Cancer is rapidly becoming the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the EU, accounting for a quarter of all deaths in EU. Without breakthroughs in treatment, cancer is likely to remain one of the biggest killers in the 21st century. Immunotherapy of cancer by checkpoint inhibitors, vaccines or adoptive T cell therapy is coming of age and has the potential to cure cancer, but is still hampered by some major limitations. For instance, Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) with unmanipulated or engineered T cells (TCR-transgenic and CAR-T cells) has indeed demonstrated success in the treatment of patients affected by leukemias, but is much less effective against lymphomas and solid tumors. One likely explanation is that we do not educate the right type of anti-tumor T cells. The T cells considered to be the gold standard for tumor therapy have stem cell memory features, but the proper and safe way to generate these fit T cells for clinical purposes is still an unresolved matter. Here we propose an advanced transformative technology termed INCITE, utilizing a novel high-resolution 3D microfabrication technology to engineer a specially tailored microenvironment that will be inhabited by cells central for T cells education in order to generate the fittest anti-tumor T cells for advanced adoptive T cell therapy. INCITE will bring together a transdisciplinary consortium capable of developing this innovative platform by combining state-of-the-art 3D printing, computer modeling, bioengineering, bioinformatics, immunology, developmental and cancer biology approaches, toward the development of a functional immune niche for selection and expansion of tumor-rejecting T cells. The INCITE platform will revolutionize the treatment of cancer patients with ACT, with a profound impact on the quality of life and well-being of millions of people.

EcoSolar envisions an integrated value chain to manufacture and implement solar panels in the most ecologic way by maximising resource efficiency, taking into account reuse of materials during production and repurposing solar panel components at end of life stage. EcoSolar will demonstrate that during the lifetime of a solar electricity producing field, individual panels can be monitored, allowing to identify defaulting panels at an early stage, replacing or repairing them and thus to increase the overall energy yield. In WP1, SINTEF&Norsun will work on recovery & reuse during silicon ingot crystallisation, addressing recovery of argon purge gas and work with Steuler on reusable crucibles. In WP2 Garbo will recover Si-kerf-loss during wafering, and with SINTEF work on potential reuse applications, like as Si-feedstock in crystallisation processes, or as resource in crucible manufacturing or lithium ion battery production. In WP3, ISC&SoliTek will look into potential for re-using process water; reducing material resources, like chemicals and silver, by smarter solar cell design, more efficient processes and recovery and reuse of chemicals; AIMEN will develop solar cell monitoring and repair for inline processing in an industrial plant, to enable remanufacturing. In WP4 Apollon will use a module design that results in reduced bill of materials, enables remanufacturing and reuse of components from modules that showed failures after assembly or have been identified as malfunctioning in operating PV installations, based on integrated diagnosis techniques for the detection of failure modes. bifa will collect data from all previous WPs to assess environmental impact of the intended innovations (WP5). Bifa will identify waste streams that are costly and hard to recycle and find opportunities to repurpose those waste products. BCC will disseminate the results and will support the partners with the exploitation and replication potential of the results (WP6).

Flintstone2020 aims to provide a perspective for the replacement of two important CRMs – tungsten (W) and cobalt (Co) – which are the main constituents for two important classes of hard materials (cemented carbides/WC-Co, and PCD/diamond-Co), by developing innovative alternative solutions for tooling operating under extreme conditions. Fundamental knowledge on mechanical properties and wear of different tools, gained in machining tests and dedicated experiments from WP1 is passed onto the respective WPs. WP2 will experiment on small samples with 3-9 mm Ø for testing the fundamental behavior of new B-X phases and particularly as a feedback for binder matrix improvement. In WP3 samples (12 mm Ø) will be investigated from individual HPHT runs for characterization and testing to guide high pressure sintering process optimization. The HPHT process and the samples produced are then upscaled to the industrial mass production level in WP4. In WP5, demonstrator cutting tools from full size HPHT synthesis test runs will be prepared via laser cutting and consecutive macro- and microshaping of tool geometry within WP5. In WP6 aspects of environmental benefits in the total life cycle of the superhard materials will be investigated, including health and safety aspects. WP7 will focus on exploitation and dissemination.