The CCHFVACIM project is an ambitious collaborative effort aimed at developing both prophylactic and therapeutic effective countermeasures against Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV), one of the most threatening vector-borne pathogens, widely distributed, including in the European continent. Deep structural biology studies on viral glycoproteins and investigation of the immunogenicity of the viral antigens will be combined with optimisation of an mRNA vaccine candidate against the virus and characterisation of the resulting protective immunity, as well as with the development of immunotherapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) based on CCHFVs antigenic targets. To achieve the overarching goals, the CCHFVACIM project will build on the success of previous projects such as CCHFever (FP7), CCHFVaccine (H2020) and go the extra mile by initiating a unique One-Health platform strategy to address different aspects of this severe public health threat. On one hand, the project will use several advanced animal models (mice, sheep, and non-human primate) to assess and compare the efficacy of mRNA vaccine candidates, mAbs and therapeutic mRNA; on the other hand, it will establish a biobank from CCHF patients to build up a pipeline for the production of mAbs against CCHFV from their B cells. Importantly, the project will also contribute to capacity building of European infrastructures, with the establishment of a platform on mRNA-based vaccine at one of the partner institutions. Ultimately, CCHFVACIM will permit to develop a road map to bring the most efficacious vaccine candidates and immunotherapy tools to clinical trial Phase I in humans. The project results will be widely disseminated among the scientific community, public health authorities, non-governmental organisations, outbreak management teams, and hospitals, with the final scope of both contributing to contain the burden of CCHF disease and increasing preparedness to new outbreaks.

Natural epidemics and outbreaks of emerging viral epidemics are growing problems internationally. The general aim of the CCHFVaccine project is to develop and deliver a vaccine, which can significantly increase our capacity to control the situation of Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) disease on a global basis. The proposed work program on CCHF virus aims to build a multidisciplinary research network, able to deliver vaccine candidates, methods and procedures eligible for clinical trials, with a special focus on prevention. Thanks to the background, unique facilities and tools available among the consortium participants, CCHFVaccine will deliver tools for countering the threat of this infection in Europe and endemic areas of the world. This work program will attempt to fill gaps in CCHFV virus research on immunology and vaccinology. To achieve this overall aim, an intensive work plan will be put in place with the following specific objectives: i) to produce vaccine candidates, ii) to bring several unique animal models into front line vaccine research, iii) to validate and bring the most promising vaccine candidates to clinical trials, iv) to ensure that an immune mediated protection is adequately understood, v) to perform clinical trials at Phase I and ensure a strategy for the effective deployment and utilization in resource-poor countries, and vi) to link this project to public health bodies, NGOs and vaccine companies. The proposed CCHFVaccine project will succeed in bringing together selected competitive advantages such as: operating capacity with appropriate facilities (state-of-the-art BSL-4s) and the only animal BSL-4 -with capacity to challenge domestic animals in Europe, highly experienced researchers in the development and evaluation of vaccine candidates, authorities and entities of human and animal health, clinical samples from endemic countries, and an international network proven to be functional by the previous EU-funded CCHFever and EDENext.

Let’s harness the floating offshore wind energy potential of the Black Sea, let the wind BLOW. Offshore wind is currently one of the most cost-efficient, clean and scalable power sources. As of today, offshore wind farms rest on bottom-fixed foundations and are mainly deployed in shallow water areas with depths less than 50m. Floating offshore wind energy is expected to play a key role to materialise the vast potential of deep-sea areas. Project BLOW aims at unlocking the Black Sea fLoating Offshore Wind potential, by demonstrating a disruptive cost-efficient floating integrative unit design optimised for low and medium wind speed areas. BLOW will implement a 5 MW demonstrator in the Black Sea and will pave the way to industrial mass production and to the deployment of floating offshore wind farms. In order to accelerate the energy transition in the region, the project will couple synergies with the Oil & Gas sector and foster societal acceptance and cross-border policy development. BLOW targets an expected LCOE of 87€/MWh by 2028 (and 50€/MWh beyond 2030) and an environmental impact reduced by 40%.

The EU's ambition to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and increase networks interconnection, makes the proliferation of hybrid AC/DC grids a promising solution towards a more interoperable and resilient pan-European system. In this context, THEUS project aims to showcase advanced methodologies and tools supporting hybrid grids implementation across High Voltage (HV), Medium Voltage (MV), and Low Voltage (LV) levels. To successfully achieve its objectives, the project will develop a set of six planning and six operation solutions, that will be validated in five use cases addressing the most representative challenges faced by European grids. These use cases will rely on accurate models and will be fed with data from five real grids representing different project stages and voltage levels: a planned transnational HVAC/HVDC transmission interconnector connecting Crete-Cyprus-Israel; an existing distribution hybrid grid in Italy; a planned MVDC distribution grid in Turkey; an existing HVAC/HVDC link between Attica-Crete; an existing MVAC/MVDC/LVDC microgrid in Spain. The validation will be conducted on six test benches that will allow to reach TRL 5 by the end of the project. THEUS assembles a competitive consortium of 15 partners from 8 EU countries, including research organizations, technology manufacturers, electric system operators, a wind farm operator, a SME to guarantee the exploitation of the project solutions, and a European Association to ensure the successful dissemination of the project outcomes. THEUS will directly impact in the electricity system orchestration of future pan-European AC/DC hybrid architecture by performing a validation campaign in which 2 under-planning networks will be designed, and 3 existing networks will be improved in terms of management and operation. Overall, THEUS is expected to achieve 10-30% reductions in energy losses and 15-20% in O&M costs while ensuring the safe operation of hybrid grids with a higher penetration of RES.

VHFMoDRAD will develop and deliver rapid and point-of-care singel/multiplex diagnostic tool(s) that will significantly increase our capacity to handle outbreaks with Filoviruses and other viral hemorrhagic fever diseases in Africa. The overall aim of VHFMoDRAD is to carry on the outcome of the currently running EbolaMoDRAD project to the next level, which is behind of the scope of that project. The goals of VHFMoDRAD will be done via a multidisciplinary research consortium drawn from key European and African research organisations and also industry and SMEs, thus consolidating previous tools and knowledge. VHFMoDRAD will also put in place a strong capacity building programme in West Africa The project will disseminate widely all results as they become available, notably to public health bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), via a strong outreach programme. To achieve this overall aim an intensive work plan will be put in place, with the following specific objectives: - to develop rapid molecular and serological single/multiplex detection methods; - perform preclinical validation of diagnostic tools; - to validate the successful diagnosis tools under field conditions; - implement a strong capacity building programme in West Africa by a twining program; - to exploit results; - to disseminate the results to public health bodies, NGOs, outbreak management teams and local hospitals in West Africa.