The CIPnet project is a Joint Action to be implemented in China. Its general objective is to promote the modernisation and harmonisation of Intellectual Property Management practices in the higher education system in China, with a view to enhance university-industry collaborations and contribute to economic and social development.The CIPnet consortium identified several deficiencies in the Universities’ TT and IP management performance in China such as low levels of entrepreneurial attitude, shortage of TT skills, inadequate IP protection, low industry-academia engagement and mismatch between the needs of the firms and the university research results. In this context CIPnet present an innovative proposal to improve the TT&IP system based on a network with a bottom-up approach. The project specific objective is to establish a National HE IP Network as a learning platform to foster the modernisation, harmonisation and strategic planning of IP Management practices and regional integration in HE of China.The CIPnet activities implemented by 7 CN HEIs & 3 EU HEIs with a long-standing tradition on IPR & TT issues (as partners) with a series of key actors on IP field (as associates), will include:- Benchmarking & needs analysis activities will identify good practices on IP services and strategies in CN and EU HEIs, providing a good insight of the situation of the China HEIs in terms of the level of IP awareness and creating a database of IP experts in China.- CB on TT&IP management, via face-to-face and on-line workshops that trainees will adapt for the implementation of the IP replication workshops. - Creation of a National HE IP Management Network with a strong networking focus.- An ambitious dissemination and exploitation strategy of the network fostering that new members join the network, contributing to the development of modern IP management policies for HEIs in CN and widening the impact and exploitation of the project results beyond the consortium.

Methanol is an appealing energy vectors, with attractive volumetric and gravimetric energy values, storable in liquid phase at ambient conditions of pressure and temperature, and that can be used as fuel directly or converted into chemicals or gasoline. However, its production lacks a sustainable route. Thus, the METHASOL project aims to produce methanol through a sustainable and cost-effective process based on the selective visible light driven gas phase CO2 reduction, with a solar to methanol energy conversion efficiency of 5%. During 42 months, METHASOL will gather 14 partners from EU/Associated MS, China and the USA, including some of the world’s most recognized researchers on artificial photosynthesis, to achieve a ground-breaking combination of a CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) system based on Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) and a graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-CN) for photocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), through a Z-scheme heterojunction. Following the definition of the system specifications (WP1), a first set of materials for OER and CO2RR will be synthesised and their photocatalytic activity and stability will be screened (WP2). The most promising materials will be further analysed thanks to experimental characterisation and modelling (WP3), leading to guidelines used for designing an enhanced CO2RR and OER materials (WP4). The best systems will then be integrated through a Z-scheme heterojunction, either with or without a mediator, and tested in tailored reactors operating in the gas phase under different conditions (WP5). A complete sustainability analysis will be conducted (WP6) to ensure the clean production of methanol. The cooperation between European and Chinese research entities will be consolidated to last beyond the project lifetime through the creation of a common exploitation plan (WP7). Through its ambitious activities on photocatalyst developments for solar to methanol conversion, METHASOL will propose a new path for decarbonizing Europe.

Gathering 15 partners from 9 European and associated countries and 3 from Asian countries, SUN2CHEM’s main objective is to develop solutions to achieve efficient solar-driven CO2 reduction, targeting ethylene as the final product. Ethylene, an energy-rich chemical produced from fossil fuels in industry, has both high commercial value and a giant global market. SUNCHEM’s ambitions will simultaneously reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate carbon emission by CO2 conversion. For that purpose, SUN2CHEM partners will conjointly develop all the components to be integrated into tandem photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells and advanced photocatalytic (PC) reactors. The technical part of this project includes applied and fundamental research on photocatalysis to improve light-harvesting and charge separation in heterojunctions and plasmonic bimetallic nanoparticles united in a PC reactor (WP2). Next WPs focus on the development of up-scalable efficient and stable photoelectrodes (WP3) and the design of earth-abundant catalysts (WP4), which will then be integrated into the tandem PEC (WP5). Both PC reactor and PEC device will be tested and characterised in operating conditions (WP6). In addition to this highly technical core, this project has for ambition to perform related environmental and social studies in order to integrate the developed technology within a context of circular economy, assess the energy security impacts on end-users and increase the social acceptance of chemicals produced from sunlight conversion (WP7). A prospective market analysis and roadmap towards the upscaling of the technology will then evaluate its medium-term potential and establish pathways towards its future industrial development (WP8). Achieving these ambitious developments by tackling photo-electrochemical cells, catalysts for CO2 reduction, light-harvesting and charge separation, SUN2CHEM will contribute answering Mission Innovation’s Converting Sunlight Innovation Challenge.

Wild pollinators are a key part of European biodiversity and provide a wide range of benefits to crops, wild plants, and human wellbeing. In Europe and globally, wild pollinators are facing multiple threats, however, the full extent of declines, their complex causes, and the most effective ways to respond to them are not well understood. Safeguard brings together world-leading researchers, NGOs, industry and policy experts to substantially contribute to Europe’s capacity to reverse the losses of wild pollinators. Safeguard will significantly expand current assessments of the status and trends of European wild pollinators including bees, butterflies, flies and other pollinating insects. We will use state-of-the-art models to predict the impacts of pressures on pollinators, paying particular attention to emerging threats, multiple and interacting drivers, long-term and cumulative effects, and multiple spatial scales. Safeguard will establish empirical research for a systematic multi-scale assessment of multiple pressures on pollinators and the context-dependent effectiveness of interventions. Working with our stakeholders, we will provide an improved understanding of the diverse values of European pollinators, and develop and test new approaches using multiple interventions to benefit pollinators, from field to landscape scales across agricultural, natural, and urban systems. We will co-develop with stakeholders an integrated assessment framework and tools that incorporate multiple types of evidence to address pollinator declines and direct mitigation strategies at the local, national, and EU levels. Safeguard will use the significant advance in knowledge to inform national, European, and global policies and decision-making. Finally, Safeguard will increase awareness of wild pollinators and their societal values with the public, policy makers, scientists, industry, and NGOs, to mobilise concerted multiple actions towards reversing pollinator declines across Europe.