All art materials are prone to degradation; in particular, the introduction of new creative manufacturing techniques in the 20th century art has yielded artworks with short lifetime expectancy. Fading, yellowing and discolouration are the most common degradation effects that result from the exposition to UV and visible light and oxidizing agents. The result of the degradation is the irreversible alteration of the appearance of contemporary artworks, which is a patrimony of mankind. This PoC project aims to develop innovative, multi-functional graphene-based products (graphene ‘veils’ and inclusions) that provide UV shielding, de-acidification, oxygen and humidity barriers for the protection of old and modern paintings and artworks. Recent advances in the understanding of the mechanical integrity of large graphene membranes as well as of innovative graphene-transfer processes through the current ERC Tailor Graphene has made possible the emergence of this application of strong societal value. The transparent protective graphene veil can be easily removed so it does not constitute an irreversible intervention on the art object. Moreover, for such an application the price of graphene does not hamper its business potential since the quantities are minimal. Two different classes of products are envisaged; CVD graphene membranes directly deposited to artworks for which transparency is required and graphene flakes that will be dispersed to colour paints and varnishes so as to bestow enhanced UV, oxidation and humidity resistance. The latter paves the way to extend this application to the huge market of architectural paints. A multi-disciplinary approach will be pursued for the implementation of this PoC and involves experimentation with CVD graphene sheets of various morphologies and sizes and the dispersion of nanographene as additives in paints. Finally, the development of a Business Plan will be undertaken in collaboration with business developers and patent specialists.

SPREAD2INNO brings together different innovation stakeholders – incubators, accelerators, innovation businesses, research organizations, consultancies and networks – from crucial European innovation regions: Germany, Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. The goal is implementing scalable, replicable and holistic 2 year program for the provision of high quality business services, and collaboration between different entities of well-connected and less connected regional innovation ecosystems, with immediate impacts on the local and EU level. In order to create a sustainable and replicable model easily adopted by the rest of EU, the consortium will implement a set of activities for enhancing capacity and competitiveness of both business acceleration entities and SMEs and start-ups, particularly: - 6 local events that will provide insight of networking and exploring opportunities across Europe that relate to scaling-up of businesses, along with training courses aimed at improving business and marketing case of businesses, including roundtables for acceleration entities for educational and practical exchange and cross-contamination; - An online platform as a single point of reference for information exchange between different innovation ecosystems about opportunities, events and funding accessible in these regions; - 2 intensive educational/training Academies as well as tailor-made feasibility studies for participants; - A one-week business case and investor training for finalists (at least 50% woman-led businesses) delivered through collaboration of developed and less developed innovation ecosystem entities. The SPREAD2INNO unique and interdisciplinary methodology will enhance business activities in less developed innovation regions, reinforce their acceleration capacity and enable entrepreneurs to scale their concept to a fully concrete solution with strong market potential, subsequently enhancing the development and competitiveness of these regions.

SMART4ALL builds capacity amongst European stakeholders via the development of selfsustained, cross-border experiments that transfer knowledge and technology between academia and industry. It targets CLEC CPS and the IoT and combines a set of unique characteristics that join together under a common vision different cultures, different policies, different geographical areas and different application domains. SMART4ALL brings a new paradigm for revealing “hidden innovation treasures” from SEE and helping them to find the path to market via new, innovative commercial products. As part of its strategy, the project will develop and maintain an active network of DIHs across SEE for supporting academics, start-ups, SMEs, and mid-caps entering the digitization era. The mechanisms for achieving this are the design and implementation of 88 cross-border PAEs that will be executed by the consortium members and by 3rd party consortia (academics, companies and mid-caps). The latter will be supported via well-defined r