The high-performance requirements requested by the industry and consumers are responsible that currently 17% of total plastic packaging is multilayer material , meaning 3.03 Mt of plastics. Difficulties for recycling it are accentuated, being mostly landfilled or incinerated. MERLIN project has joined a partnership between sorting technology providers, recyclers, research centers, social innovation experts and end-users to design cradle to cradle solutions. This 36-month research project will offer innovative solutions for all the processes required to increase the quality and rate of recycled plastic materials coming from multi-layer packaging waste: (i) SORTING (combining optical sensors, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and robotics), (ii) DELAMINATION (optimizing depolymerisation and using solvent-based processes), (iii) RECYLING (techniques for repolymerization and upcycling of polymers) and (iv) VALIDATION (developing rigid and flexible packaging solutions and demonstrating circularity of the processes). These solutions will be developed and later validated in a real environment to reach technology readiness level (TRL) 6. This will be complemented with additional techniques and tools for circularity design to increase knowledge and effectiveness in the closure of the European multilayer plastic chain. Finally, transversal activities related to regulation and standardization, safety, sustainability, business, training, dissemination and communication will support to maximize the impact and effectiveness of the project. These actions are aligned with the ones proposed by the European Plastic Strategy to achieve that by 2030 all plastic packaging should be designed to be recyclable or reusable and decrease the quantity of waste generated Potential annual carbon footprint saving that could be achieved recycling all the multilayer waste in Europe could reach 7.42 Mt CO2/year, with a potential economic of €10,605 million and more 106,000 new job positions.

As Europe shifts to a bio-based circular economy, a plethora of new packaging restrictions have emerged. MAGNO seeks to improve packaging effectiveness, sustainability, efficient usage, end-of-life (reuse and recycling), and innovative business practices in EU food systems through revolutionary strategies shaped for the ecological transition required by the European Green Deal and EU 2030 climate target plan. These strategies will strengthen the EU food and packaging policy frameworks at a local and regional level. They will also increase social innovation, consumer participation and acceptance of new packaging designs and production models in cross-border food value chains through a web platform and a series of citizen science tools. At the beginning of the project, an overview of Europe’s ecosystems and value chains for different kinds of plastic packaging will be studied. A detailed quantification of impacts and solutions in terms of health, environment, raw materials, and sustainability will then be developed to set the basis of an Ecosystem Digital Twin software. The Digital Twin will be programmed to support the analysis of different scenarios which contributes by not only providing ground-breaking strategies for improving the packaging sector but also identifying the best options in terms of innovative business. The whole project will be supported by the active participation of food multi-actors (researchers, food business operators, food packaging producers, developers of sustainable packaging, packaging converters and recyclers, consumers, and local and regional authorities). Their contribution to the creation of results and validation of the final strategies will prevent and reduce plastic packaging pollution for the food and packaging sectors.

Accelerating the transition from animal-based to alternative dietary proteins – the dietary shift – is key to reducing the footprint of our food system in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), energy, water and land use, and other relevant environmental impacts, and for improving the health and well-being of people, animals and the planet. GIANT LEAPS delivers the strategic innovations, methodologies, and open-access datasets to speed up this dietary shift, in line with the Farm-to-Fork strategy and contributing to the Green Deal target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Achieving the dietary shift in practice is inherently complex due to the diverse set of actors involved and further hindered by major knowledge gaps, scattered across the various alternative protein sources and the domains of health (safety, allergenicity and digestibility), environment (GHGs and other environmental and climate impacts, biodiversity, circularity), and/or barriers to adoption (technological, sensory, and consumer acceptance). The GIANT LEAPS consortium consists of the key actors and spans all expertise to address relevant knowledge gaps and proactively engages to arrive at optimized future diets based on alternative proteins that are broadly accepted across stakeholder groups. In order to deliver required insights for short-, mid- and long-term decision making and impact, GIANT LEAPS protein sources have been selected for either targeted or full assessment based on their current level of specification. The innovations and improved methods combined with accessible and comprehensive information, generated for a wide collection of alternative proteins, will enable policymakers to prioritise changes in the food system towards the dietary shift based on desired impact, value chain actors to make strategic scientific, business and investment choices, and the general public to make more sustainable and healthy dietary choices.

SHEALTHY proposal aims to assess and develop an optimal combination of non-thermal sanitization, preservation and stabilization methods to improve the safety (inactivation of pathogens and spoilage microorganisms), while preserving the nutritional quality (up to 30%) and prolonging the shelf-life (up to 50%) of minimally processed F&V products. By combining and modulating non-thermal technologies with minimally processing operation, we will respond to consumers’ demand for fresh, healthy, convenient, sustainable and locally produced and additive-free food. The combined and optimised mild technologies will be demonstrated and validated in 2 business cases: Minimally processed fruits and vegetables and Fruit and vegetable-based juices & smoothies. Sanitization during washing will be optimized by applying in combination ultrasound (US), electrolysed water, plasma activated water, High Intensity Pulsed Light and Blue Light. Bioactive coating, active and intelligent packaging will be applied for quality preservation and shelf life extension of minimally processed F&V. F&V-based juices & smoothies will be stabilized by US and high pressure processing. For F&V by-product valorisation, US, pulsed electric field and membrane filtration will be used to extract bioactive compounds. Sustainable and flexible processing methods will be transferred and adapted to the need of local F&V micro and SMEs, interconnecting primary producers through novel cooperative business models and new logistics systems, to enhance the traceability and authenticity of raw materials along the F&V value chain. Commercial feasibility will be assessed, including consumer acceptance and regulatory, safety and environmental aspects. SHEALTHY will combine the technology trends and consumer needs to afford the business models, technology transfer and market orientation that will facilitate the transition towards a new collaborative agrifood ecosystem for traditional, local and rural SMEs around EU.

The 4th Industrial Revolution/Industry 4.0 has enabled reduction of production costs, improved consistency of product quality and enabled mass customisation by merging the physical and digital worlds. The transition is still ongoing - Industry 4.0 is a general-purpose technology, adding value across all industrial sectors. However, the perception of Industry 4.0 at a human level has not all been positive. It has been plagued by fear of job cuts and in some sectors completely replacing the human workforce. Automation projects have often failed due to omitting the critical skilled human elements in business success with unintended consequences including reduced customer satisfaction, poorer product quality and lower process efficiency. Automation alone clearly cannot be a source of sustained competitive advantage. I5.0 will address the balance between humans and technology, focussing on the collaborative relationship between skilled workers and automation. The intent is reinstate skilled craftsmanship at the centre of production processes where people add unique value and competitive advantage, augmented by intelligent, data-driven technology emerging from Industry 4.0. In the Up-Skill project, we will address the implications of Industry 5.0, in particular the relationship between automation, skilled work and organisational systems. Our research will establish how the relationship between automation and human input plays out in a range of industrial settings, creating comparative case studies to capture effective implementation strategies. We will address under-explored strategic spaces in production - where automation adds value to skilled and artisanal work, and where further automation risks undermining product value. This research will identify the shifting organisational characteristics that are needed to ensure technology advancements are implemented within companies while ensuring sustainable, added value for man, machine, and organisation.