An eco- industrial park is an area where businesses work together to optimize the use of resources. Waste from one company provides the raw material or energy for another. This synergy between industries fosters economic benefits while contributing to sustainable development. The main purpose of the project Recycling Business Models – RBM is indeed to investigate and analyse the possibility to transform traditional science and technology parks in more sustainable areas, to establish the basis of models of Eco science and technology parks. The principal objective of the project is indeed to create a methodology and a specific strategy to impulse especially the creation of new business opportunities for SMEs and the creation of new companies, based on the revalorisation of the wastes, equipment and its reincorporation in the life cycle of the companies located in science and technology parks. More than 80% of the companies located within technology park in Europe are SMEs, which create the majority of new jobs in the economy of these countries. The development and improvement of ecosystem of innovation support to SMEs is indeed crucial for the scale up of the companies and the creation of new jobs, including the recruiting of talent. RBM is based specifically on the opportunities for SMEs and companies the Circular Economy (CE) perspective can bring. New business models within this concept are beginning to deliver success and impact in terms of driving competitive benefits. Creating enterprises around sustainable models can improve both their environmental impact and competitiveness. Great opportunities are arising due to new consumer demands, environmental regulatory pressures and innovation challenges, and early SMEs adopters are likely to enter the market and attract investment so the project will investigate on the establishment of new strategies for the design and delivery of more adequate innovation support programmes for SMEs within the field of CE.

The ROBOtics KNOwledge Transfer Lab (ROBO-KNOT) is a cross-sectoral and cross-border mobility initiative designed to accelerate knowledge transfer in the Robotics field. By facilitating secondments of Research and Innovation (R&I) talent between academic and non-academic sectors, this project aims to promote more attractive and sustainable research careers in Widening Countries, in alignment with the European Commission’s ERA Policy Agenda (Action 4). The project will directly involve 24 researchers and 12 R&I support staff from academic institutions in Widening Countries (Greece, Portugal, Slovenia), who will be seconded to organisations in either Widening (Estonia, Greece, Portugal) or non-Widening (Spain) countries. ROBO-KNOT's structured methodology, comprising Pre-secondment, Secondment, and Post-secondment phases, ensures impactful skills development and knowledge exchange. Firstly, talent is carefully selected and matched with opportunities that align with both individual goals and hosting organisations’ strategic needs. Through a modular secondment approach, participants are then immersed in diverse work settings, enhancing their practical knowledge of Robotics technologies’ commercial development. Finally, the Post-secondment phase includes targeted training activities and ongoing support to ensure long-term impact of the action, particularly with regards to the innovation-to-commercialisation pipeline. ROBO-KNOT has developed a tailored Skills Development Framework, in line with the European Commission’s ResearchComp, as well as a Career Advancement Plan, which ensures high impact of the project on secondees’ employability, future career prospects and knowledge sharing capabilities. ROBO-KNOT not only benefits seconded talent individually, but also increases consortium organisations’ R&I support capacity and ability to establish effective cross-sectoral and cross-border collaborations, contributing to a more integrated European innovation ecosystem.

SYNCLUSIVE is an innovative, integral, and interdisciplinary systems’ approach to stimulate inclusion of vulnerable groups in the labor market. To achieve this, our six central objectives are: 1) developing and consolidating a coalition of stakeholders in 4 regional Living Labs across Europe along the lines of the Community Coalition Action Theory, using the ENGINE approach. This approach includes an integrated package of interventions that stimulates upward and sideward mobility of vulnerable employees, hereby creating vacancies for inflow of vulnerable job seekers; 2) testing the usefulness and applicability of the ENGINE approach for different vulnerable groups identified as being discriminated against; 3) identifying drivers and barriers for mobility and inflow including discrimination; 4) assessing the impact of the implemented ENGINE approach on the labor market mobility and inclusion of vulnerable groups; 5) identifying transition pathways from the regional to the national and EU policy level; and 6) identifying interoperable and comparative indicators and standards that are relevant for the labor market inclusion of vulnerable groups taking into account the regional, national (legislative, social security) and cultural context. Regional stakeholder commitment as well as the interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial for the success of SYNCLUSIVE and for inclusion of vulnerable people in the labor market. SYNCLUSIVE therefore collaborates in an ‘active community coalition’ amongst municipalities, employers, civil society and educational institutes, which interacts with their political counterparts at national and EU level across 7 European regions. SYNCLUSIVE results will lead to sustainable inclusion of vulnerable groups in the regional Living Labs, and have vast potential to result in outcomes far beyond the scope and duration of the project. SYNCLUSIVE will contribute to generic and context-specific EU-wide policy and intervention recommendations that drive inclusion of vulnerable groups and help to start overcoming discrimination in the EU labour market.

H2tALENT launches a flagship Hydrogen Valley in Alentejo-PT to consolidate the strong investment in place and boost the penetration of “green” hydrogen by deploying new initiatives across the entire value chain from local production to use including distribution for a range of applications in industry, mobility and buildings while also connecting with existing/planned infrastructures and initiatives. In the next 5 years are foreseen 2.1 GW electrolysers, 180 ktons/y of “green” H2, 2 B€ investments and 5000 jobs in Alentejo. Safe design and operation are ensured to deliver certified “green” hydrogen. H2tALENT produces >500 ton/y used by several off-takers in industry, mobility (public bus & truck) and building (municipal pool). The strategic position of the Sines Port is valorised as a key multi-modal hub for interconnection and import/export as well the industrial ecosystem surrounding it. Optimal energy system integration is ensured via technology assessment and impact modelling to contribute to the national energy transition strategy. H2tALENT generates investments around 20 M€. Digital Twinning and tools for optimal planning and operation are delivered to support upscaling and replication, while professional upskilling and public perception equip the workforce with the needed competences and deliver social benefits. H2tALENT builds a global network where lessons learned from existing valleys are gathered, cooperation with Brazil and Morocco fostered and replication promoted in 2 follower valleys in DE Saxony and UK Midlands. Roadmaps and concrete actions for upscaling and replication are defined for the Sines Port, Alentejo and Portugal. The consortium includes 29 partners from 7 countries covering the entire value chain including energy suppliers, DSO, technology manufacturer, system integrator, end users and RTO/university experts in digitalization, public acceptance, environmental assessments and technology assessment with strong political support.

POCITYF supports the Lighthouse cities of Evora (PT) and Alkmaar (NL) and their Fellow cities Granada (ES), Bari (ΙΤ), Celje (SI), Ujpest (HU), Ioannina (GR) and Hvidovre (DK) to address their urgent need to deliver positive energy blocks and districts in their cities, towards rendering their mixed urban environment (also including the case of cultural protected buildings) into cheaper, better accessible, healthier and more reliable. By demonstrating in overall 10 integrated solutions (ISs), comprising 73 individual innovative elements (technologies, tools, methods), rooted under existing City Information Platforms (CIPs), POCITYF quantifies their value, and connects interests of many different stakeholders in innovative business models, allowing for upscale and replication of those solutions in a form of a validated roadmap for sustainable cities across Europe and world-wide. To achieve this, POCITYF works along 4 Energy Transition Tracks (ETTs), encompassing the ISs according to the role each one serves for. ETT#1 focuses on the examination and application of ISs transforming existing and new building stock into Energy Positive, while ETT#2 focuses on the application of a) grid flexibility strategies and b) storage systems, supported by DSM platforms for optimizing energy flows to maximize self-consumption and reduce grid stress. ETT#3 with its merit of innovation offers the integration of e-Mobility to as well promote the decarbonisation of the mobility sector. The 3 ETTs under the coordination of ETT#4, which links existing CIPs with innovative apps and other instruments, offers inclusive and holistic services for interdisciplinary citizen engagement and co-creation of them with the city stakeholders and industry, towards the development of each city’s own bold city-vision up to 2050. Through POCITYF the two LHs will achieve a local RES penetration of 16.2 GWh/y, energy savings of 2.32 GWh/y and an emission reduction of 9,743 tons CO2eq/y within their districts.