Heart failure affects more than 14 million people in Europe, and is projected to affect about 30 million people by 2020. While the effects of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy on the wider heart failure population are impressive, benefits at the individual level vary considerably. Depending on the definition, the responder rate CRT is positive in 50-70% of patients, leaving 30-50% without any significant effect. This project will finalise the development of a pacemaker cardiac lead that is 5 times smaller diameter than the state-of-the-art, and start the commercialisation of the product. The project will directly improve the efficiency of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) by reducing the time required for the implantation procedure by 25%, and decrease the yearly healthcare costs by 82 M€/year in Europe. In addition, the project will help European companies to compete in the pacemaker market currently dominated by US companies. Axone IS4 lead combines the advantages of a single lead, which is easy to place in any coronary vein, with the capability to stimulate the left ventricle at 2 widely spaced sites for a more global resynchronization – this has previously required 2 leads to be placed in the heart. The objective of the AXONE project is to: • Finalize product industrialization • Confirm chronic pre-clinical performance with large scale studies • Perform an acute clinical study and a chronic clinical validation • Manufacture clinical and commercial products • Build the marketing plan and prepare the product launch • File CE marking of the class III medical device system • Launch the commercialization of AXONE system and start selling the system in Europe This novel approach of multi-site pacing has the potential to become the next CRT therapy device generation, initiated in Europe. This project will give an opportunity to generates 90 M€ direct revenues sales in 2026.

By advancing breakthrough research on LOHC technologies, UnLOHCked aims at developing a radically disruptive, versatile and scalable LOHC-dehydrogenation plant. Firstly, highly active and stable catalysts without critical raw materials will be developed for reducing LOHC dehydrogenation at moderate temperatures. Secondly, an SOFC-system will be developed to be thermally integrated with the dehydrogenation process. The heat demand of the dehydrogenation unit will be fully covered by the fuel cell, while generating electric power. The surplus of hydrogen is exported. These innovative systems fully integrated will allow significant increase of overall efficiency (>50%) to hydrogen and electric power production from LOHC. Three industry partners, HERAEUS, HYGEAR and FRAMATOME, will collaborate with four universities and research centres, the University of Bilbao (Spain), CEA, CNRS-Lyon and North-West University of South Africa to develop scalable prototype system at TRL 5, validating the performance of the technology during at least 500 h. The ambition is to demonstrate the feasibility of a fully CO2-free dehydrogenation process for large-scale production of hydrogen (100-1,000 t H2/d) and electricity with competitive prices (hydrogen carrier delivery cost <2.5€/kg). Thus converting CO2-free LOHC to electricity and hydrogen instead of using NG or LPG as heat source. The UnLOHCked approach is clean & circular: it decreases energy consumption, does not use noble metals while generating CO2-free hydrogen and electricity. Techno-economic studies will demonstrate the potential of the technology to both supply hydrogen and renewable electricity to decarbonise the EU economy and to open-up hydrogen transportation by LOHC. FRAMATOME, HYGEAR AND HERAEUS will support the consortium preparing for fast market entry after the project.

The R&D project PEMTASTIC aims to meet the key technical challenges to increase durability of MEAs for HD applications. These challenges are approached with a combination of model-based design and the development of a durable CCM using innovative materials tailored for heavy duty operation at high temperature (105°C). The quantitative targets correspond to a durability of 20,000 hours maintaining a state-of the art power density of 1.2 W/cm2@0.65 V at a Pt loading of 0.30 g/kW. Truck mission profiles will be analyzed (Symbio) in order to define relevant FC operation protocols and stressors. Degradation tests will be carried out in differential cells and will be assisted by physical-chemical material characterization to assure well defined data required for parametrization of degradation models (CEA, DLR). A combination of micro- and mesoscale models as well as 1D and 2D cell models (ZHAW, DLR) will capture the impact of material parameters on performance and durability and will address all material and CCM parameters which will be iteratively adapted by industry partners. The materials which will be implemented and adapted are advanced corrosion resistant supports (Imerys) combined with a novel catalyst deposition technique (Heraeus) to mitigate for ECSA loss. Prototype Nafion ionomers and membranes with high conductivity in dry conditions will be used (Chemours). Eventually, an improved cathode catalyst layer will be designed considering Pt particle size distribution and superior catalyst ionomer interaction (IRD). The selection of a commercial GDL will consider accommodation of a wide range of operating conditions. The final MEA and the concept of model-based MEA development will be validated in a short stack at TRL4 (Symbio). As additional outcomes, implications on system management and on the BoP components will be drawn, and the reduced computational demand for degradation modelling will facilitate fast health assessment and performance prediction.

The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell technology emerging from the automotive industry is of high interest for the future aeronautic industry. While automotive industry fuel cell (FC) systems are usually limited to 100 kW, aircraft require a significantly greater amount of power (multi-MW) and must operate at both different temperatures and pressures, while keeping the systems safety and reliability levels to aeronautical standards. BRAVA will develop breakthrough technologies for a FC-based Power Generation System (PGS) for aviation. The overall target is a high-performance PGS with a power range of over 2 MW. The foreseen future multi-MW system will be a multi-stack aircraft propulsion system. Airbus reckons that several of such multi-MW FC-based PGSs can be used to propel an aircraft capable of carrying up to 100 passengers on distances of up to 1,000 nautical miles. Advances in the FC stack and balance of plant components, the thermal management system, heat exchanger design and technology, and air supply system architecture, will act as building blocks for this multi-MW FC-based PGS. The key project results are: New catalysts and membranes with higher performance, durability and higher operating temperature capability to enable integration into new Membrane Electrode Assemblies to reach high efficiency, low weight, compactness and long lifetime; 2-Phase cooling based thermal management system (including a newly designed fuel cell stack) for compactness, weight reduction and hence improved fuel consumption; Additive manufactured heat exchangers for increased heat rejection, compactness, lightweight and low drag; A new air supply architecture and components designed and optimized to provide low parasitic power and weight reduction and thus enabling lower fuel consumption and equipment cost. Each of the breakthrough technologies for these FC system subsystems will be advanced to TRL5, i.e. technology validated in relevant environment.