Investing in success Research and innovation to boost growth and jobs in Europe - Europa EU
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Investing in success
Research and innovation
to boost growth and jobs
in Europe
Research and
Innovation
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Investing in success
Research and innovation
to boost growth and jobs in Europe
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Directorate A - Framework Programme & Interinstitutional relations
Unit A.1 - External & Internal communication
E-mail: RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels 2012 Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
3
FOREWORD
On 30 November 2011, I announced Horizon 2020, the
European Commission’s proposed €80 billion package for
research and innovation funding, and a critical element of
the drive to create sustainable growth and high value jobs
in Europe.
Between 2014 and 2020, Horizon 2020 will bring all EU research and innovation funding together
under a single programme with three key objectives:
• Excellent Science: Strengthening the EU’s position as world leader in science and attracting the
best talents to work together across Europe;
• Competitive Industries: Strengthening industrial leadership in innovation to get Europe back on
EUROPE DIRECT is a service to help you find answers the path to growth and job creation;
to your questions about the European Union • Better Society: Innovating to tackle societal challenges shared by all Europeans, across six key
themes: Health, Demographic Change and well-being; Food security, sustainable agriculture,
Freephone number (*): marine and maritime research and the bio-economy; Secure, clean and efficient energy; Smart,
green and integrated transport; Climate
00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 action, resource efficiency and raw materials; and Inclusive, innovative and secure societies.
(*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls We need a new vision for European research and innovation in a dramatically changed economic
may be billed environment. Horizon 2020 will provide a direct stimulus to the economy and provide real European
added value. It will secure our science and technology base and industrial competitiveness for future
decades, promising a smarter, more sustainable and more inclusive society.
Horizon 2020 will be the main financial instrument implementing Innovation Union, one of the
Europe 2020 flagship initiatives aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness. It will also help
to bridge the gap between research and the market by helping innovative enterprises develop their
scientific and technological breakthroughs into viable products and services with real commercial
potential. Funding provided by Horizon 2020 will be easier to access thanks to simpler, streamlined
programmes, a single set of rules and less red tape.
LEGAL NOTICE:
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is The Commission will make major efforts to open the programme up to more participants from across
responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. Europe by exploring synergies with funds under the EU’s Cohesion policy. Horizon 2020 will identify
potential centres of excellence in less performing regions and offer them policy advice and support,
More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). while EU Structural Funds can be used to upgrade infrastructure and equipment and build capacity.
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2012 International cooperation will be further promoted in Horizon 2020, in order to strengthen the EU’s
ISBN 978-92-79-22558-1 excellence and attractiveness in research, to tackle global challenges jointly and to support EU ex-
doi 10.2777/4032 ternal policies.
Building on the success of previous research framework programmes, this brochure presents a se-
© European Union, 2012
lection of results from EU funded projects that have shown great strides in innovation and will make
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
a positive change to our daily lives. I believe that with Horizon 2020, we can achieve even more at
European level, bringing our brightest and best together to really tackle the societal grand chal-
Pictures © Fotolia, 2012
lenges, while contributing to European economic recovery and growth.
Printed in Belgium Máire Geoghegan-Quinn,
Printed on elemental chlorine-free bleached paper (ECF) Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.
I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 5
Supporting an
excellent science base
6 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 7
SILKBONE Participants
Germany, Netherlands, Sweden,
United Kingdom (Coordinator)
Using spiders to weave www.silkbone.org
a cure for joint damage FP7 Proj. N° 18060
Total
costs:
€ 2 070 000
EU
contribution:
€ 1 600 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Oct. 2005
Mar. 2008
For many of us, spiders are our worst phobia, the “Spiders are the product of 400 mil- worms. Although they do not pro- aged section of cartilage. At the same time, its “biocom-
stuff of nightmares. But these scuttling, eight-leg- lion years of evolution and they really duce quite the same thing as spider patibility” makes it a perfect base on which the body can
ged creatures could be on the brink of delivering a are incredible little bio-engineers,” silk, silkworms provide silk which is re-grow damaged or missing tissue. This allows the joint
major benefit to human health. says Dr Nick Skaer, CEO of Oxford- similar enough to be used as a kind to heal naturally and completely in a way which often
based medical company Orthox, of raw material – and in much bigger does not happen under current treatment methods.
The key to this sudden transformation of the spi- which is at the forefront of the re- quantities.
der, from the shudder-inducing creepy-crawly we search. At a time when, according to one study, the developed
all know into beneficent fairy godmother, lies in By adding an enzyme to this raw ma- world is facing a 500% increase in knee replacement op-
its web. Not only is spider silk incredibly terial, researchers made an impor- erations in the next two decades, the benefits of Spidrex in
strong. It is also very elastic and re- tant discovery. Its molecules could be both medical and monetary terms are clear.
silient. Most importantly, perhaps, it aligned exactly as they are in spider
Staggeringly, spider silk is six times as strong as steel. is also what scientists call “biocom- silk, thus replicating its amazing qual- And those benefits are not limited to knee joints alone,
Which means that this hitherto overlooked substance is patible”. In other words, human tis- ities. The replicated silk was patented although that is where current research is focused. Sp-
quite possibly the perfect material to help repair damaged sue can grow around and along it. under the name “Spidrex”. idrex technology is potentially applicable to a wide range
human joints. of injuries requiring cartilage and bone repair.
There was just one problem with this It is this material, with a name that
The potential is enormous, say scientists. Knee injuries new miracle material, says Dr Skaer. sounds more like a children’s comic With clinical trials due to start in 2012, Dr Skaer is excited
are just one area where spider silk could provide the an- Spiders don’t exactly produce a lot of it. book hero or a new hi-tech sports about the future.
swer, ending years of agony for sufferers and billions of clothing fabric than a medical break-
euros of costs for national healthcare systems. Aided by a grant of 1.6 million euros through, which promises to revolu- “It’s quite simple, it’s quite straightforward and it’s quite
from the European Commission as tionise the treatment of joint injuries. cheap,” he says. “We’re very close to having a product
Knee injuries can cause crippling disability in both young part of its programme to promote which is ready for implantation in humans now, so it’s not
and old, often leading to osteoarthritis and eventually re- research by small and medium-sized Spidrex’s combination of qualities science fiction, it’s really close to being a reality.”
quiring knee joint replacements. That could all be about enterprises (SMEs), Dr Skaer and his gives it a unique dual function. Its
to change, thanks to the despised – and, sadly, often colleagues came up with the perfect strength makes it an ideal material to Next time you see a spider, treat it with care.
squished - spider. answer to this supply problem: silk- make inserts to replace, say, a dam-
8 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 9
SFERA Participants
Belgium, France (Coordinator),
Italy, United Kingdom
New technology
combats fake medicines www.sfera-research.eu
and saves lives FP7 Proj. N° 222057
Total
costs:
€ 1 460 000
EU
contribution:
€ 990 797 Duration:
from:
to:
Apr. 2008
Mar. 2010
For the global pharmaceuticals industry, the fight It was to find a solution to this prob- Belgium, France, Italy and the UK, Back with the pharmaceuticals industry, the new system
against counterfeit drugs is one of the greatest lem that the EU-funded SFERA pro- was to produce a system capable of guards against another major risk: the danger of bottles
challenges of modern times. According to the ject was set up, using funding from applying the engravings at a rate to getting mixed up during production. On high-speed pro-
World Health Organisation, some fake medicines a programme designed to stimulate match the pharmaceutical industry’s duction lines, the right bottles need to be filled with the
are so cleverly manufactured that they fool even innovation by fostering cooperation demanding production speeds – a right medicines. Obviously, mistakes can be catastrophic.
health professionals. And the results, of course, between small and medium sized dizzying 600 items a minute. The SFERA system means that bottles can be instantly
can be fatal for patients. businesses around Europe. identified and re-routed where necessary.
Combined with a high-speed reader,
The result of the two-year, 1.5 mil- the new technology has already been With the recognition it has already gained, it is hoped
While human lives and health are the most important lion euro project was a unique new recognised within the industry as that the technology developed through SFERA will rapidly
concern, counterfeiting is a problem that plagues other in- laser engraving technique known as the perfect answer to the scourge of become a global standard within the pharmaceutical in-
dustries too. High on this list are perfume manufacturers, ‘Filiglass’. The high resolution system pharmaceutical counterfeiting. dustry – safeguarding human health and finally putting
with large sums of money at stake in sales of high-class, allows tamper-proof bar codes to be an end to a crime which, in the pharmaceutical industry
luxury branded items. engraved on the inside of bottles at While its speed is crucial to indus- alone, is estimated by the WHO to cost the world more
the time of packaging. In combina- tries like pharmaceuticals, another than 12 billion euros a year.
Meanwhile, the proceeds of counterfeiting go to feed or- tion with specialised reading ma- of the features of ‘Filiglass’ makes
ganised crime, possibly even terrorism, and result in huge chines, ‘Filiglass’ makes it possible to it the ideal solution for the different
costs in the form of lost tax revenues. detect even the most sophisticated requirements of the perfume indus-
counterfeits. try. In a sector where aesthetics are
The problem is simple: many medicines, and almost all crucial, the laser engraving is almost
perfumes, come in glass containers which are hard to pro- Critical to the success of the project invisible. More than that, it can even
tect against the counterfeiters. Ink-based markings are was the need to produce a system be used to produce attractive light
easily erased. The tags needed for Radio Frequency Iden- which was not just a reliable safe- diffraction effects that actually en-
tification (RFID) can be removed or altered. Laser mark- guard against counterfeiting, but hance the product – a real ‘win-win’
ing might be the answer, but existing techniques produce also one which was practical to de- situation.
microscopic cracks in the glass. ploy. One of the key achievements
of SFERA, involving 9 SMEs from
10 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 11
NA-NOSE Participants
Israel (Coordinator)
The simple breath test http://lnbd.technion.ac.il
that can detect cancer FP6 Proj. N° 42348
Total
costs:
€ 1 730 000
EU
contribution:
€ 1 730 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Apr. 2007
Mar. 2011
No-one wants to be told that they By detecting cancer without having to wait for of the NA-NOSE, that grant could the device can not only detect cancer but also distinguish
have cancer. But the earliest possible tumours to grow, the NA-NOSE offers a unique be repaid many times over in saved between different types of cancer including lung, breast,
diagnosis is often the key to ensuring early warning system that could save thousands health care costs, if early test results colorectal, prostate and head and neck.
survival. of lives, allowing cancers to be diagnosed and are anything to go by.
treated earlier than has ever been possible be- The scientist who led the research, Professor Hossam
So a new technique developed by fore. It would be especially valuable in diagnosing When breath-tests were carried out Haick of the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), was
scientists which can ins-tantly detect cancers that are otherwise hard to detect in time. on an initial group of 62 volunteers inspired to carry out the research after witnessing the suf-
cancer even in its very earliest stages, – some with head and neck cancer, ferings of a friend who had leukaemia.
using just a simple breath-test, offers some with lung cancer, and some of
the clear hope of a major break- Nor does it stop with cancer. The NA-NOSE will potentially whom were healthy – the NA-NOSE Extensive further testing of the NA-
through in improving cancer survival be able to pick up early signs of other serious diseases as correctly diagnosed all of the patients NOSE will be required. But if all goes
rates. well, such as Parkinson’s, Kidney Disease, Liver Disease, with the two types of cancer. It also well, says Professor Haick, it could be
Alzheimer’s or MS – making it truly a “‘wonder device”. correctly identified all but two of the in use for breast and colorectal can-
Designed to mimic a dog’s highly sen- healthy patients. cer patients within three years and
sitive sense of smell, the new “elec-
“At first, I thought to myself this is science fiction. It can’t for other types of cancer in about
tronic nose” takes a sample of the
be true,” says Professor Abraham Kuten, one of the scien- The secret of the NA-NOSE lies in a seven years.
patient’s breath and gives an instant
tists involved in developing the NA-NOSE. row of sub-microscopic (nanoparticle)
reading - not only of whether can-
cer is present, but how far advanced gold sensors, which can detect tiny Thanks to this revolutionary new
it is. Early tests for the device have But based on the successful results so far, Professor Kuten molecular changes that occur in the “electronic nose”, with its promise of
already shown extremely exciting re- says, it could turn out to be “a very important tool in the blood of cancer patients. They can reliable, non-invasive and inexpensive
sults. early detection of cancer.” do this at levels of concentration so early diagnosis, screening for cancer
low that it has been likened to detect- could be on the verge of entering a
Known as the NA-NOSE (short for The potentially breakthrough project was funded by a ing one single flower in a vast field whole new world.
Nano Artificial Nose), the test works 1.7 million euro Marie Curie Excellence Team grant from of flowers - using the sense of smell
by spotting microscopic changes in the European Commission. These grants are designed to alone. The ability to literally “sniff out” can-
the body that occur when cancer is enable promising researchers to carry out leading-edge cer and other major diseases could
present. research of particular importance to Europe. In the case Using these tiny molecular traces, indeed become a reality.
12 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 13
ENTANGLED BA LKANS Participants
Bulgaria (Beneficiary)
Revisiting
Balkans history to achieve http://entangledbalkans.eu
a more unified future FP7 Proj. N° 230177
Total
costs:
€ 1 560 000
EU
contribution:
€ 1 560 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Jan. 2009
Dec. 2013
As anyone who has tried to study it will know, lines. Individual national identities with the West and with Russia have Supported by an ERC grant of €1.5 million for five years,
the history of the Balkans is as complex as that have been entrenched in the histori- made this approach, based on a Professor Daskalov and his four team members aim to
of any region in the world. It is an area into ography, which in turn has led to even transnational and cross-disciplinary present a new vision of the modern history of the Balkans
which are compressed a large number of eth- deeper entrenchment of those feel- perspective, particularly relevant. It that will challenge the entire historical landscape of the
nic groupings and national identities, charac- ings of separate national identity and also contributes to ‘global history’, a region.
terised by shifting borders and alliances, and division. new trend in historical studies that
long-held grievances, rivalries and tensions. revisits national histories to place ‘The “entangled history” approach does not aim to har-
Aided by a European Research Coun- them in a more global perspective, monise the past and smooth out past conflict. The con-
cil (ERC) grant awarded in 2008, Pro- thus transcending established disci- tacts, movements, exchanges, transfers, etc. were more
A visit to the Western Balkans shows fessor Roumen Daskalov from the plinary boundaries between history, often asymmetrical and violent than harmonious and
how deep the scars of the bloodshed New Bulgarian University of Sofia, is sociology, political science, interna- peaceful. Still there is some positive and integrative value
of the 1990s, after the break-up of aiming to bring a fresh new perspec- tional law and linguistics. in showing how “entangled” the histories of the present-
Yugoslavia, were and still are. As TV tive to this history. day Balkan nations and states were and still are,’ says
images and newspaper reports made The relevance of this approach quick- Professor Daskalov.
clear on an almost daily basis, the ‘Modern Balkan history has tradi- ly becomes clear when one consid-
scale of violence exceeded our com- tionally been studied in the national ers, for example, how interconnected Achieving lasting peace and reconciliation in this
mon understanding, with human paradigm as separate national his- and ‘entangled’ were the Greek, Ro- troubled part of the European continent is an immense
rights abuses, massacres, torture, tories taking place within bounded manian, Bulgarian and Macedonian challenge. But Professor Daskalov hopes to see his research
rapes and ethnic cleansing on all state territories. (…) [However] these nationalisms over the years. Despite results contributing to that process of reconciliation, and
sides. national historiographies show some their rivalries and hostilities, they also to the better integration of the Balkans region into a wider
transnational aspects which have copied and borrowed from each other Europe.
Despite this inextricably interlinked been forged throughout time from extensively.
experience, the ‘entangled history’ of various economic, political and cul- ‘I can imagine such research as promoting good neighbour
the Balkans has rarely been studied tural influences from abroad,’ says This pattern was repeated many times relations rather than fostering divisiveness and separa-
from a ‘relational’ or ‘transnational’ Professor Daskalov. throughout the Balkans, as minorities tion,’ he says.
perspective. To the contrary, the and refugees interacted with the
area’s history has been formulated The complexities of the Balkans and dominant nationalities in the region.
almost exclusively along national their long-standing relations both
I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 15
Building industrial
leadership in Europe
16 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 17
CHILL - ON Participants
Brasil, Chile, China, France,
Germany (Coordinator), Island,
Enhancing safety Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Spain,
Turkey, United Kingdom
at every step in www.trace.eu.org/index.php
the food supply chain FP6 Proj. N° 16333
Total
costs:
€ 15 530 000
EU
contribution:
€ 10 100 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Jul. 2006
Dec. 2010
Few would dispute that the emergence of chilled If it could be achieved, it was a pre- A ‘Shelf-Life Predictor’ allows a pro- ply chain. Tests have already tracked Atlantic cod from
and frozen food technologies in the last century cious prize indeed, not only for the duct’s remaining shelf life to be as- Iceland to France, hake being transported from Chile to
was a major advance for modern society, trans- consumer, but also for the food indus- sessed at any point along the supply Spain, and frozen tilapia as it journeyed right through the
forming all our lives and bringing convenience and try, with strict regulations to observe, chain. And clever devices called ‘Time supply chain to China.
choice. In Europe today, consumption of chilled competitive pressures to deal with, Temperature Indicators’ are labels at-
and frozen foods is rising by more than 10 per and precious reputations to protect. tached to each product which change Where consumer food safety is concerned, there is no
cent a year. colour in accordance with exposure to room for compromise. Safety and confidence are vital. For
Led by the Technology Transfer Cen- different temperatures over different the food industry, reputation is vital – and easily lost. As
But there is a downside. The safety issues associated with tre of Bremerhaven and involving 26 time scales. This information can be a result of the CHILL-ON project and its unique combina-
the handling of such food products remain a major public partners from 13 countries, the 15.6 transmitted wirelessly to a control tion of specialisms, society can today enjoy the enormous
concern. Food scares regularly hit the headlines. And food million euro project took four and a centre. benefits of chilled and frozen food
poisoning caused by the incorrect handling of these prod- half years. It was truly multi-disci- in greater confidence than
ucts can be fatal. plinary, bringing together experts in All this information, and much else ever before.
fields ranging from bio-chemistry to besides, is fed into the heart of the
The problem is the large number of stages in the pro- information technology, from genet- system – an information manage-
duction process ‘from farm to fork’ – from farm produc- ics to packaging, and from microbi- ment system accessed via the web
ers to intermediate suppliers to final manufacturers, all ology to logistics, engineering and known as TRACECHILL. Through this,
through a range of transportation links. Many stages, in mathematics. users can gain real-time information
other words, when a small lapse can easily go unnoticed on the exact freshness and previous
and have catastrophic results. The numerous breakthroughs incor- history of every single product, wher-
porated in the final CHILL-ON system ever it is on its journey from farm to
CHILL-ON, a major EU-funded research project, set out to included methods not only to detect fork.
provide a solution to this problem. The ambitious goal was the presence of food pathogens - the
to achieve seamless control and monitoring from start bugs which can cause poisoning – but In effect, this radical new system
to finish of the supply chain, thus allowing risk to be as- also to predict their future growth in provides not just a ‘snapshot’ of any
sessed, controlled and minimised in a way never possible given temperature conditions. product at any point, but a continuous
before. ‘video’ of its journey along the sup-18 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 19
FIREROB Participants
Greece, Croatia (Coordinator),
United Kingdom, Spain
Video games
inspire real-life www.dok-ing.hr/index.php/new-projects/mvf-5/
firefighting robot FP7 Proj. N° 222303
Total
costs:
€ 1 050 000
EU
contribution:
€ 803 315 Duration:
from:
to:
Jul. 2008
Jun. 2010
Reckless of the raging heat and the billowing fire- controlled by an operator using a Firerob also has a GPS system enabling it to be navigated autonomous. “I think a real robotic
balls, the firefighter advances undaunted towards joystick. accurately, and software which lets it “see” and recog- vehicle has to do everything alone,
the blazing car. Getting within range to start nise objects – such as dangerous or flammable materials without the operator,” he says.
dousing the flames, the firefighter spots a person “It’s very simple to drive,” says Zoran which need to be removed.
slumped unconscious over the steering wheel and Boskovic, the man in charge of Re- Freed from the need to control the
messages back to colleagues to summon help. search and Development at DOK-ING, The cost of developing the Firerob prototype was largely Firerob’s movements, the operator
during a practical demonstration. met by an 800,000 euro European Union grant. That grant would be able to concentrate exclu-
Even though the driver survives the inferno as
“We actually took the idea from video was made under a scheme designed to help small and sively on the camera images and de-
a result, the firefighter never receives a bravery
games.” medium sized business in Europe work together and come termine the correct strategy to fight
medal - or indeed any kind of recognition. This
up with innovations that would otherwise be impossible if the fire. “That is the next goal,” says
kind of dramatic rescue is just part of a routine
Looking part fire-engine, part bull- they worked alone. Boskovic.
day’s work
dozer and part military tank, Firerob
The reason? This firefighter is a highly developed moves on caterpillar tracks. Up front, In the case of Firerob, one direct benefit of the grant was From an idea provided by video gam-
robot, not a human being. it has a bulldozer blade equipped with that it put DOK-ING in contact with a Scottish firm, Scot- ing to saving lives in the most haz-
a gripper tool. In true Robocop style, ATRI, which provided special heat-resistant paint allowing ardous of real-life situations, scien-
Meet Firerob, a unique firefighting machine packed with it can punch through brick or concrete the machine to work for longer in the intense heat of a tific innovation really is turning fiction
state-of-the-art technology. walls and pick up objects weighing up blaze. into reality.
to 5 tonnes.
It may sound like something out of the film Robocop, but As DOK-ING’s Sales Manager, Mladen Jovanovic, points
it is already a reality. Thanks to Firerob, blazes impossible On-board, Firerob boasts seven cam- out, the potential of Firerob is vast. “This machine can
for conventional firefighting techniques can now be suc- eras, including a thermal imaging be used in nuclear power plants, the chemical industry, oil
cessfully overcome - in collapsing buildings, in confined system which allows it to spot people. refineries, ammunition depots. That means in all indus-
spaces like tunnels, or in other hazardous locations. tries and situations where the object might explode any
“It can recognise human silhouettes second,” he says.
The potential for saving human lives is clearly enormous. in smoke and inform the operator, so
the operator can pull back the ma- Two Firerobs have been sold to the Russian government,
Developed by Croatian firm DOK-ING, better know for chine and send the firefighters to res- and R&D director Zoran Boskovic is already planning fur-
producing mine-clearing machines, Firerob is remotely cue,” says Boskovic. ther improvements. He wants to make Firerob even more20 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 21
PROPRALINE Participants
Belgium, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Sweden (Coordinator),
The Hi-Tech recipe Hungary, United Kingdom,
Switzerland
for the perfectly www.sik.se/propraline/programme.htm
preserved praline FP7 Proj. N° 218423
Total
costs:
€ 3 790 000
EU
contribution:
€ 2 760 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Oct. 2010
Sept. 2011
We have all experienced the disap- It is a major problem for the European chocolate That was why the EU chose to fund a research project The composition and processing of the
pointment. Opening a box of expensive industry. As much as 143,000 tonnes of chocolate called PROPRALINE, a three year programme involving filling are also important considera-
praline chocolates with pleasurable are affected either by ‘fat bloom’ or by cracking, leading brand chocolate producers including Belgium’s tions, with the type of oil used in fat-
anticipation - only to discover that they with a cost to the European industry of 1.2 billion Guylian, large suppliers to the industry, specialist research based fillings being a key determinant
appear to have gone off, even though euros a year. institutes and SME asso-ciations, to come up with a much- of bloom development. Cracking can
it is well before their ‘use-by’ date. needed solution. be exacerbated when the filling and
The European chocolate sector is a world-lead- the casing contract differently during
Covered with a dull, white film, they er, comprising around 2,000 firms, mostly small The group conducted intensive research into ways of pre- cooling.
look as if they have gone mouldy. or medium sized enterprises (SMEs), employing venting both fat bloom and cracking. Cracking is caused
some 200,000 people. Its exports are worth 3 bil- when liquid content from the filling passes into the outer The PROPRALINE project clearly dem-
In reality, it is not as bad as it looks. lion euros a year. casing of chocolate, making the sugar and cocoa particles onstrated that the world of high-class
That apparent mould is nothing more there swell. This results in stresses to the chocolate, which praline chocolates is a refined and
than what is known in the chocolate And yet it is beset by what seems an intractable problem. lead to cracks. technically complex one. There is in-
industry - admittedly unappetisingly Its products, which consumers quite reasonably expect to deed more to that box of chocolates
- as ‘fat bloom’. Caused by fats pen- be presented in perfect condition, are extraordinarily vulner- As a result of the research, funded under an EU programme than meets the eye.
etrating from the praline centre to the able to the dangers of fat bloom and cracking. The reputa- intended to stimulate cooperation and innovation among
surface of the chocolate and forming tion of a fine luxury brand can be destroyed in an instant. SMEs, the teams identified a number of key control fac- Fortunately, with the research results
a thin crystallised layer, it is no danger tors. High on this list is the process of ‘tempering’ the cocoa due to be made available to the indus-
to human health. On the flipside, if the industry could find a way of butter – the treatment of it before it crystallises and try through a series of workshops and
extending shelf-life and creating more certainty becomes solid. A consistent, reliable and repro- other initiatives, it can be confidently
But it is fatal to our enjoyment of the that its products would reach the ducible process is vital. The cooling of the expected that fat bloom and cracking
chocolates. They certainly cannot be consumer unspoiled, it could chocolate is also key, as will be things that meet the consum-
offered to friends and guests. More create a huge boost is the shape and er’s eye with much less frequency.
often than not, the chocolates end up in sales and thickness.
in the bin – or taken back to the shop. exports. And Europe’s chocolatiers can continue
to lead the world.22 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 23
SPEED-FX Participants
Portugal, Spain (Coordinator),
United Kingdom
Breakthrough film
technology paves the way www.speedfx.org
towards Oscars FP5 Proj. N° 34337
Total
costs:
€ 3 514 018
EU
contribution:
€ 2 100 000 Duration:
from:
to:
May 2002
April 2004
Millions of people saw the multi-Academy Award efficient, more flexible – and cheaper Founded by a small group of former equivalent financial commitment.
winning film, The King’s Speech. What few peo- - system for cinema post-production employees from a large cinema pro- Thanks to the 3.5 million euro SPEED-
ple will know is that this box office hit was made than anything previously available. duction company, FilmLight was aided FX project, of which 2.1 million euros
possible, at least in part, by a groundbreaking The impact was to bring post-produc- by experts at UPF who provided the was provided by the EU, FilmLight
research and development project funded by the tion within the reach and the budget technical research and development was able to out-compete more estab-
European Commission. of far more users than ever before, input to provide the new applications lished players and establish itself as
and to propel FilmLight from a stand- required, and who ensured that the a clear market leader, quickly achiev-
Thanks to carefully targeted EC funding, a small UK start- ing start to recognised industry lead- new open architecture system would ing sales that dwarfed the initial
up company was able to team up with a leading Span- ership. be reliable. project cost.
ish university to revolutionise the world of cinema post-
production. Previous post-production systems As well as using standard PCs, the From this initial breakthrough, Film-
required users to buy expensive pro- new product, Baselight, incorporates Light went on to win a highly prestig-
Post-production includes all of the film-making work that prietary hardware suites. Each time industry-standard technologies for ious UK accolade - the 2006 Queen’s
takes place after the end of the actual shooting of the film a user needed to upgrade, an en- other key parts of the system such Award for Enterprise in International
– including key tasks such as editing, adding special ef- tirely new system had to be bought. as computer memory, storage de- Trade. In 2010 it scooped the Scien-
fects and transferring the original motion picture to video Working in close cooperation with vices, graphics cards and networking tific and Engineering Academy Award.
or digital format. Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in capabilities. With the whole system
Barcelona, the unique contribution running on Linux, an open-source op- The King’s Speech may have been
As a result of the project, known as SPEED-FX, UK of FilmLight was to create a system erating system, the package can be about King George VI’s battle to over-
company FilmLight was able to develop a radically more which bypassed this need for special- easily upgraded as necessary. come a crippling stutter. But there
ised hardware. has been nothing at all stuttery about
This flexibility also means the system FilmLight’s dramatic rise to interna-
By creating purpose-built software is unlikely to become obsolete, in the tional success as a result of the vision
programmes, FilmLight made it pos- way that a purely hardware-based of the SPEED-FX project.
sible to link ordinary personal com- solution would do.
puters into a single system, thereby
creating a kind of ‘super-computer’ As a small start-up, FilmLight’s foun-
to replace the old-style hardware ders had the vision and commitment,
requirement. but like all start-ups they needed anI n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 25
Tackling societal challenges
for a better society26 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 27
AQUAFIT4USE Participants
The Netherlands (Coordinator),
Belgium, Czech Republic,
Helping industry conserve Germany, Denmark, Spain,
France, Italy, Sweden, Slovenia,
Poland, United Kingdom
the world’s most www.aquafit4use.eu
valuable asset FP7 Proj. N° 211534
Total
costs:
€ 14 470 000
EU
contribution:
€ 9 650 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Jan. 2008
May 2012
In a 21st century world facing the twin challenges finite water resources is clear. The drinking water – to be on the safe AQUAFIT4USE has allowed freshwater use for cooling
of climate change and rapid population growth, question is: how? side. This is not needed, but most in- towers to be cut by an impressive 80 per cent.
there seems little doubt that water is set to be- dustries do not really know what the
come the most precious resource on the planet. Some of the answers are starting to real demands for their processes are.” • Pilot tests of a new non-chemical technology to pre-
Its sustainable use is going to become ever more come from a major European Union vent biofouling (the growth of organisms like algae) at
vital for human survival. project bringing together 34 partners In response to this, the aims of the a chemical plant in Sweden have resulted in an 80 per
including research institutes and, cru- AQUAFIT4USE project are to provide cent reduction. Biofouling is one of the biggest water-
Industry accounts for a large propor- cially, a high proportion of industrial ways of achieving sustainable water related costs for industry and usually requires chemical
tion of our water use. Its total con- water users. Running for four years use in the four industries by identi- treatment.
sumption is projected to increase by until the middle of 2012, the 14.5 fying and precisely meeting these
more than 50% between 1995 and million euro ‘AQUAFIT4USE’ project ‘real demands’. The hope is that this Ultimately, the aim is to ‘close the water cycle’. This means
2025 as industrialisation spreads, aims to help these four water-inten- should lead to a reduction in freshwa- making it possible for water to be managed and re-used
reaching an estimated 1,170 cubic sive industries to reduce their fresh- ter needs of as much as 30 per cent. so that fresh water intake is no longer needed. There is
kilometres. That is enough to fill a water needs in a significant way. still a long way to go, but through the AQUAFIT4USE pro-
100 meter deep swimming pool cov- Already, the project has recorded no- ject Europe has shown its ability to take the lead in the
ering the entire area of Paris. As the project name implies, the fun- table successes: effort to preserve the world’s most precious resource.
damental approach involves examin-
Four of the most water-intensive in- ing more closely than ever before the • New water quality management No longer is water the consumable that it was
dustries are paper, food, textiles and precise quality of water needed for software has helped industrial us- seen as in the past. In the world of today,
chemicals. The pulp and paper indus- specific industrial processes. In other ers define their water quality needs it is a highly valuable asset, to be
try, for example, uses more water to words, to define and manage the pro- better. This alone has cut freshwa- managed and sustained.
produce a ton of its product than any vision of water ‘fit for use’. ter use by between 20 and 50 per
other industry. cent, depending on the industry.
As the project’s co-ordinator Willy
The potential impact such indus- van Tongeren puts it: “Nowadays, it • By developing a new technology
tries can have on the world’s ability is common that the quality of water to remove salt from cooling wa-
to make more sustainable use of its used is unnecessarily high – often ter, which can then be re-used,28 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 29
DE-LIGHT Participants
The Netherlands, Poland, Latvia,
Finland, United Kingdom,
Adapting Formula 1 Germany (Coordinator), Norway,
Portugal, Sweden, Croatia,
Romania
technology to aid www.delight-trans.net
the rail industry FP6 Proj. N° 31483
Total
costs:
€ 3 710 000
EU
contribution:
€ 2 500 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Jan. 2006
Jan. 2010
At first sight, train drivers’ cabs and Formula 1 cars Formula 1 cars use extremely strong, materials for use in a wide range of ‘sandwich’ construction, in which an aluminium honeycomb
may not seem to have much in common. But a lightweight materials known as car- transport systems. After three years structure and a polymer foam core are enclosed in outer
research project funded by the European Commis- bon composites to help achieve the of research, a team from Newcastle layers of special glass-reinforced plastic. The effect is simi-
sion has led to a potential breakthrough for the rail high performance they need. But such University in the UK, working in col- lar to the composites used in Formula 1 - but at much lower
industry - by adapting technology most commonly materials are highly specialised and laboration with Bombardier Transpor- unit cost.
found in high performance racing cars. uneconomic for extensive use in trains. tation and Portuguese manufacturing
firm AP&M, succeeded in producing a Crucially, the inherent strength of the new construction
The results promise to provide the rail industry
The answer for the rail industry came prototype lightweight train cab which eliminates the need for steel elements. This reduces not
with trains that are more environmentally-friendly,
through a multi-year project funded reduces the weight of the traditional only the weight, but also the number of separate parts re-
easier and cheaper to produce, and less costly for
under the European Commission’s DE- cab by a remarkable 40%. quired. In addition to the 40% weight reduction, the new
rail companies in terms of track maintenance. An
LIGHT programme, which was aimed cab reduces the number of separate component parts by
all round win-win situation.
at developing improved light-weight The breakthrough technology behind up to 75%. And this in turn reduces overall costs by up to
the new cab takes the form of a 20%, as assembly and outfitting are far simpler than before.
The rail industry’s needs are clear: lightweight materials for
trains in order to increase energy efficiency and reduce the All of this is achieved while still meeting stringent crash-
damage to tracks, and reduced costs. All, of course, without worthiness requirements.
compromising safety.
“It’s great to finally see the cab in real life,” says lead de-
The problem is that conventional train cabs, made from signer Conor O’Neill of Newcastle University’s rail research
welded steel units, can weigh up to one tonne each. With a centre. “I’ve been staring at a virtual model on my com-
cab at each end of the train, the potential for weight reduc- puter screen for the last three years, and it’s very satisfying
tion is clear. On top of that, traditional cab designs tend to to see the real thing.”
be very complex, incorporating a large number of parts, all
made from different materials. That is because they need It is intended that the cab will first go into commercial use
to meet a range of physical demands, including strength, in Bombardier’s Spacium trains on suburban services in
crashworthiness, aerodynamics and insulation. As a result, Paris.
assembly costs are high.30 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 31
LIFEVALVE Participants
Hungary, Netherlands,
Switzerland (Coordinator),
Grow your own: Germany, Austria
The “living” heart valve www.remedi.uzh.ch/lifevalve.html
replacement FP7 Proj. N° 242008
Total
costs:
€ 16 070 000
EU
contribution:
€ 9 880 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Nov. 2009
Oct. 2014
It is high on the list of every expectant All that could be about to change. As a result of an As Professor Hoerstrup explains: “We take the cells of the eight contributing different aspects of
parent’s anxieties. Of every 100 new- EU-funded research project known as “Lifevalve”, baby, we put them onto a material that has the shape of the technology, Professor Hoerstrup
born babies, one is born with a con- two breakthrough technologies are being combined a heart valve, and then it grows in and forms a new heart says the EU involvement was crucial. “I
genital heart defect. Of these, half will to provide a solution. valve, a living heart valve.” think it’s only with such a combination
need open-heart surgery to replace a that you can really go forward quickly,”
heart valve. It is a traumatic and life- A “living” heart valve, made from the baby’s own tissue and Eventually, the framework which supports the cells at the he says.
threatening operation. able to grow with the baby, could now start of the process biodegrades, leav-
be just a few years away. Moreover, ing only the living tissue heart valve. The first “living valve” could be im-
Even if this operation is successful, the doctors would be able to perform the planted into a patient as soon as 2014.
problems are far from over. Replace- valve implant without the need for The second pioneering technology
ment heart valves risk rejection by the open-heart surgery. concerns the way the new valve is 63 years after the first ever replace-
body, require permanent medication, inserted into the patient. Instead of ment operation in 1951, medical
and are prone to wearing out or breaking. “The aim of our project is to create liv- a major operation, as now, which in- science is on the brink of a radical
ing heart valves made of the patient’s volves cutting through the breastbone transformation which promises an end
Most importantly of all, perhaps, they own cells,” says Simon Hoerstrup, Di- and actually stopping the heart, the to the tragic loss of young lives, and
are not capable of growing with the rector of the Swiss Centre of Regen- Lifevalve project has developed “mini- the repeated trauma, caused by heart
baby’s body. Eventually, they have erative Medicine at the University Hos- mally invasive” tech-nology. Using a valve surgery.
to be replaced to keep pace with the pital in Zurich. catheter, the new valve can be inserted
growing heart. into a blood vessel in the patient’s leg, For the parents of that one baby in
The key to this is a new technology for example, and then simply pushed every 100, that must seem nothing
So babies born with heart problems called “tissue engineering”. Cells taken up into position in the heart. short of miraculous.
face not just one traumatic opera- from the baby by means of a minor
tion, but potentially a lifetime of them biopsy are cultivated and multiplied Funded by a grant of 9.9 million euros
– each one a new risk to survival. For in the laboratory. These cells are then from the EU’s programme to assist in-
many families in this situation, it must “seeded” onto a 3D model of a heart novation in the health arena, Lifevalve
feel like an almost endless game of valve, on which they continue to grow. brought together eight partners from
Russian roulette. all over Europe. With each of those32 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 33
Participants
NITROEUROPE Poland, Hungary, The Netherlands, Germany,
Italy, Estonia, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain,
Sweden Norway, France, Italy, Russian Federation,
China, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Ukraine, Ireland,
Shedding light United Kingdom (Coordinator), Slovakia,
Croatia, Finland, Austria, Portugal
on an overlooked threat www.nitroeurope.eu
to our planet FP6 Proj. N° 17841
Total
costs:
€ 26 970 000
EU
contribution:
€ 16 600 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Feb. 2006
Apr. 2011
As the overwhelmingly dominant element in the Nitrogen in the air is harmless. To All of which explains why the recently nitrogen pollution, estimating the
atmosphere around us, and one of the four most be used, it needs to be changed into published European Nitrogen Assess- total cost of the impact on human
common elements in living organisms, it gets sur- “reactive nitrogen” (Nr). This transfor- ment, to which NitroEurope made a health, biodiversity and climate
prisingly little attention. mation occurs mainly as a result of major contribution, described the is- change at as much as 320 billion eu-
natural bacterial activity, or by human sue as one of the biggest challenges ros per year. Meanwhile, air particles
Especially when its impact on humans and the intervention in the form of chemical of the 21st century. based on Nr are reckoned to reduce
planet has been described, by a recent expert re- engineering. average European life expectancy by
port, as “one of the biggest challenges of the 21st In order to tackle the problem, it is six months.
century”. Perhaps the most familiar form of re- important to understand it. This was
active nitrogen is in fertilisers. Here, the primary aim of the NitroEurope The project also revealed that, of the
Nitrogen makes up 78 per cent of the beneficial effect of Nr is clearest. project – studying the Nr issue in reactive nitrogen present in crops in
the air we breathe. It is an essen- It is estimated that, if humans had unprecedented detail, in order to un- Europe, only 15 per cent is used to
tial building block in all living things. not started using it in fertiliser in the derstand exactly how Nr behaves and feed humans directly, with 85 per
But its story demonstrates that it is early 1900s, half of today’s popula- impacts the environment. cent used to feed animals. From this,
possible to have too much of a good tion would not be alive. a key conclusion was clear. Reducing
thing. Despite its life-giving benefits, One achievement of the 27 million meat and dairy consumption would
nitrogen also poses a growing threat But excess quantities of reactive ni- euro project was the establishment provide a major part of the solution
to humans. trogen cause a range of problems. It of a ‘European Nitrogen Budget’. This to the world’s nitrogen problem.
damages soil and water quality, pol- showed that Europe produces 15.6
That threat has now reached such lutes the air and contributes to the million tons of Nr per year, with al- The Nr threat is clear. But so, too, is
proportions that “business as usual” greenhouse effect. Nitrates in water most three quarters coming from fer- the way forward. As a result of the
is no longer a viable response. It affect human health, increasing the tilisers. The remainder is produced by understanding created by the work of
was to address this issue that an EU- risk of bowel cancer. In the air, reac- combustion from transport or indus- NitroEurope, there is no reason why
funded, five year project called “Nitro- tive nitrogen creates pollutants which trial processes. humanity cannot now start to tackle
Europe” was set up in 2006, bringing can lead to respiratory and heart this major 21st century challenge.
together 62 partner organisations disease. The researchers were able to put
from 24 countries. an economic value on the effects of34 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 35
OPENAIR Participants
Romania, Germany, United Kingdom,
France (Coordinator), Russian Federation, Egypt,
How a holistic approach Italy, Switzerlad, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Sweden,
Poland, The Netherlands, Finland
can help aircraft www.xnoise.eu/index.php?id=387
noise reduction FP7 Proj. N° 234313
Total
costs:
€ 30 140 000
EU
contribution:
€ 18 270 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Jan. 2009
Mar. 2013
For millions of people around the world, the un- At the same time, the demand for modern blight of aviation noise pollu- flows behave and how aerodynamic forces interact with
welcome and often deafening intrusion of jet air- aviation, both from private consum- tion is tackled. surfaces to create noise. With 15 months still to go of the
craft roaring overhead is a daily annoyance. More ers and from businesses, is growing four-year life of the project, large-scale testing of a num-
than that, the stress it causes is increasingly be- rapidly. The inexorable move towards Involving 47 partners worldwide, ber of new technologies and methods is well under way.
ing associated with physical and mental health more and more flights (and more and including major players in the aero-
problems. more airports or runways), means the nautics field such Dassault, Rolls Key to the project’s success is the unique collaboration it
need to find ways of making aero- Royce, Volvo Aero and EADS, the has been able to generate between a range of organisa-
The problem is not confined to those who live in planes significantly quieter is an ur- ‘OPENAIR’ project is focused on tak- tions across Europe. This has been the crucial factor ena-
close proximity to an airport. People living miles gent one. ing a holistic view of the aircraft. bling the researchers to take a holistic view of the issue
away but under the take-off or landing paths can and to develop techniques which make it possible not just
find their lives similarly plagued. So, also, can Aircraft noise is caused by two things. Rather than looking, for example, at to know what noise reduction is achieved at, for example,
those who live under the areas where aircraft are One is the air rushing over the aircraft the engine fan blades or the wingtips a wing tip, but to measure the total effect people on the
kept ‘stacked’ as they wait to land at ever more fuselage and its wings. The other is on their own, OPENAIR was set up ground would actually be hearing if an aircraft were flying
busy airports. the noise from the jet engines. Al- with the specific purpose of taking a overhead.
though it may be hard to believe, pro- whole aircraft approach. In this way,
gress has been made over the years it is able to take the interaction be- Given the extensive participation in the project of major
in reducing this noise. Modern air- tween all the different parts into ac- players from the aviation industry, any positive results
craft are quieter than their predeces- count. Using a complex model that should be quickly implemented in future aircraft construc-
sors of 20 or 30 years ago. But there has been developed as part of the tion, as well as being retro-fitted where possible on exist-
is still a long way to go. project, it is possible to assess the ing aircraft.
real effects as perceived by people on
Previous efforts at noise reduction the ground when the aircraft is flown It is hoped that the results will make major contribution
have all focused on isolated aspects in ‘real’ life. to the aviation industry’s official goal of reducing aviation
of the problem. But a large-scale noise by 50% by 2020, compared with the year 2000.
project set up and largely funded by The 18 million euro project is using
the European Commission is aim- the latest techniques in computer
ing to revolutionise the way that the analysis of the ways in which air36 I n v e s t i n g i n s u c c e s s 37
OPTIX Participants
Spain (Coordinator), Germany,
The Netherlands, Lithuania,
Austria, Sweden
New device boosts fight www.fp7-optix.eu
against terrorist bombs FP7 Proj. N° 218037
Total
costs:
€ 3 290 000
EU
contribution:
€ 2 490 000 Duration:
from:
to:
Nov. 2008
Apr. 2012
It is an all-too familiar scene. A suspect package The EU contributed around 75% of To date, no system in the world has lenges the OPTIX consortium had to overcome. Its success
in a crowded public place like a shopping mall, a the project’s total 3.3 million euro been able to offer sufficient accura- in this was a key stride towards making the device signifi-
train or an airport. Is it harmless? Or is it a bomb? cost. cy to be used by the police for this cantly more reliable and sensitive in detecting explosives
purpose. than anything that has existed before.
The improvised explosive device, or IED, is the Led by Spain’s leading IT company, In-
weapon of choice in some 60% of terrorist at- dra, and bringing together a range of The unique feature of the OPTIX de- As well as detecting and analysing suspect IEDs, the OPTIX
tacks - so easy to carry around and deploy un- technical and industrial partners from vice is that it combines three sepa- system will also be an important tool in detecting traffick-
noticed. Or noticed only at the very last moment. 6 EU member states, including spe- rate advanced technologies to pro- ers who may be transporting the ingredients for bombs
cialist businesses, research institutes, vide different ways of assessing a that are yet to be made, thus choking off the terrorists’
universities and Spain’s Guardia Civil suspect package. One is the infrared crucial supply chain.
In the fightback against the ever-present threat posed security force, the OPTIX project aims technology that we are all familiar
by the terrorists who use these deadly devices, security to provide law enforcement and secu- with. The others use lasers to ana- If all goes well with the current OPTIX prototype testing,
forces require powerful tools and techniques of their own. rity agencies with a method to iden- lyse the molecular nature of the tar- the way could very soon be clear to a rapid and major step
High on the list of such tools is something which can rap- tify explosives at distances of up to get substance and to determine not forward in the global fight against terrorism - thanks to an
idly, safely, and remotely identify which suspect package 20 meters. only if it is explosive, but also, if it is, ingenious and innovative act of collaboration between a
is indeed a bomb, and which is just the harmless result of which explosive it is. unique group of dedicated and specialised European partners.
someone’s absent-mindedness. With its ability to detect even micro-
scopic traces of explosives - for ex- Such technologies have already
That ‘something’ may now be close to reality, as a result ample on the outside of a package, or proved very useful in intercepting
of a three and a half year research project funded by the the door of a suspicious car - OPTIX counterfeit drugs, analysing their
European Union. Due to conclude in spring 2012, the OP- represents a real potential break- ‘molecular fingerprint’ through the
TIX project, undertaken as part of the EU’s programme through: the possibility of carrying packaging, without the need to open
of stimulating collaborative research and development out a quick, reliable, remote identifi- them.
across member states, is the most technologically ambi- cation of explosive materials, without
tious attempt ever implemented in Europe to make it pos- the need for dangerous close-quarter Combining three technologies in one
sible to carry out remote explosives detection. investigation. device, while keeping that device
portable, was one of the key chal-You can also read
