Besides the Air Traffic Flow and Control Management (ATFCM) benefits achieved through the implementation of STAM mechanisms, the fast pace time-variant dynamic characteristics of traffic during the execution phase cannot be counterbalanced by the rigidity (technical, staff or set-up time requirements) of low pace airspace capacity mechanisms diming the possibility to implement efficient and effective “capacity-on-demand” measures where and when they are needed. ANTICIPATE aims to extend pre-tactical and tactical ATFCM STAM with a "capacity-on-demand" efficient and effective mechanism to benefit of the networking airspace capacity by a fine tuning distribution of workload among adjacent sector ATCos at execution phase. It aims to avoid the unnecessary regulations on the traffic demand on the day of operation while mitigating present latent capacity inherent to a fragmented management of sectors through a network-minded management of time-stamp perishable mobile areas among sectors. Present proposal rely on the ATM digitalization and the Virtual Centres to enhance present STAM mechanisms with “capacity-on-demand” measures at operational level, paving the way to new airspace capacity management mechanism considering the constant increment on traffic demand through the pairwise adjacent-sector balancing mechanism to longer adjacent-sector chains.

Maritime transport represents the centre of global trade with about 90% of the goods’ volumes and values worldwide. Nowadays, containerships are built with the same basic design principles as the older smaller container ships, without accounting for possible consequences that could impact safety. Cargo fires represents one of the most important threats of this kind of ships (also for ferries with container on the truck). On one hand, fire causes large losses of humans and/or cargoes, on the other hand fire is impacting coastal zone and marine protected areas. Currently, there are no requirements for the installation of fixed fire detection systems above the weather deck of a container ship. Innovative strategies for containership fires prevention and management (OVERHEAT) main goal is to prevent and manage, in case of occurrence fire accidents on board of containerships. OVERHEAT brings novel fire management solutions for Prevention, Early Detection and Response which are key aspects to assure safety of people and the protection of the environment. The development of a Digital Solution (DS) will provide the overall situational picture on board and surrounding the vessel. Furthermore, integration of IoT sensors (fixed and mobile) and UAS will provide the ad-hoc system for the prevention, early detection and rapid response of fire. Best practice and assessment of safety culture will be conducted to prevent fire and understand how people perceive safety. Hence, OVERHEAT prepares a truly new generation of digital fire management solutions: complete, seamless, real time and in line with IMO regulations (integrated in the vessel IT infrastructure). The impact of the proposed solution will be initially evaluated by performing validation activities in simulated environment and then executing demonstration activities in a real environment, with use cases that will be identified, described and detailed during the research activities, to prove the feasibility and benefits.

AENEAS aims to contribute towards climate-neutral and environmental friendly water transport through three new next generation clean energy storage solutions. Eventual impact is an increase of the global competitiveness of the EU waterborne transport sector by European technology leadership for energy storage solutions for diverse waterborne applications. It will focus on increased and early deployment of climate neutral energy storage solutions and significant electrification of shipping. AENEAS will provide solutions to improve overall energy efficiency and drastically lower energy consumption of waterborne transport vessels, founded upon innovative electric energy storage, which is safe and cost competitiveness compared to traditional batteries. To achieve this, AENEAS will develop three innovative electric Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) for waterborne transport, which are advanced beyond the traditional battery systems: - Solid-state batteries (SSB) for constant load waterborne transport applications. - Supercapacitors (SC) for water-borne transport applications for shaving of power peak demands and peaks during loading. - Hybrid system, which combines SSB and SC for waterborne transport applications requiring high energy and power density energy storage solutions The solutions enable (partial or full) electric shipping, taking into account conditions specific ships might encounter, including adverse conditions outside sheltered waters or going upstream on rivers. AENEAS will evaluate them for a range of applications and end uses in short-sea shipping and in-land waterways. For each of these three ESSs, one use-case will be demonstrated at TRL 5. At the same time AENEAS will define the pathway for the three ESSs for application in different ship types, achieving a comprehensive understanding of the ESSs and their applicability for diverse waterborne transport. Finally AENEAS will define a roadmap for full scale on-board demonstrators of two ESSs by 2027.

FLEXSHIP will facilitate the transition of the waterborne sector towards climate neutrality by delivering a digital green concept for electrification of vessels consisting of a Green Digital Twin (GDT) for designing fit-for-purpose vessel electrical grid architectures and integrating a large battery capacity system into two existing vessel (DEMO 1 & 2) electrical systems, a compact, low-weight, modular and simple, high-efficiency battery system, and a safe integration guide of the system onboard ensuring system interoperability The overall goal of FLEXSHIP is to develop and validate safe and reliable, flexible, modular, and scalable solutions for electrification of the waterborne sector. This includes the reliable design and development of modular battery packs; safe on-board integration including the battery system and its associated electrical distribution grid into the vessel’s existing power grid; optimal design of energy management system (EMS) to maximise the operational flexibility and energy efficiency (both full-electric and hybrid), and smart control for improved lifetime of the battery system and critical power components. The objectives will be achieved by 8 WP and 16 partners within 48 months. In WP1 identification of specification and mapping of requirements will be done. In WP2 the vessel electrical architecture will be designed and optimised by means of the Green Digital Twin. In WP3 the development and optimisation of individual components and sub-systems will be done and the testing of the system at component/sub-system level will consist of hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) and software in the loop (SiL) tests in WP4. The full FLEXSHIP system will be tested in two demonstrations in WP5 with minimum 150nm sailing distance and in WP6 contributing to 300nm by green digital twin and achieving sustainability analysis and business plan. In WP7 the full system will be evaluated in an exploitation strategy. The innovations will be brought from TRL4/5 to TRL7.

Maritime security, including the underwater, is of paramount importance to assure the smooth and safe transportation of goods and people to/from the EU ports, as well as to preserve uninterrupted operations of critical coastal-based/river-based/maritime infrastructures. Ships and maritime infrastructures need to be protected against all illegal acts through a) continuous 24/7 underwater security surveillance against potential intruders divers, hostile underwater vehicles and illicit/dangerous containers towed by ships, b) on-demand ships’ hulls scanning/inspection for the best possible detection/recognition/classification of strapped, attached, hidden or misplaced illicit (i.e. narcotics) and dangerous material, c) underwater inspections of ports’ entrances, seabed and docking places foundation for the best possible detection/recognition/classification of dangerous containers (i.e. CBRNE packages and IEDs) at these places, as well as to apply deterrent and response measures, in order to prevent/deter illicit acts and avoid undesired escalation of security incidents. To that end, the multinational and interdisciplinary UnderSec project team, consisting of experts in the maritime security and underwater security domain, research/academic institutions and technology, and End-Users from the Coast Guard, Borders Control, and Port Authorities sectors, will develop a modular/holistic approach Prototype System, consisting of multimodal sensors and robotic assets, for ships’, ports’ and maritime infrastructures’ Underwater Security Situational Awareness and Decision-Making Support, with relevant Response capabilities. Individual technologies will be tested, compared with each other and pre-evaluated in a controlled environment, while the modular components and the system as a whole will be tested and evaluated during real-life PUCs demonstrations in actual operational environments, resulting in the establishment of new knowledge, innovative solutions and advanced processes.