GENESIS, backed by Horizon Europe, aims to make semiconductor manufacturing sustainable, aligning with the European Green Deal, by minimizing environmental impact with eco-friendly innovations. [Objectives] GENESIS aims to replace harmful materials with safer options, improve waste management, and enhance the use and recyclability of scarce materials. [Innovations] GENESIS introduces innovations in three key areas: • Innovative materials: PFAS-free polymer and eco-friendly gas alternatives complying with EU regulations. • Waste & emissions monitoring: Cutting-edge sensors detect hazardous substances for efficient aqueous and gas waste elimination, reducing environmental and health risks. • Scarce material management: New integration technologies optimize material usage and initiate recycling of scarce materials like Gallium, Niobium, and silicon carbide. [Methodology] GENESIS employs four technical work packages to research sustainable material substitution, emission reduction, and resource management. This modular approach promotes scalability and integration with existing processes, fostering a circular economy in the semiconductor sector. Supervised by management work packages, it quantifies environmental efficiency and engages in dissemination to promote European technological achievements [Outcomes] The project targets a 50% cut in hazardous materials, 30% decrease in emissions and waste, and improved scarce material recyclability, boosting EU semiconductor sustainability and global competitiveness. [Impact] GENESIS supports EU's tech sovereignty and resilience through accurate monitoring and sustainable practices. It positions Europe as a leader in sustainable semiconductor tech, setting new standards for impact-oriented communication and dissemination.

Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) are a special class of contaminants because they can undergo transformations through metabolism before their entrance into aquatic and terrestrial environments. Once they reach the environment they are further transformed by abiotic and/or biotic transformation processes and understanding of transformation pathways and identification of transformation products (TP) is a prerequisite for a thorough assessment of their environmental risk. This project proposes the use of Experimental Stream Facility (artificial rivers), a unique facility available at ICRA that will permit simultaneous study of biodegradation, photolysis, and adsorption /desorption processes under different situations, such as intermittent flow (drought), temperature or light fluctuations, among others. State of the art hybrid and high resolution mass spectrometric instrumentation will be used to study transformation pathways and provide a comprehensive and detailed profile of TPs formed. By using an integrated approach and simultaneous study of biotic and abiotic transformation processes TRANSFORMER’s main expected results are: (i) elucidation of transformation pathways (biological and photo induced) and identification of main TPs from a number of relevant pharmaceuticals (including some understudied and, for the first time, a new class pharmaceuticals such as peptidomimetics and peptide therapeutics); (ii) determination of partition coefficients (water-sediment and water-biofilm) of the studied pharmaceuticals and TPs and (iii) identification of potential controlling factors and mechanisms behind in-stream attenuation of pharmaceuticals (biodegradation vs photodegradation vs sorption). Accordingly, we expect that the results produced by this innovative research plan will have substantial impact on the field of inland water research, one of the Europe’s Societal Challenges.

The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, through its pillars, addresses the initiatives to support the region in developing circular economy (CE) strategies and fighting pollution of air, water and soil. Driven by increased demands in water, energy and food, and simultaneously with the necessity to reduce environmental impact, the water treatment sector urges for innovative solutions. According to this wastewater can potentially contribute to the nexus of water, energy and material recovery, concerning the circular-economy design. The SmartWaterTwin project aims to boost knowledge and research excellence in the area of sustainable wastewater treatment and management by increasing the scientific and technical capacities of widening institutions. In the long run, SmartWaterTwin will initiate the paradigm-shifting from linear (traditional) toward a circular (future) model in the water sector in The Republic of Serbia. In addition, it will serve as a “soft instrument” for assessing the boundary conditions for circularity by influencing knowledge levels, collaboration and policy creation. Analysis assessment for the potential benefits of the circular economy for Serbia will be performed and can be extrapolated for WB region. Indicators measuring performance towards the development of CE are competitiveness and innovation, which will be unleashed throughout the project objectives. The project will provide an opportunity for twinning in a coherent international approach to the circular economy through developing a comparative analysis from two perspectives - "thinking and rethinking" of circular economy in the water sector. The project will change the perception of wastewater- do not think about waste but about the source.

SCOREwater focuses on enhancing the resilience of cities against climate change and urbanization by enabling a water smart society that fulfils SDGs 3, 6, 11, 12 and 13 and secures future ecosystem services. We introduce digital services to improve management of wastewater, stormwater and flooding events. These services are provided by an adaptive digital platform, developed and verified by relevant stakeholders (communities, municipalities, businesses, and civil society) in iterative collaboration with developers, thus tailoring to stakeholders’ needs. Existing technical platforms and services (e.g. FIWARE, CKAN) are extended to the water domain by integrating relevant standards, ontologies and vocabularies, and provide an interoperable open-source platform for smart water management. Emerging digital technologies such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data are used to provide accurate real-time predictions and refined information. We implement three large-scale, cross-cutting innovation demonstrators and enable transfer and upscale by providing harmonized data and services. We initiate a new domain “sewage sociology” mining biomarkers of community-wide lifestyle habits from sewage. We develop new water monitoring techniques and data-adaptive storm water treatment and apply to water resource protection and legal compliance for construction projects. We enhance resilience against flooding by sensing and hydrological modelling coupled to urban water engineering. We will identify best practices for developing and using the digital services, thus addressing water stakeholders beyond the project partners. The project will also develop technologies to increase public engagement in water management. Moreover, SCOREwater will deliver an innovation ecosystem driven by the financial savings in both maintenance and operation of water systems that are offered using the SCOREwater digital services, providing new business opportunities for water and ICT SMEs.