With AI-enhanced components being deployed everywhere, including the very toolchains used for secure software development, the traditional security focus on software and hardware assets can no longer guarantee “secure services, processes and products, [and] digital infrastructures” in the EU Strategic Plan 2021-2024. Sec4AI4Sec wants to develop security-by-design testing and assurance techniques for AI-augmented systems, their software and AI assets. AI-augment systems provide an opportunity to democratize security expertise and give access to intelligent, automated secure coding and testing, by enabling novel capabilities, lowering development costs and increasing software quality (AI4Sec). They are also a risk: AI-augmented systems are vulnerable to new security technical threats specific to AI-based software, in particular where matters of fairness or explainability are important (Sec4AI). Sec4AI4Sec addresses these challenges to the fullest extent: “AI for better security, security for better AI.” The Sec4AI4Sec project will address these two facets of AI to achieve a deep scientific, economic and technological impact, while contributing to addressing key societal issues. It will validate its approach on three key scenarios of the EU Digital Compass towards Digital Sovereignty: 5G core virtualization, Autonomy for safety systems in aviation and security and Quality for 3rd party software assessment and certification. Sec4AI4Sec assembled a team with 5 leading Universities (Amsterdam, Cagliari, Hamburg, Lugano, Trento), 2 innovative SMEs (FrontEndART, Pluribus One), 3 Large Enterprises (Airbus, SAP, Thales) and 1 Center for digital innovation (Cefriel). The project will generate a set of innovative techniques and open-source tools, new methodologies for secure design and certification of AI-augmented systems, as well as reference benchmarks that can be used to standardize the assessment of research results in the secure software research community.

In Europe, urban organic waste is projected to reach 96 Million Mg in 2020. Its management is challenging. Efficient processes are important to create higher value products. DECISIVE investigates decentralised management with an focus on anaerobic digestion combined with biogas and digestate utilization. Decentral approaches are beneficial e.g. in terms of lower collection needs, higher flexibility, system resilence, citizens involvement, and local employment.

Now that renewable energy generation is already competitive in cost with electricity obtained from fossil fuels, the development of efficient long term energy storage methods seems crucial for a faster transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions EU economy. Power-to-X methods are promising due to their negligible discharge rate but up to now all the efforts have been based on the use of H2 obtained by electrolysis, and the TEAs have shown that the high cost of the electrolysers hinders greatly its possibilities of industrial use. EffiTorch aims at developing an alternative breakthrough technology for Power-to-X based on the direct splitting of CO2, using an ultra-high temperature thermal plasma, with the simultaneous valorisation of low value bio-waste, leading to the efficient production of syngas. EffiTorch aims to reach carbon efficiencies higher than 90% and energy efficiencies higher than 60%, outperforming the best solutions available presently. Some of the research groups in Effitorch have a vast experience in CO2 splitting using Microwave (MW) plasma torches. Nevertheless, recently a compound approach that combines CO2 splitting by thermal plasmas with a quenching using the very endothermic reverse Bouduard reaction (RBR) has been developed in China that vastly improves the promising results obtained in the splitting of CO2 , while solving one of the yet unresolved issues, that of the efficient separation of the gases obtained. EffiTorch aims to explore the possibilities offered by a much improved version of the experimental set-ups used by the Chinese groups, including additional sophistications like the ultrasonic atomization of a bio-oil obtained by Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) from sewage sludge, the use of high temperature reactors with plasma confinement and the implementation of a secondary heating of the plasma by induction with HF frequency (100-400 KHz), that could improve the energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Geldgeber: European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking und Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung Paving the way for industrial adoption of exascale computing There’s a push towards exascale computing. Imagine a computing system capable of more than one exaflop (about a billion billion calculations per second). Research into exascale computing has shown the potential of parallel-in-time integration as a powerful algorithmic paradigm. In this context, the EU-funded TIME-X project will enable efficient parallel-in-time integration for real-life applications. Bringing together leading scholars from numerical analysis and applied mathematics, computer science and the selected application domains, the project will launch a joint strategic research effort. Its aim is to advance parallel-in-time integration from an academic/mathematical methodology into a widely available technology with a convincing proof of concept.

Upskilling and reskilling Europe’s small shipyards The European shipbuilding industry is a dynamic and competitive sector that is linked to other sectors, including transport, security, energy, research and the environment. Maintaining its lead over competition from countries like China and South Korea means leveraging advancements in technologies, particularly in small and medium-size shipyards. In this context, the EU-funded Mari4_YARD project leverages the potential of the Internet of things (IoT), mobile and ubiquitous ICT tools, and robotics for implementing a novel connected shipyard, offering the European shipbuilding the opportunity to stay at the leading edge. Specifically, the project will implement a portfolio of worker-centric solutions by relying on novel collaborative robotics and ubiquitous portable solutions.