The main objective of the project is to determine the life-cycle of micro- and nano-plastics (MNP) in the watershed area, to understand their fragmentation pattern and to investigate the first impact of the whole size distribution of plastics litter. In the sampling campaign in the North Atlantic Ocean - NOA (Expedition 7th Continent) realized in 2014 and 2015, we were the first to develop an analytical strategy for demonstrating the presence of nanoscale (colloidal) plastics mainly made of polyethylene in the NOA for the first time. Based on these unprecedented results, several questions raise: What are the mechanisms of nano-plastics formation? Are the nanoplastics formed in the ocean or before in the watershed area? Where the other plastics at the micro and nanoscale are located? We found only PE and PS trace at the micro and nanoscale in the NOA. Where are the other polymers? Where do the Nano-plastics come from in the coastal zone? Rapidly, based on recent expedition and missions, we identified the watershed area as the principal zone susceptible to play a key role in the MNP environmental fate and impact. For these reasons and due to the total absence of available data in literature, we decided to focus the PEPSEA proposal on this novel consideration. From all the watershed areas and based on our previous mission and investigation in Guadeloupe (French Caribbean Island), we focused PEPSEA project on the Mangrove swamp system. Mangroves are present along a high fraction of tropical and subtropical coastlines. These systems play a crucial ecological role providing shelters and food resources for many species. Mangroves are also directly endangered by human activities. Plastics are susceptible to be captured in this environment due to the structure of Mangrove tree roots physically reducing circulation of water. In Guadeloupe, two Mangrove swamps were identified, the first one directly exposed to the landfill of the island (Décharge de la Gabarre) and the second one located at Le Moule, on the east coast of the island, which is directly influenced by the current from both the NOA and the gyre. These two systems offer the opportunity to directly monitor the impact of the MNPs waste on the Mangrove system and also discriminate the influence of terrestrial activities on the incoming MNPs compared to the flux of MNPs from the principal oceanic gyre. This study is complementary to existing project working on the presence and environmental fate of MNPs in the oceanic system. PEPSEA is an interdisciplinary research project on the plastic debris in the watershed area. It involves the participation of five different partners in the consortium that successfully work together in trust on the plastic presence and contamination thematic since 2014. Compare to all the major projects funded these last year through the principal governmental national agency and focusing on Plastic debris in environmental system, we propose a totally novel approach based on our expertise and our recent expeditions.

Measuring the affinity of a ligand for its target is an issue of central importance in life science research and drug development. In particular, understanding how well a potential drug interacts with its target (receptor, enzyme, DNA…) provides valuable knowledge in the search for new pharmaceuticals. Collective progress in chemistry, biology, robotic, informatics, led to the advent of high throughput screening (HTS) and enabled the biological evaluation of large number of drug candidates. As far as ligand-receptor system is concerned, binding of a drug candidate is characterized by a “competitive binding assay”. Since the affinity of reference ligand for target receptor is generally high, measurement of signal requires a very good sensitivity and as a consequence, radioactivity is still the method of choice for pharmacological studies of receptor/ligand systems. However, radioactivity implies a lot of constraints linked to radioelement manipulation and storage, strongly limiting high throughput screening applicability. In this context, we aim at developing a new and universal technology involving non-radioactive detection and quantification of the reference ligand displaced by the competing candidates. Mass spectrometry offers sensitive and selective methodologies to quantify molecules in complex biological systems. In contrast to known methods, the purpose of the submitted project is to develop a generic MS-based competitive binding assay avoiding the synthesis, for each evaluated molecule, of the corresponding quantification standard. This point is a great advantage since the isotopic standard used for quantification will be the same for all biological systems. The novelty of such an approach thus lies in the joint use of mass spectrometry and original labeling chemistries. Several robust mass spectrometry technologies (MALDI-MS, ESI-MS and ICP-MS) will be investigated in conjunction with different types of new chemical tags (preformed ions, elemental tags, MS enhancers…). The strategies will be validated with soluble proteins (for instance p38 kinases) as well as membrane proteins (such as two GPCR model systems: CCKB and MCR1), involving either small heterocyclic drugs or peptides as native ligands. If successful results are obtained during the course of the proposed basic research project, the developed generic tag/MS-based quantification protocol will have a great impact in biosciences, in particular in research laboratories dealing with pharmacology.

The main objective of this project is to uncover the role and the global ecological importance of members of the Euryarchaeota phylum in aquatic ecosystems. Euryarchaeota, together with Thaumarchaeota, are the two main phyla belonging to the Archaea. Archaea were seen as specialist microorganisms that thrive in habitats of elevated temperature, low pH, high salinity, or strict anoxia. However, their importance in the functioning of oxic aquatic ecosystem has appeared clearly in recent years. Thaumarchaeota (previously known as Crenarchaeota) in particular are now recognized as key players in oxidizing ammonia and can outcompete the bacteria in the nitrogen cycle. In contrast to the effort put into understanding the relevance of Thaumarchaeota in aquatic habitats, basically nothing is known about the metabolisms and the ecology of uncultivated Euryarchaeota. This lack of information is critical as the high number of Euryarchaeota, that are often more abundant than Thaumarchaeota in aquatic ecosystems, suggests a pivotal ecological role for these microorganisms. The recent years have, however, seen advances regarding the biodiversity, and the spatial and temporal dynamics of their communities, but the role of these enigmatic microbes remains unknown. The objective of this project is thus to uncover the metabolisms, the distribution and the activity of the most common uncultured aquatic Euryarchaeota groups. We will target the Group II (subgroups a and b) that is particularly abundant in marine systems, and the LDS and RC-V groups that are often found in freshwater ecosystems. The technological aim of this unique project is to combine an array of state of the art methods with an approach going from the molecular to the community level, and from in silico data to environmental samples. We will use the complementary approaches of data mining, single cell genomic and environmental metagenomics to build a broad and solid base to bring new knowledge on the ecology of Euryarchaeota. This knowledge will be then channeled back to the field for an in situ assessment of the ecological importance of Euryarchaeota.

Our planet faces formidable sustainability challenges that call for rigorous and relevant research on various disciplines which include, among others, the field of electrochemical energy storage. Batteries have become essential in tackling global warming and energy security. Rechargeable Li-ion batteries, by having the highest energy density of any such device, have conquered the electronics field and are regarded as the technology of choice for powering electric vehicles with great hope that they could enter the field of load-leveling for mass storage of renewable energy. For such foreseen applications to materialize, new advances in performances/safety/costs are required. More specifically, known intercalation electrode materials must be understood or new ones relying on new concepts must be explored to ensure a leap forward in performance. Classical positive electrodes for Li-ion technology operate mainly via an insertion-deinsertion redox process involving cationic species. This is not any longer true as we recently demonstrated, via a patented game changing chemical approach, the redox activity of the anionic network with the reversible formation of peroxo groups (2 O2- --> (O2)2-) which was postulated but never experimentally proved, thus explaining the staggering capacities (280 mAh/g) reported for the Li-rich layered Li(Li0.2NixMnyCoz)O2 phases termed as Li-rich NMC phases. This capacity increase would translate to a 20 to 25% improvement in present battery autonomy. Rapidly, BASF, 3M and others were eager to commercialize such materials. Yet, they met many difficulties such as a drop in the batteries’ average potential across charge-discharge cycles that deterred their commercialization. By exploring new chemistries deviating from the classical approach and calling for the use of 4d-metals, we could obtain new phases exhibiting similar capacities to those of the Li-rich NMC but with no potential fading upon cycling. In light of the above, the objectives of DeLi-RedOx are to i) exploit further this new concept associated with the redox activity of the anionic network which provides myriad opportunities, with the feasibility of using 4d metals, to search for new high capacity electrodes and ii) eagerly explore our proposed scenario for combating capacity fading which reinvigorates the search for proper materials formulations that eliminate the voltage decay, both of which should enable all the advantages of this new class of high capacity electrodes based on dual cationic and anionic redox mechanisms to be harvested. This calls for a combination of fundamental science enlisting creative chemical designs and well thought modelling approaches, and state of the art characterization techniques together with cell construction and testing. To achieve these goals, we have assembled a consortium uniting partners from Collège de France (FRE3677-Chimie du Solide et Energie and Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Paris LCMCP), Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP), ICG (Montpellier), IPREM (Pau) and LRCS (Amiens) having great experience of working together and complementary expertise in synthesis, crystal chemistry, modelling, and electrochemistry testing. These laboratories belong to the French Research and Technology National Network on Electrochemical Energy Storage (RS2E), whose goal is to ensure a continuum from research to development via prototyping and then to a quick transfer to our industries so as to benchmark optimum electrode formulations into practical Li-ion batteries.

The CNRS / Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, in collaboration with the world's leading producer of organic solar cells, OPVIUS GmbH, and local politicians and artisans in the Vic-Montaner region, has recently demonstrated that it is possible to produce large-scale (1.5 x 0.7 m) organic solar panels (OSPs), that are lightweight (10.2 kg) and have robust polycarbonate encapsulation. The project attracted a great deal of attention in the press (google Baylère, Hiorns, Vic-Montaner, Sud-Ouest for example) and in local communities. Importantly, unlike perovskite-based devices, these panels are non-toxic and fully recyclable. They are installed with minimal effort on public buildings for on-site use of generated electricity, even in restricted zones areas due to their colour adaptability. This is an important step in the industrialization of OSPs. Silicon solar cells should be placed directly facing the sun to give their maximum efficiency, otherwise they lose up to 50% of their power output depending on the angle of the sun. This is not the case for OSPs. They work at all angles, just as well. This opens up a vast area that is available on the walls of private and public buildings. For example, lightweight and ergonomic, our polycarbonate panels are easy to install. It should also be noted that local laws (in France imposed by Bâtiments de France) restrict the implantation of silicon cells in villages. However, we have already negotiated with them locally to ensure that OSPs are now accepted within 500 m of sacred and culturally important buildings. These two elements open up a large market for OSPs in France. However, the daily power of the OSPs is still less than that of silicon cells. Therefore, we will build a project to close the efficiency gap between the power produced by silicon cells and OSPs. This project will be called "Increasing the efficiency of large-scale photovoltaic panels" (ELEVATE). It will aim to improve the efficiency of OSPs so that they are equivalent to Si-based panels on vertical walls. To achieve this objective, ELEVATE will need to bring together the key, highest quality teams from across Europe working in the following fields: i) macromolecular chemistry, ii) physics of devices and modules, ii) polymer processing, iv) physical characterization, and v) modelling that will deliver: new materials; new module architectures; new film processing techniques; depth characterization of materials; and predicting the best macromolecules and understanding their behaviour. ELEVATE will call on the world-leading OSP manufacturers, OPVIUS, and will integrate the leading manufacturers of semi-conducting materials. To solve the challenge of high-performance OSPs, we will rely on the leading academics in each relevant area from across Europe. While France has exceptional talents, ELEVATE would not be possible at a national level alone due to the extremely diverse and cross-science level of industrial and academic expertise required. To build ELEVATE will be a project in itself. For this reason, this project, called INFO was developed to finance project construction meetings, determine working groups, decide on milestones and deliverables, and take into account the needs of public interactions. Given the high public profile of the project ELEVATE, particular attention will be given to fostering open scientific activities with scientific communities, the general public and schools throughout the world.