The EU requires rapid and effective actions based on innovative detection concepts targeting quarantine, priority and other serious pests. Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems are threatened by increasing pest invasions due to climate change and a growing demand for high quality, pest-free food. The goal of PurPest is to develop, validate and demonstrate an innovative sensor platform that can rapidly detect five different pests during import and in the field to stop their establishment and reduce pesticide inputs by at least 50%. The sensor concept is based on detection of pest-specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by host plants invaded by one or several pests. PurPest will determine the VOC signature of Phytophthora ramorum, the Fall armyworm, the Cotton bollworm, the Brown marmorated stinkbug and the Pinewood nematode under different abiotic stress conditions. The VOC database will be exploited to optimize existing and develop new sensor concepts to detect pest-specific VOCs, starting from proof of concept (TRL3) to demonstration in field trials (TRL6). Non-invasive, reliable and rapid pest sensing platforms will increase pest screening efficiency from currently 3% to 80% of plant imports. Preventing outbreaks of new pests and site-specific pesticide use by early detection are the cornerstones of sustainable and integrated pest management (IPM). PurPest will evaluate the socio-economic and ecological impact of 5 pests and how the new detection concept affects these impacts. Direct communication with stakeholders via the advisory board, workshops and webinars is part of PurPest’s multi-actor approach to affirm involvement of all interest groups along the value chain The PurPest project is a strong multidisciplinary consortium with expertise from 10 countries, 7 universities, 5 research institutes, 4 SMEs and 2 governmental agencies.

The current plant inspection process is labour intensive due to visual assessments, low detection throughput and the need for physical sampling for molecular- or antibody-based detection kits. SenseApest will address these challenges by screening imported plant material systematically and efficiently with a non-contact portable detection unit (PDU), based on volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. Plants release VOCs in response to pest attacks, while pests emit their own distinctive VOCs. In senseApest, we propose to exploit these VOC biomarkers to develop a high throughput PDU equipped with VOC sensors, an algorithm, and a database. The PDU will enable rapid (<15 min), non-invasive and non-destructive screening of imported plant material for serious pests. The project emphasizes high-accuracy, user-friendliness, cost and time-efficiency, and portability in the design of the PDU. Two analytical modules will be developed to detect a wide range of VOCs, adding a layer of specificity to broaden the spectrum of detectable pests. Miniaturized components will be integrated into the PDU, ensuring high analytical performance while maintaining portability. The PDU will be validated into operational environments (TRL7). The collected data will train an algorithm in recognizing pest specific VOC biomarkers, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and applicability. The project aims to reduce false positives and false negatives in pest diagnostics while providing a method prioritizing efficiency in terms of analysis time and unit cost. Ultimately, the PDU is intended to be a cost-effective, user-friendly, adaptable, and efficient tool for plant health inspectors during import controls. To achieve this, a multi-actor interdisciplinary approach will be implemented. Adopting the PDU is expected to save the EU €0.31–1.08 billion a year, while inspecting 90% of imported plants to limit the risk of plant pest invasions.

The main objective of COMPAS is to develop a compact, inexpensive and ultrasensitive PIC sensing platform (PSP) for air and water monitoring, relying on the co-integration of light source, detectors and electronic IC for on-chip signal processing. The PIC sensor principle will be based on interference between two guided light modes, one of which interacts with analytes and the other being a reference. The resulting intensity changes offers excellent sensitivity to changes in concentration of analytes in air or solution. Multiple light paths can be placed on the same device offering multi-analyte sensing in an ultracompact device. COMPAS builds a first-of-a-kind fully integrated system around this principle (including light source, detectors and signal processing). The COMPAS PSP begins at TRL2 and will end with TRL5 validation in relevant environment by end-users towards air and water monitoring. The project will - Define sensing parameters for validating developed PIC Sensor Platform (PSP) towards three use-cases in relevant environments, being in line with the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition - Develop core photonic technology for implementing photonic based sensing. These include a novel photonic IC material system (Aliminium Nitride), BiModal waveguide interferometers that show superior temperature stability and sensitivity, novel material coating systems for enhanced sensing selectivity and innovative nano structured metasurfaces for novel mode engineering for increased sensitivity and optimized light coupling to facilitate the use of low power laser diodes. - Develop a Chiplet approach to co-integration of photonic sensor with microelectronic IC and photodetectors, and a coherent light-source. This will combine heterogeneous integration of a laser light source and monolithically integrated photodetector in the silicon base material.