DYNASTY’s primary objective is to build in the European South East, and in particular in the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) in Crete, a significant pole of attraction for nanomaterials researchers and scientists. This will be accomplished through joint research activities and partnering with two well-established European research teams, which are in the forefront of nanomaterials research. The activities will contribute in scientific production that will motivate and attract young scientists in nanomaterials (e.g. 2D materials) science and technology. The partners include: (a) the University of Antwerp (UA) with strong expertise in advanced Electron Microscopy for Materials Science and in Condensed Matter Theory (the EMAT and CMT groups, respectively), which are both part of the UA NANOlab Center of Excellence (Belgium) (b) and the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA- University of Toulouse), with deep expertise in advanced spectroscopic characterization techniques of 2D materials. The activities involve training through cross-lab visits, workshops, short courses, joint conferences, and well-designed communication activities to attract young scientists at FORTH. All teams will provide their expertise and collaborate to build advanced Imaging and Spectroscopy expertise at FORTH (combining non-linear and time-resolved optical spectroscopies) that will provide precise fine structural analysis of 2D materials and their heterostructures. By the end of the three-year project, FORTH will gain advanced skills in nanomaterials characterization and knowhow in nanoelectronic devices fabrication. As a result, DYNASTY will create a collaborative platform for widening experimental networks among nanomaterials labs in Europe, enabling local teams to produce excellent interdisciplinary nanoscience, currently lacking in Greece.

Marine microbiomes represent 90% of the total living marine biomass but only a small fraction of them can be cultivated. For this reason, they are an underexplored source of bioactive compounds, carbohydrate polymers and proteins, among others. Sampling the marine biodiversity, screening, identifying and isolating the relevant microbes is cumbersome, expensive and results in a heavy environmental burden, low yields, high costs and long times to market. Therefore, new approaches are necessary to overcome the limitations for the study of marine microbial communities and their “econological use”. BLUETOOLS will unravel the potential of marine microbiomes for healthier oceans and the Blue Bioeconomy through integration of different fields to develop cutting-edge tools that support fast, efficient AND sustainable exploration and exploitation of microbiomes, avoiding the drawbacks of conventional biodiscovery practices. The expected results of BLUETOOLS include discovering several hundreds of enzymes, rhodopsins, resistance genes, antimicrobials and anti-microfouling agents, thanks to a hybrid workflow of in silico and microfluidics-based functional discovery, resulting in the commercialization ≥400 enzymes for biocatalysis and ≥2 new solutions for plastic/polymer degradation, increasing the revenue of our industrial partners by 10-15%. BLUETOOLS assembles 5 leading European companies, 8 academic teams and 1 private RTO that have pioneered approaches in functional metagenomics, microfluidics, microbial ecology and synthetic biology. The presence of diverse, complementary industrial stakeholders in the consortium (from pharma to materials science to sustainability) at different stages in the research-to-market process (from RTOs to SMEs to large end-users) provides a unique opportunity for broad value creation. The planned activities will span 48 months and the project is estimated at ca. 9 M€, with 60% of the total dedicated to creating highly-qualified jobs

The objective of MetaExplore is to provide research training for young researchers in novel experimental as well as computational methods to fully exploit the immense biotechnological potential of metagenomic sequence space, with innovative approaches on both fronts. On the experimental side, successful screening of large metagenomic libraries requires ultrahigh-throughput technologies, because low hit rates can frustrate conventional experimental formats. Here microfluidic droplet screening (allowing >10e8 picolitre assays per day, at kHz rates) is used in various formats to derive fundamental insight and achieve valorisation, along with label-free mass-spectrometric screens and liquid handling robots. On the in silico side, unprecedented availability of sequence data (e.g. more than 3 billion ORFs in the database MGnify) and machine learning will provide systematic insights based in sequence interpretation. The combination of sequence-based and functional metagenomics is extraordinarily powerful and our training programme bridges the classical divide between them. These skill sets, together with environmental DNA resources (from polar regions, hot environments, soil, marine & fresh-water and gut libraries) support campaigns to identify useful protein reagents, for green technology applications (e. g. for microplastics degradation, glycobiology or fine chemical synthesis), and healthcare (e.g. as bacteriocidal reagents or therapeutic enzymes). 11 leading academic groups and 2 industrial partners will work together in MetaExplore (and 9 companies and universities as associated partners and advisors). The unified efforts of leading stakeholders in the field of metagenomics from Europe will provide a uniquely powerful multidisciplinary training environment with critical mass to facilitate the uptake of new technologies into applied research, exposing young researchers to typical intersectorial challenges in the exploration and sustainable exploitation of biodiversity.

The MSCA-DN programme EXBRINER/Next-generation membrane technologies for sustainable exploitation of seawater brine resources: transition towards a "circular blue industry is designed to train a new generation of doctoral candidates in Membrane Engineering by means of a synergic cross-fertilization of complementary competences centered on the development of innovative membrane technologies at water-energy-resources nexus for a sustainable valorization of desalination wastes. The doctoral programme is implemented through an inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary Network, composed by 8 Universities, 3 Research Centers and 4 Industrial Companies (two of them are SMEs) from 8 European Countries, all with recognized excellence in the field of membrane technology. Based on more than 10 years of joint experience in Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate/Master in Membrane Engineering, the Consortium shares a common infrastructural platform - with worldwide recognized excellence - for implementing highly competitive and jointly supervised training and research activities. Those activities, oriented towards societal needs of strategic relevance for the European Union, cover a large spectrum of market-relevant applications such as: sustainable desalination for water supply, exploring alternative mineral sources for a secure supply of critical raw materials, low-carbon power technologies based on Salinity Gradient energy.

Industrial Biotechnology (IB) is a Key Enabling Technology for the circular bio-economy, industrial renewal and European manufacturing autonomy. Its development forms a vital part of EU’s strategy to become climate neutral in 2050. For IB to become a major manufacturing technology, it must widen its use of advanced digital technologies. These will improve R&D efficiency, reducing time-to-market and costs. Moreover, for manufacturing, advanced digital technologies will drive distributed, autonomous and highly adaptable production systems. To support digitalization of IB, BIOINDUSTRY 4.0 will create new services delivered by European research infrastructures (RI). These services will address several challenges, focusing on the acceleration of bio-process development pipelines. Drawing on the complementary skills of its consortium, BIOINDUSTRY 4.0 will develop data-driven approaches, exploiting AI to empower novel decision support systems and digital twins, the latter being to better design bio-processes and enable their real-time online control. To complete these services, BIOINDUSTRY 4.0 will also develop data and metadata standards to generate high quality, interoperable multi-scale bio-process data, the technical basis for trusted data networks and process analytical devices to provide real-time online monitoring of bio-processes. Once deployed, these RI services will provide Users with access to cutting-edge technologies that can be used singly or in an integrated way, covering whole R&D pipelines. Integrated services will be delivered by a distributed RI, conferring Europe with a unique R&D test-bed for bio-process development and a competitive advantage with respect to global competition. To succeed, BIOINDUSTRY 4.0 brings together 6 EU RIs, 1 global company, 2 innovative EU SMEs and several research teams around an ambitious 4-year workplan that will be implemented in consultation with IB stakeholders, using a co-design strategy to specify goals.