2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Portefølje Naturvitenskap og teknologi ikon

The research system

Portefølje Humaniora og samfunnsvitenskap ikon

Ground-breaking research

Portefølje Samisk ikon

Sámi society and culture

Portefølje Demokrati, styring og fornyelse ikon

Democracy and global development

Portefølje Velferd, kultur og samfunn ikon

Welfare, culture and society

Portefølje Helse ikon

Health

Portefølje Klima- og polarforskning ikon

Climate and environment

Portefølje Landbasert mat, miljø og bioressurser ikon

Land-based food, the environment and bioresources

Portefølje Energi, transport og lavutslipp ikon

Energy and transport

Portefølje Muliggjørende teknologier ikon

Enabling technologies

Portefølje Industri og tjenestenæringer ikon

Innovation

LTP Climate, environment and environmentally friendly energy

Climate and loss of natural diversity

Internationalization

Societal security and civil preparedness

Renewal in the public sector

Velferdstjenester

Frontpage Image

Marine icon

Petroleum og mineraler

LTP Hav ikon

Oceans and coastal areas

LTP2 Muliggjørende og industrielle teknologier ikon

Enabling and industrial technologies

Trust and community

Professional environment

High quality and accessibility

LTP Climate

Strengthened competitiveness and innovation capacity

LPT Health

 An innovative business community

LTP3 Helse

Portefolje Petroleum Ikon

Portefølje Hav ikon

Portefølje Utdanning og kompetanse ikon

Portefølje Global utvikling og internasjonale relasjoner ikon

Portefølje Livsvitenskap ikon

LTP2 Styrket konkurransekraft og innovasjonsevne ikon

LTP2 Utvikle fagmiljøer av fremragende kvalitet

LTP2 Samfunnssikkerhet og samhørighet ikon

LTP2 Fornyelse i offentlig sektor ikon

LTP2 Klima, miljø og miljøvennlig energi ikon

Forsidebilde optimalisert

project-bank-technical

Et innovativt næringsliv ikon

Muliggjørende teknologier bakgrunn

Marin bakgrunnsbilde

Marin ikon

Forsidebilde

Statistics

Prosjektbanken presenterer statistikk og informasjon om prosjekter med finansiering fra Forskningsrådet fra 2004. Statistikken er fordelt på blant annet tema, år, geografi og organisasjon. Prosjektbanken gir også detaljert informasjon om de enkelte prosjektene.

...or see the summary and other information about the projects you have selected

Portfolios

En god beskrivelse av denne siden for søkemotoroptimalisering

Forside

How the grants are distributed between organisations, counties, subject areas etc....

Here are some examples of searches you can perform in the Project Databank

All long term plan objectives

About Text Queries

No thematic area or topic related to the project

has received funding in the programme period

No popular science description is available

have received funding in the programme period

The project with project number {{project number}} was not found

Technical description

Woops, something went wrong. Please refresh the page. If the error persists, please contact us.

We could not find what you were looking for

See statistics related to this LTP objective

See projects related to this LTP objective

related to this LTP objective have received grants

has been granted to projects related to this LTP objective

has been granted to projects related to this portfolio

related to this portfolio have received grants

About Prosjektbanken

Agder

LTP3 Styrket konkurransekraft og innovasjonsevne

LTP3 Et kunnskapsintensivt næringsliv i hele landet

LTP3 Høy kvalitet og tilgjengelighet

LTP3 Fagmiljøer og talenter

LTP3 Rettede internasjonaliseringstiltak

LTP3 Klima, miljø og energi

LTP3 Miljøvennlig energi og lavutslippsløsninger

LTP3 Muliggjørende og industrielle teknologier

LTP3 Nano-, bioteknologi og teknologikonvergens

Instituttsektor

UoH-sektor

Næringsliv

Øvrige

Norges forskningsråd

Offentlig sektor

Helseforetak

ukjent

Portefølje Forskningssystemet

Portefølje Innovasjon

Portefølje Energi og transport

Portefølje Muliggjørende teknologier

Portefølje Banebrytende forskning

Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions

HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates

HORIZON Innovation Actions

Bransjer og næringer

Industri og tjenestenæringer

Politikk- og forvaltningsområder

Forskningsinfrastruktur

Innovasjon

Innovasjon i offentlig sektor

Avanserte produksjonsprosesser

Industri og tjenester

Internasjonalisering

Energi, transport og lavutslipp

Anvendt forskning

Miljøvennlig energi

Muliggjørende teknologier

Nanoteknologi/avanserte materialer

Klimarelevant forskning

FNs Bærekraftsmål

Landbasert mat, miljø og bioressurser

Grunnforskning

Kutt i utslipp av klimagasser

Lavutslipp

Mineraler

This SUSCARE project addresses the call for proposals on global health by proposing an international partnership between Norwegian and Colombian Universities, Research Institutes, and International Diabetes Federation, Colombia. The primary objective of SUSCARE is to establish a long-term partnership on advancing “SDG 3-Good Health and Well-being” by fostering the Norwegian government`s “Better Health, Better Lives” goal. The main purpose of this pre-project is to build a consortium and lay the theoretical and practical foundations for applying for Collaborative and Knowledge-building Projects (KSP) in Global Health in 2025 aimed to implement and evaluate a sustainable and equitable Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) Based Patient-centred framework for self-management of type 2 diabetic (T2D). Overall, this pre-project will help to get a better overview of the research challenges, perform necessary assessments of user requirements and research needs to improve self-management of T2D, identify, and engage potential stakeholders, and make concrete development goals and research direction for the KSP application to be submitted in March 2025.

A Sustainable AIoT Based Nutritional Recommender for Self-Management of Type 2 Diabetes among Adult Population

The partners of the present pre-project want to enhance knowledge and build capacity in youth health across all three partner institutions. This will be done by a) disseminating of updated knowledge on adolescent's physical, mental, and social health through 2 PhD projects based on data collected in the population-based Lusaka Fit Futures Study in Zambia in 2024, b) facilitating research through 2 PhD projects and promote high-quality services in response to injuries through a Spinal Cord Injury Registry at KCMC, which is a referral hospital with a specialized unit for traumatic spinal cord injuries in Tanzania c) establishment of MSc programs in physiotherapy at the south partner universities in Zambia and in Tanzania. The north partner's research group “Public Health and Rehabilitation” (FFR) holds expertise in population-based studies, patient’s registries and training of physiotherapists at MSc level and will support the research activities and supervision of the project’s PhD students. 
Lusaka Fit Futures Study and the Spinal Cord Injury Registry represent classical epidemiological research. To enhance the main projects' ability to provide new knowledge directly to stakeholders, bridging epidemiology with implementation, public involvement through strong end-user groups are needed. Relevant partners are formal representatives from the four participating governmental secondary schools in the Lusaka Fit Futures Study where the general adolescent population attend. In conjunction to the Spinal Cord Registry, NGOs such as the Atlas Alliance or other associations supporting young disabled people offer opportunities for important end-user groups. Funding for this pre-project will be used to identify and establish local partnerships outside the research sector in Lusaka in Zambia and in the Kilimanjaro and Arusha Regions of Tanzania, including involvement of the respective physiotherapy associations.

An international collaboration on adolescent's health situation in Zambia, Tanzania and Norway.

Lead exposure is a critical global health issue impacting about one-third of children globally, with Southeast Asia with Southeast Asia facing the greatest burden. Despite this, research in many low- and middle-income countries, including Vietnam, is sparse. In May 2024, UNICEF and the US Agency for International Development urged actions to eradicate childhood lead exposure, a goal supported by the Vietnamese government. However, existing research in Vietnam is mostly confined to small-scale studies near lead-recycling facilities or mines, showing elevated blood lead levels in children. Crucially, there is a lack of comprehensive data on lead exposure among the general population, particularly in children and pregnant women, which leaves major exposure sources and hotspots unidentified. 

For the past decade, UiT The Arctic University of Norway has developed equitable partnerships with Georgian institutions, focusing on maternal and child health and lead poisoning prevention. Fifteen years ago, UiT also collaborated with Vietnamese institutions on environmental health and epidemiology. Given the ongoing lead exposure challenges in Southeast Asia, Vietnam's renewed commitment to address this issue, and the interest from past partners to re-engage, the upcoming Research Council of Norway call in March 2025 is a perfect opportunity to enhance and extend our collaborations, including also non-research entities. Developing strong, equitable partnerships and a competitive proposal requires time and both virtual and in-person interactions. This pre-project aims to secure resources for these activities, planning online meetings to renew and expand partnerships, a 5-day workshop to refine research questions, engage stakeholders, and distribute responsibilities fairly. This will be followed by biweekly online meetings to collaboratively draft the research proposal for submission, ensuring all partners have significant input and joint ownership of the project.

Establishing sustainable partnerships for preventing childhood lead poisoning in Viet Nam

This pre-project aims to create a sustainable alliance of partners, both inside and outside academia, to focus on primordial prevention of cardiovascular disease in adolescents in Nepal. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of disability and death globally. In 2019, 32% of all global deaths were caused by CVDs, with more than three quarters of these in low- and middle-income countries. Most CVDs can be prevented by addressing risk factors connected to behaviour and the environment which also necessitates a life course approach as well as multisectoral collaboration. To intervene as early as possible is therefore crucial. Primordial prevention is particularly promising in resource-limited settings such as in a low-income country like Nepal where around 98% of the population have at least one risk factor for CVD.

To be able to create and establish a sustainable alliance of partners from Norway, Sweden, and Nepal, we require time and active engagement from partners in various sectors. Our ongoing research has provided a network of partners in Nepal within academia, such as Kathmandu Medical College and Patan Academy of Health Sciences. The network will now be expanded with several partners in Nepal that represent a broader geographic area and demographic profile than only the Kathmandu Valley as well as new partners outside academia such as the Nepal Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Alliance. We will also engage additional partners as required from Norway and Sweden with the aim to establish the optimal consortium to tackle the identified health challenge.

The pre-project has activities planned for 3.5 months. Throughout this time, regular meetings will be held online as needed. Both UiT and our main partner institutions in Nepal will be involved in identifying partners. In addition, UiT will lead the engagement of stakeholders while Nepali partners will be responsible for local coordination on site.

Creating a sustainable partnership to effectively address primordial prevention of cardiovascular disease in adolescents in Nepal

A predictive biomarker for Antibody Drug Conjugates in lung cancer

Worldwide, nearly 2 million children are living with HIV, with 160,000 new infections annually. Untreated, HIV progresses to AIDS, which kills 100,000 children annually, mainly in African countries (UNAIDS 2022). These deaths are now largely preventable due to the widespread availability of free antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is a highly effective treatment, allowing HIV patients of all ages to live near-normal lives. ART also prevents HIV transmission during childbirth and breastfeeding. Yet, lapses in treatment, for both mothers and children, lead to many unnecessary new infections and deaths. 

There is an urgent need to understand the needs of HIV-affected children and their families, and to identify practical approaches to prevent paediatric infection, promote adherence to treatment, and empower families with the knowledge that HIV-positive children can lead long, healthy and productive lives, if they get the right care.

In order to address these knowledge needs, we must build a strong and equal partnership that can effectively identify the distinct barriers to HIV care for children, and co-design effective interventions. This collaboration must include an interdisciplinary team of health researchers with local and contextual knowledge, as well as public sector healthcare providers and local health organizations.

We will use the pre-project to travel to Malawi and meet with potential partners. The purpose of these meetings will be to better understand the needs of children affected by HIV, strategic considerations of policy actors, and the scope for the establishment of an equal and effective partnership across a network of collaborators. This will allow us to develop theories and potential interventions that effectively address research and policy needs.

Investments, Goals and Outcomes for Children Living with HIV (IGOHI)

The Philippines is frequently facing many extreme weather events that seriously affect mental health. The Mind4Climate pre-project aims to address the growing mental health crisis in the country associated with climate change. This project seeks to establish a partnership among researchers, healthcare providers, NGOs, and government agencies from Norway and the Philippines. We plan to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment, followed by designing community-based interventions and workshops that build local capacity to collaborate effectively. We, therefore, plan to design a culturally relevant, scalable project involving diverse experts from health economics, mental health, and global health ethics expertise. Depending on the foundation of this pre-project, we seek to effectively address climate-induced mental health challenges and build a research proposal for the effects of climate change on vulnerable communities in the Philippines.

Climate Change Impact on Mental Health: The Philippines Case

The AfroAccessAbility project addresses critical health disparities experienced by disabled persons in Ghana and Tanzania, with the overarching goal of improving health outcomes for disabled persons in the Global South. Despite some advancements, disabled persons face significant barriers to healthcare access that include communication challenges, discriminatory attitudes and practices, which disproportionately impact women with disabilities. The project aligns with SDG 3 ("Good health for all") and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), focusing on bridging the health gap between disabled and non-disabled persons.

The pre-project phase focuses on building a strong consortium through co-creation with African partners. This ensures the project design integrates the lived experiences of disabled persons with rigorous academic insights, creating a robust foundation for the main project. Additionally, the pre-project aims to strengthen research collaboration networks among Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), academic institutions, policymakers, and practitioners, fostering interdisciplinary partnerships and long-term impact.

Key challenges include addressing the lack of comprehensive data on health disparities between disabled and non-disabled persons, exploring variations within disability groups, and developing practical, culturally appropriate strategies to overcome barriers. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding relevant aspects, such as discriminatory practices, insufficient provider training, and inadequate communication strategies. These challenges will be addressed using innovative frameworks, such as positive deviance approaches, tailored to the local contexts of Ghana and Tanzania.

By bridging community insights and academic knowledge, AfroAccessAbility aims to advance inclusive health systems, reduce health inequities, and promote better health outcomes for disabled persons in the Global South, with scalable relevance for other regions.

Equality in Health Access for Disabled Persons

Forskningssenter for barn og unges institusjonelle spor studerer barn og unges bevegelser inn i, mellom og ut av institusjoner og tjenester som barnevern, tjenester for barn og unge med nedsatt funksjonsevne, helsetjenester for barn og unge, kriminalomsorgen og NAV. Senteret har et særlig fokus på barn og unges sårbarheter i møter med ulike institusjonelle logikker, hvordan barn og unge beveger seg og flyttes mellom ulike typer av institusjoner, hvordan de bebor og rømmer fra institusjoner og deres møter med sosial og hjelpetjenester knyttet til livsoverganger som f. eks overgangen ved 18 års alder. 
Senteret utforsker hvordan omsorgs- og kontrollfunksjoner innenfor ulike institusjoner og tjenester er vevet inn i hverandre og hvor de faglige praksisene er sterkt regulert, og analyserer disse ut fra et menneskerettighets og rettferdighetsperspektiv. Gjennom barne- og ungdomsrettet forskning har senteret som mål om å frembringe nye kunnskaper om institusjoner og tjenester. Arkitektur, design og brukermedvirkning står sentralt og senteret har som mål å utvikle innovative forslag som i større grad er tilpasset barn, unge og deres familier.

Forskningssenteret er et samarbeid mellom VID vitenskapelige høgskole, KRUS, NORCE, NTNU og HIOF. Praksispartnere er BUF-etat øst, Kriminalomsorgen, Tverrfaglig.no, NAV, NAKU og Salto. Erfaringsekspertene inkluderer en tidligere fange og gjengmedlem, LBB, Brukerrådet ved Vestfold Friomsorgskontor og LUPE.

Employing a comparative, interdisciplinary and cross-professional approach, PATHWAYS undertakes child- and youth-centred research that will generate new knowledge and build practice capacity in supporting  and improving children and young people’s institutional experiences within and journeys through Child Welfare Services (CWS), Services for Children and Youth with Disabilities (DS), Health Services for Children and Youth (HS), Correctional Services (CS) and the welfare and employment centre (NAV). The concept of ‘vulnerable institutional pathways’ refers to children’s and young people’s movements in, between and out of institutions and services, involving exposure to different institutional logics, moves between institutions, escape from institutions and vulnerabilities connected to life transitions, e.g., turning 18 years old. PATHWAYS addresses a significant gap in the existing body of knowledge by focusing on cross-institutional experiences targeting the professions of social work, child welfare, social education, nursing, correctional care, and architecture, offering comprehensive insights to address the complex needs of children, young people and their families. Through active collaboration with partners in the practice field, children and youths as ‘experts by experience’ the overarching aim of the centre is to connect the fields of research, education and practice with users in order to develope innovative institutional settings. This comprise physical spaces that promote children and young people’s participation and facilitate the delivery of social work, milieu therapy, milieu work and relational practices that meet children and young people’s needs for care and control. Analytically, PATHWAYS explore the inter-twining of care and control functions in various institutional arenas where professional practices are highly regulated and will analyse these from a procedural justice perspective.

Centre for Research on Children and Young Peoples Vulnerable Institutional Pathways

Til tross for relativt høy velstand og gode i sosiale tjenester i Norge, lever mange norske barn og unge i sårbare livssituasjoner. Mange står også i fare for å falle utenfor skole og sosiale fellesskap. Senter for barn og unge og sosial beredskap samler innsatsen innen forskning, utdanning og praksis for å møte disse samfunnsutfordringene, der også barn og unge skal involveres både i forskningsdesign, utforskning, dataanalyse og formidling. Med søkelys på sårbare livssituasjoner og sosial beredskap retter det tverrfaglige senteret oppmerksomheten mot sosiale, snarere enn individuelle sårbarhetsfaktorer. 
Sosial beredskap handler både om å utvikle forståelse for det sosiale limet i samfunnet, om å mobilisere ressurser i det offentlige og i det sivile samfunn, og lage ordninger som motvirker utenforskap. Dette kan være kritiske hendelser i hverdagen, som mobbing eller overgrep, eller større samfunnskritiske hendelser, som koronaepidemien er et eksempel på. 
Senteret skal frambringe kunnskap om sosial beredskap som tilnærming til tidlig innsats rundt barn og unge i sårbare livssituasjoner. Vi vil bidra med kunnskap om hvordan "samarbeid" og "sårbarhet" har blitt definert, forstått og anvendt, og hvordan sårbarhet oppstår i praksis. 
Videre vil vi bidra med kunnskap om hvordan skolen sammen med barnet, familien, lokalsamfunnet og offentlige aktører kan etablere en tidlig sosial beredskap for å fange opp og gi støtte til de som står i fare for å kunne oppleve utenforskap tidlig og gi støtte. 
Sammen med studenter, en rekke aktører i praksisfeltet og vårt internasjonale samarbeidsnettverk, skal vi utvikle og prøve ut forskningsbaserte samarbeidsmodeller og beredskapsøvelser på tvers av fag, disipliner, tjenester og sektorer. Ideen er at kunnskapen skal kunne brukes til å forbedre både praksiser og systemer, samt danne grunnlaget for å utvikle undervisningstilbud som kan styrke både profesjonsutdanninger og -praksiser.

Despite the relatively high wealth and robust social services in Norway, more Norwegian children and youth (C&Y) live in vulnerable situations than we might or should expect. Poverty is one factor that increases vulnerability, as does domestic and sexual abuse, and bullying and exclusion in school. C&Y who have endured these adverse contexts and conditions have a greater incidence of contact with child welfare services, of becoming juvenile crime offenders, and of being over-represented among those with low school performance. This proposal aims to establish a research centre that will coalesce its efforts in research, education, and practice to respond to these prevailing social challenges. By focusing on "children and youth in vulnerable life situations" rather than "vulnerable youth" we aim to refocus attention onto social, rather than individual, factors of vulnerability. Rather than treating vulnerability as a static concept, we start from a rigorous examination of how it has been defined, applied, and understood both institutionally and by C&Y themselves, by involving C&Y in both research design, exploration, data- analysis and dissemination. The PrepChild centre will focus on public social preparedness and the need to prevent marginalisation by redeveloping and optimising the conditions – in domestic spheres, educational arenas, social & digital domains, and local communities – of the lives of C&Y. Doing so effectively, however, requires more rigorous and critically informed collaboration between sectors & institutions, and our centre begins from an analysis of how 'collaboration' and 'vulnerability' have been engaged, understood, misunderstood, and misapplied. 
The PrepChild centre will become the hub for a nexus of research, education, and practice on social preparedness that can be applied through up-to-date training & exercises and collaboration across subjects, disciplines, services, & sectors.

The Centre for Children & Youth, Vulnerability, and Social Preparedness

RNA-variasjon i multifokal prostatakreft

Midlene fra FRIMED2-FRIPRO forskerprosjekt, medisin og helse fordelt på år

Midlene fra FRIMED2-FRIPRO forskerprosjekt, medisin og helse fordelt på fylker

Midlene fra FRIMED2-FRIPRO forskerprosjekt, medisin og helse fordelt på fagområde

Group Leader

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in Norway, where about 5000 men get this diagnosis every year. Although only a minority of the patients have the most aggressive type, there is a lack of tools to predict who is in need of the most radical treatment, and about 1000 Norwegian men suffer cancer-related death annually. Thus, it is challenging to customize how the patients should be treated and followed-up. Despite the fact that the majority of prostate cancer patients have multiple tumours when they are diagnosed, previous research on prostate cancer tissue have almost exclusively been performed on only a single tumour sample per patient. This may be why no good prognostic biomarker has been developed for this disease.

In the TRANSPROCAN project, the research is based on tissue and blood samples alongside with clinical and pathological data from more than 500 patients who were operated for prostate cancer at the Oslo University Hospital-Radiumhospitalet between 2010 and 2012. Multiple tissue samples from multiple tumours were frozen from each patient to enable research taking the multi-focal nature of prostate cancer into account. By use of state-of-the-art genome technologies, DNA and RNA changes in cancer cells are used to investigate how often the so-called multi-focal prostate cancers originate from the same cancer cell, or whether they are independent tumours. The project found that the set of mutations from different tumour foci within the same prostate is virtually allways completely different (Løvf et al., European Urology 2019). Further, the project found that classification of the disease based on particular RNA expression produces different results when the RNA is sampled from different areas in the prostate (Carm et al., Scientific Reports 2019). Therefore, to meet the next goal of the project, to identify molecules which can distinguish aggressive from mild prostate cancer, this heterogeneity, or differences, between tumours of the same patient are taken into account. Despite extensive spatial heterogeneity, the researchers found that the amount of the long noncoding RNA SCHLAP1 has prognostic value (Kidd et al., Neoplasia 2022). The same was the case for the gene ERG (Kidd et al., Molecular Oncology 2022). Analyses of blood samples taken at the time the patients experienced relapse has made it possible to trace which of the original tumours that were responsible for the metastatic and/or relapsed disease. The resulting mutational patterns were quite complex, and it was evident that the relationship between the samples can only rarely be read directly from the mutational patterns. There were only few shared mutations both between different tumors within the same prostate, and there were only few shared mutations between the original primary tumors and the metastatic tumours. The project concluded that for the treatment of prostate cancer to be based on gene based tests, the analyses must be performed on multiple tumor samples. Further, it became clear that for metastatic and/or recurrent disease, a relatively newly taken sample must be analysed.

Prostate cancer is a major health burden, and improved biomarkers are needed for both detection and prognostication of the disease. However, the mutation spectrum and expressed RNA-variants are complex, and different driver genes are commonly active within different tumour foci of the same prostate.

We have competence in identification and characterization of cancer-specific transcripts, and in particular in fusion gene detection. There is still a need to study the heterogeneity of different tumor foci in sufficiently large clinical cohorts of prostate cancer. Genome technologies will enable us to detect both novel genetic elements and unravel how existing genes and biomarkers are distributed across multiple tissue cores in this heterogeneous disease. Further, we will use various genome sequencing and informatics technologies to explore on the sources of transcriptome instability in cancer. This phenotype, originally described by us, denotes cancers with particularly high fraction of miss-spliced transcripts. However, sequence-level and genome-scale characterization is lacking, and no information exists in a multi-focality/heterogeneity context.

Transcript variation in multifocal prostate cancer

The QUEEN project, with its strong consortium of participants from eight countries, addresses a significant challenge - EU's heavy reliance on external sources for critical raw materials, especially metallurgical silicon (MG-Si). Currently, over 80% of MG-Si, vital for high-tech applications and EU's sustainability ambitions, is imported mainly from China.  QUEEN aims to exploit an underutilized resource; quartz sand from European quarries, to domestically produce MG-Si in a sustainable and efficient way. The unique approach combines raw material extraction and refinement with an environmental focus, leveraging waste materials in the process. This strategy is projected to bolster EU's MG-Si production capacity, foster sector-specific innovation, and advance eco-friendly practices.  The QUEEN project's overall objective is to create an environmentally friendly process for producing metallurgical silicon (MG-Si) from quarry sands, with near-zero CO2 emissions. This transformational approach could turn any EU quartz quarry into a potential MG-Si reservoir. Moreover, the technologies developed could be adapted to other materials.  The technical objective is to devise a new mineralogical separation process based on flotation for quarry sands extraction. This objective aims to pioneer a more effective and greener alternative process for refining high-purity quartz and Potassium Feldspars. Comprising R&D and industry stakeholders from mineral separation and MG-Si refinement fields, the project plans pilot tests at TRL 7.   QUEEN aims to cover 56% of MG-Si EU demand by 2032 by recovering more than 300Mt MG-Si from sands, alongside saving about 232,000 Mt CO2 by substituting coal with cleaner materials. Like this, QUEEN aims to support the EU strategic autonomy and sustainability, mirroring its green ambitions.

Quartz Enrichment Enabling Near-Zero Silicon Production

Streamlining the optimisation of Sustainable Thermal Energy systems and Prototype technologies in process industries

European process industries face significant challenges in a changing geopolitical landscape, under the threat of climate change and against fierce international competition. In this context, boosting the resilience and competitiveness of process industries, while taking surefooted steps towards climate neutrality is of existential importance.  StreamSTEP is the vision of 31 organisations across EU, Switzerland, Norway and UK, aspiring to trigger significant improvements of how heating energy is managed within industrial processes. The project will address processes that generate waste heat across all temperature grades, from 135oC to over 1400oC, deploying five innovative heat exchanger prototypes for challenging applications and achieving flexible operation across multiple heat sinks. Heat upgrade will be managed through high temperature heat pumps, achieving outlet temperatures at 150oC and at 215oC, with improved performance through ejector technology and the capacity to operate dynamically across a range of required temperatures. Enablers of these innovations are advanced manufacturing techniques, achieving superior material performance through novel material alloys. The system will be demonstrated across five sectors: non-ferrous metals, ceramics, minerals, plastics and refining. The demonstrators will be supported by impact boosting resources, de-risking the investment and accelerating commercialisation. A holistic process digital twinning pipeline will be integral to these advancements, as it will provide the infrastructure to deploy powerful optimisation agents, addressing energy balance, intermediary storage, GHG avoidance and data-driven LCA. The effects of the StreamSTEP project will be significant, as the recovery and efficient reutilisation of the majority of waste heat (50%-over 90%) will be achieved, with systems boasting a payback below 3 years, with the added effects of increasing productivity in selected processes, as well as energy flexibility.  

Multi-functional, multi-material magnetic components and structures for electrification

Electric machines and drives, including various types of electric motors, play an ever-increasing role in the way of making Europe the first climate neutral continent in the world. In order to achieve a breakthrough in the field of energy efficient electric motors, novel approaches are needed: high performance sustainable materials and multi-material manufacturing technologies suitable for complex geometrics and capabilities to design and simulate structures and components based on those.  The ambitious goal of MultiMag is to develop novel design tools, high performance materials and multi-material additive manufacturing (MM-AM) processes, hence, to manufacture ready assembled lightweight components for electric machines and leading to better performing machines, improved energy efficiency and shorter lead times. After use, the components can be dismantled, and the materials recycled effectively. MultiMag takes the full advantage of multi-material additive manufacturing. Stacked rotor and stator structures, combining dissimilar magnetic and electric insulating materials are developed, manufactured and validated to ensure mechanical, thermal, electrical and magnetic performance. Internal structures, enabling more efficient cooling, are studied and designed. Achieving ambitious objectives of MultiMag requires a holistic approach and innovations in all sectors, namely in design, materials, manufacturing, use and end-of-life. Each of these vital areas are addressed by MultiMag activities. We will develop a framework and specific toolbox for addressing complex design challenges, which are multi-material, multi-functional and multi-physics. Evaluation and development of matching material properties enabling to join dissimilar materials using AM processes is one of the key focuses of MultiMag. MultiMag approach requires also MM-AM processes to be developed further, as well as recycling of REEs.

Concerted European action on Sustainable Applications of REFractories

Refractory materials are key enablers for high temperature industries such as Iron & Steelmaking (I&S). Refractories are sophisticated materials designed and optimized to sustain severe operation conditions inducing complex combinations of thermo-mechano-chemical damage mechanisms. Nevertheless, refractory material consumption has been reduced over the last 50 years from more than 35 kg of refractories per ton of steel to about 10 kg/t in the European steel industry, while keeping safety of the utmost importance. The movement of the I&S industry towards Net-Zero emissions and digitalized processes through disruptive, breakthrough technologies will be achieved through the use of Hydrogen. The biggest challenge for the refractory industry is to continue to meet the performance expectations while, at the same time, moving to a more sustainable production direction. The complexity and urgency of these technology changes, highlighted by the European Green Deal, requires a Concerted European Action on Sustainable Applications of REFractories (CESAREF). A consorted and coordinated European network with steel, refractory, raw material producers and key academic poles will tackle the following key topics:  •	Efficient use of raw materials and recycling,  •	Microstructure design for increased sustainability, •	Anticipation of hydrogen steelmaking, •	Energy efficiency and durability. While creating new developments in the I&S and refractory industries, the network will train highly skilled doctoral candidates capable of communicating and disseminating their acquired knowledge. CESAREF will create a core team across the European refractory value chain, accelerating the drive towards the European refractory industries push towards sustainable materials and processes, as well as Net-Zero emission Steel production. This will help to create and secure sustainable employment in the European refractory and I&S industries.

0 projects

CL4-Digital, Industry and Space

Quartz Enrichment Enabling Near-Zero Silicon Production

Awarded: NOK 23.8 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2028

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage og 3 andre

CL4-Digital, Industry and Space

Streamlining the optimisation of Sustainable Thermal Energy systems and Prototype technologies in process industries

Awarded: NOK 35.5 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2028

Location: Agder og 3 andre

CL4-Digital, Industry and Space

Multi-functional, multi-material magnetic components and structures for electrification

Awarded: NOK 4.2 mill.

Project Period: 2022-2025

Location: Agder og 2 andre

MSCA-Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Concerted European action on Sustainable Applications of REFractories

Awarded: NOK 1.5 mill.

Project Period: 2022-2026

Location: Agder