Bicycle helmets are a tremendously important asset against head injuries during accidents. However, their normal use is often associated with strong thermal discomfort due to the (thermally) insulating nature of the materials used in their structures. This affects directly the willingness to wear helmets, which has direct implications in terms of the risk to which riders are exposed to. However, the capacity and expertise to improve the thermal performance of helmets exist on academic institutions (e.g. expertise in thermal physiology, monitoring of bio-responses, active cooling) but they lack a viable supply chain to go from prototypes to finished products, ready for exploitation. On the other hand, SMEs lack the technical skills and research facilities to perform R&D activities, to solve the mentioned problem. To solve this intersectoral problem, the SmartHELMET project will create a sustainable ecosystem of collaboration and knowledge transfer between academic and industrial partners that will develop the next generation of bicycle helmets with smart thermal management. The project’s innovative aspects in terms of new products, processes and applications are very significant, as the new knowledge has many potential applications in the development of other smart headgear products (e.g. motorcycle helmets, industrial protective headgear, sports related headgear, etc.) as well as smarts products in other sectors where the thermal aspect is crucial (e.g. protective garments, sports clothing and footwear). To achieve its objectives, SmartHELMET will put together research expertise and resources from three large academic partners with market, commercialization and innovation experience from three SMEs, to exchange knowledge through intersectoral staff secondments. The project will bridge research initiatives between the academic and industrial sectors, creating long-term cooperation between them, while raising society awareness about its implications for citizens.

D4AgEcol will show the potentials of digitalisation as enabler for agroecological farming systems in Europe based on available knowledge and actors' and stakeholders' co-innovation capacity . Partners from seven countries across a wide spectrum of pedoclimatic zones in Europe will assemble a holistic evaluation of digital tools and technologies. This will be based on indicators for agroecology, economic considerations and investigations about perceived benefits for user and stakeholder. Drivers, barriers and risks of digital technologies for a transformation towards agroecology will be identified. The results of this analysis will feed in national and European roadmaps for agroecology, indicating the need for adjusted policies and a technology research and innovation agenda.

The total EU electronics industry employs ≈20.5 million people, sales exceeding €1 trillion and includes 396,000 SMEs. It is a major contributor to EU GDP and its size continues to grow fueled by demand from consumers to many industries. Despite its many positive impacts, the industry also faces some challenges connected with the enormous quantity of raw materials that it needs for sustainability, the huge quantity of Waste Electrical, Electronics Equipment (WEEE) generated and the threat of competition from Asia. To sustain its growth, to manage the impact of WEEE and to face the competition from Asia, the industry needs innovations in key areas. One such area is the drive for ultra-miniaturisation/ultlra-functionality of equipment. The key current road block/limitation to achieving the goal of ultra-miniaturisation/functionality is how to increase the component density on the printed circuit board (PCB). This is currently limited by the availability of hyper fine pitch solder powder pastes. FineSol aims to deliver at first stage an integrated production line for solder particles with size 1-10 μm and to formulate solder pastes containing these particles. Thus, by proper printing methods (e.g. screen and jet printing) the fabrication of PCBs with more than double component density will be achieved. Consequently, this would effectively enable more than a doubling of the functions available on electronic devices such as cell phones, satellite navigation systems, health devices etc. The successful completion of the FineSol project would lift the ultra-miniaturisation/functionality road block and also enable reduction in raw material usage, reduction in WEEE, reduction in pollution and associated health costs and also a major reduction in EU energy demand with all its indirect benefits for environment and society.

The adaptation of RES technologies and machinery and their demonstration at a large-scale on farm level, require supporting measures with respect to spatial planning, infrastructure, different business models and market organisation, trends that are not all under control from a farmers’ perspective. RES4LIVE project will fill these gaps ensuring a wider adoption of RES and energy efficiency technologies, machinery and techniques in livestock farms towards a zero-fossil fuel consumption. A great part of RES4LIVE technical work deals with the adaptation of specific technologies for both renewable energy and biofuels so that to perfectly fit livestock farming and becoming attractive in terms of cost effectiveness, operational flexibility and with low maintenance. The key technologies include PVT systems, modular heat pumps, biogas upgrading to biomethane, and tractors retrofitting to be fuelled by biomethane. Except these technologies, standard RES and other solutions are included in the integrated energy system, such as the use of PV panels, geothermal energy, and electrification of on-farm machinery. The RES4LIVE project emphasises on the demonstration of the selected technologies in 4 pilot farms in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Greece, for a duration of at least 12 months, to serve as the means of de-fossilising evidence and impact generation. The aim is to totally replace the fossil fuel consumption of certain needs in the pilot farms, proving that fossil-free-energy farming is possible to be achieved with a sustainable way. At the same time, the replicability potential is another key activity so that to prepare the commercialization process of the solutions. The overall objective is to provide advanced and cost-effective technologies to the livestock sector that ensure the sustainability of the farms’ operation, and the superior thermal comfort of the animals for increased productivity with minimum climate change impact.