardunculus—with the objective of identifying the most suitable raw material for the production of green diesel. VERDEDRIVE encompasses a comprehensive approach to biofuel production from by-products, integrating precision agriculture and surveillance technologies in the collection and processing stages, in conjunction with state-of-the-art methodologies from the fields of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, Agriculture, Biotechnology, Modelling, Computer Engineering and Environment Engineering, aims to demonstrate a scientifically-sound approach to biofuel production. VERDEDRIVE activities are strategically positioned to drive innovation in response to demand in the biofuels sector.