The main goal of the WoodCircus is to increase knowledge, raise awareness and improve conditions for an uptake of resource efficient processing and recycling in wood-based value chains, fostering increased competitiveness of the European woodworking sector. WoodCircus identifies, evaluates and disseminates the outstanding good practises in process efficiency, wood waste collection, management and recycling in the woodworking value chains in Europe with a focus on construction with wood. Achieving a thorough evaluation of the overall system’s performance and a validation of the most relevant transferable solutions, WoodCircus produces sound, critical evidence and tangible decision support information for market actors, stakeholders and policymakers. WoodCircus establishes a well-integrated network between wood processing industries and the waste management sector engaging excellence for future-oriented joint promotion of the wood sector in the Circular Bioeconomy. WoodCircus implements the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy and the EU Bioeconomy Strategy targets ensuring intelligent utilisation of forest resources and sets up an interface to the EC Raw Materials Information System and the JRC Bioeconomy Knowledge Centre . WoodCircus major outcomes are: 1) Good practice database; 2) Open competition on individual good practice showcases and award to SMEs; 3) Performance and sustainability assessment; 4) Validated best performing supply chain typology for broad transfer; 5) RDTI plan wood industries towards the Circular Economy;(6) White Paper including policy recommendations and communication strategies; 7) WoodCircus Network, established on solid commitments from partners and stakeholders for follow-up beyond the project lifetime. WoodCircus is based on a balanced mix of leading RTO and companies with proven expertise all along the woodworking and construction value chains including waste valorisation and associations at local, national and international level.

Buildings are an essential part of human life, providing shelter, spaces for work, and hubs for community activities. However, conventional construction methods have a big negative impact on the environment. To achieve sustainability, alternative approaches using natural and environmentally friendly materials, such as wood, are being employed. Regenerative sustainability takes this a step further, not only by minimizing harm but also by creating a net positive impact on both the environment and the community. Engineered living materials (ELMs) represent an innovative frontier in realizing regenerative sustainability. The aim of PRO-TECTURE project is to develop more resilient and efficient ELMs by preconditioning living fungal cells (biofilm used as ELM) with abiotic stress. Previous research has shown that exposure to mild stress can trigger adaptive responses, preconditioning biological systems to be more resilient to future stressors. The PRO-TECTURE project will use stress preconditioning to enhance the resilience of ELMs, investigating the existence and duration of stress memory, as well as intraspecies stress communication through secreted molecules. Furthermore, given the ER’s background in biomedicine, the project will explore the possibility of interkingdom stress communication between pre-stressed fungi and human cells. By integrating ELMs into building practices, it is anticipated that these structures will not only minimize negative environmental impacts but also actively contribute to environmental restoration and enhance human well-being and health in the built environment. The PRO-TECTURE aims to stimulate innovation and facilitate knowledge transfer between the host and the ER by establishing a robust research network, organizing events, mentoring young researchers, and managing projects. Through this fellowship, the ER will gain advanced research and scientific skills, acquiring new competencies to achieve professional maturity and independence.

Pro-Enrich will develop a flexible biorefinery approach capable of processing a range of agricultural residues (rapeseed meal, olives, tomatoes and citrus fruits) in response to the increasing global demand for alternative sources of protein and phenolic product streams, tailored to the cross sectoral requirements of industry. Pro-Enrich will optimise existing biomass fractionation technologies and validate novel extraction approaches beyond the current state of the art (from TRL2 through to TRL 4/5) to isolate and purify proteins, polyphenols, dietary fibres and pigments. The products being targeted are food ingredients, pet food, cosmetics and adhesives. These will be developed through an iterative process of feedstock mapping, laboratory process development, functionality/performance testing of samples by industry and pilot upscaling. Pro-Enrich gathers the expertise of 16 partners from 7 countries, covering the entire biorefinery value chain and consisting of 8 SMEs, 5 large enterprises, 2 RTOs and 1 university. The project facilitates supply chain building across different sectors, including biomass production and logistics; materials handling and processing, through to end-users. The project will engage and collaborate with key industry stakeholders from farming and biomass supply, processors and brand name owners. Pro-Enrich produces detailed life-cycle, socio-economic and safety assessments to facilitate policy and decision-making by industry and the EU, inform and guide consumer acceptance and assist with regulatory compliance. The outcome of Pro-Enrich will have a huge economical impact on the involved partners especially the industries and generate a large number of new job positions. However, the impact goes beyond the consortium by contributing to the BBI’s strategy for zero-waste processing in the biobased products sector, by addressing technical, commercial and environmental impact across the whole supply chain.

BIOARC connects the agricultural and construction sector by developing high-performance bio-based building materials from agricultural by-products. Bacteria are included as co-creators through a biomineralization process, to develop lightweight, fire-resistant products – such as insulation boards, construction panels, acoustic panels, and partition walls. To ensure global scalability, the project will leverage regionally available resources like rice, wheat, sunflower, and hops, which are widely accessible not only in the EU but also in other parts of the world. By standardizing production processes and rigorously assessing the structural, thermal, acoustic, health-related, and durability properties of the materials, the project ensures consistent quality, performance and validating them in real-world construction environments. The project takes a bioregional approach, collaborating closely with local communities, farmers, craftsmen, and industries to develop local value chains that reduce carbon emissions and promote circular economy principles. By connecting stakeholders across four European bioregions, the project integrates a participatory design process, ensuring that the developed materials are not only environmentally sustainable but also culturally embedded and economically viable. The project engages with the NEB hub for results and impacts, as well as contributing to regenerative design principles in the construction sector. BIOARC aims to provide scalable, cost-effective, and high-performance materials, while supporting local economies and promoting resilience against environmental and economic changes.

"Key Enabling Technologies (hereafter “KETs”) are the technologies that enable process, goods and service innovation throughout the economy. KETs currently include Micro-/Nanoelectronics, Nanotechnology, Photonics, Advanced Materials, Industrial Biotechnology and Advanced Materials. All these technologies are knowledge-intensive and associated with high R&D intensity, rapid innovation cycles, high capital expenditure and highly skilled employment. KETs have the potential for application in all sectors and industries, including aeronautics, automotive, engineering, chemicals, textiles, space, construction, healthcare and agriculture. KETs are the “technology building blocks” behind a wide range of innovations, such as 3D printers, LED lighting, advanced robotics, bio-based products, smart phones, nanodrugs, smart textiles, etc.KETs have become a priority in European industry policies in order to accelerate the exploitation processes of these technologies within the European Union (EU) and foster growth in the industrial and working fields. Thus, the Commission is working towards several initiatives as part of the strategy to increase the KETs deployment activities. However, one of the major weakness of Europe lies in ability to transfer the knowledge base into specific goods and services. Stakeholders report a gap between the skills that are supplied by educational institutions and the skills that are actually required by industry. The current educational programmes focus mainly on technical skills, while professionals involved in KETs need to demonstrate an adaptive blend of both technical and non-technical skills, such as entrepreneurial skills, financing, team work, etc. Consequently, the main objective of this project was to transfer KETs to Vocational Education and Training (VET) through the development of innovative and open learning content in terms of KETs. High capacities cannot be developed and implemented in the markets if students and workers do not have the necessary competences and/or skills, both technical related to chemistry, computer sciences, etc., and non-technical skills, such as entrepreneurship, innovation, team work etc.For that purpose, BRACKET brought together a Consortium with different organizations and associations that include KETs experts, companies, universities and research centres with experience in the subject of KETs and Education. Consortium decided to focus the effort in three KETs - are nanotechnology, biotechnology and advanced materials - in order to guarantee a more detailed content. Key results implemented through the project partners are: -Developed study and analyse of the incoming trends regarding KETs and competences necessary to foster its implementation and work in VET.-Developed Joint Curriculum (JCV) for developing and fostering new skills for VET students (initial or continued VET) with the participation of stakeholders, experts and universities with experience in these enabling technologies as well as in non-technical skills.-Developed training content divided to five key areas: 1. Introduction on Key Enabling Technologies; 2. Nanotechnology; 3. Biotechnology; 4. Advanced Materials; 5. Innovation Regarding Key Enabling Technologies, as well as the training modules: lecturing materials, presentations, videos, etc. -The partners developed the training content in English and translated it into all the Consortium languages. -Parallelly to the development of the training material, the e-learning platform was designed and implemented according to the training path and the learner's necessities and then, all content was successfully integrated.-Developed functional collaborative platform - OER platform which is protected under open license Creative Commons with the ""Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license"".-All the training contents were discussed and agreed through 6 translational meetings which were held every six months organised by different partners. Three meetings were held live and three online due to COVID restrictions.-7 multiplier events were organized and conducted - some were held in small groups, some online, where e-learning contents and collaborative platforms were presented to potential interested users from industry, educational institutions, etc.All these activities have aroused considerable interest from various target users, and in the long run will have a positive impact to break boundaries among VET students, workers and experts in KETs, to create new job opportunities for people with the necessary skills in the field of KETs and to foster a sustainable and innovative development."