The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project – an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope – has been awarded €5m from Horizon 2020 to further advance some of its activities.
The funding will help support the detailed design of the infrastructure required at the two SKA telescope co-host sites – the Murchison region of western Australia and the Karoo region of South Africa – and is in addition to the €150m currently being invested globally in the project’s pre-construction phase.
The award will enable activity across the INfrastructure SKA (IN-SKA) programme, including work at the SKA Global Headquarters in the UK, and also within the two teams responsible for delivering the SKA’s infrastructure design: Infrastructure Australia, led by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in partnership with Aurecon Australasia, and Infrastructure South Africa, led by SKA South Africa.
Martin Austin, engineering project manager for site and infrastructure at the SKA Global Headquarters, who oversees the delivery of the infrastructure design for both sites, explains: “Infrastructure is the supporting backbone of the project. Without it, it would be impossible to deliver the telescope and the end product science for the broader community. This welcome funding takes us to the next step: detailed design, the last step on paper before procurement and construction work starts.”
Director of policy development at the SKA Global Headquarters Simon Berry, who led the development of the successful bid, adds: “It’s excellent news. The SKA continues to be seen as an important global project by the European Union, and this funding will allow us to complete critical design activities. Once these activities are complete, companies and communities in Europe and around the world within our member countries will be poised to benefit from it.”
Beyond its fundamental contributions to astronomy and physics for the international scientific community, the SKA is widely considered a human capital development instrument and an innovation driver in many areas of interest to industry and society as a whole, among them electronic and mechanical engineering, computing and software design, and remote efficient power infrastructure.
“Ambitious projects like these capture the human imagination and can lead to life-changing discoveries and innovations as well as new knowledge for the whole world,” said Research and Innovation Commissioner Carlos Moedas.
“The EU is making an important contribution through Horizon 2020, supporting a unique scientific instrument that is open to the world.”
The SKA Organisation – which oversees the design, construction and operation of the SKA – was invited to apply for the European funding and will be responsible for administrating the grant’s activities.
See issue 8 of Horizon 2020 Projects: Portal for an exclusive interview with Dr Bernie Fanaroff, former director of the SKA South Africa project.
The post SKA receives boost from Horizon 2020 appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
Projeler
Work is under way at the Commission to prepare the successor to Horizon 2020, Robert-Jan Smits has said.
A public consultation on the ninth EU research and development programme will be launched this autumn, the research director general told his audience at the Science|Business Horizon 2020 conference.
He added that a proposal “will be on the table by the end of 2017, beginning of 2018”.
Prior to the public consultation, which will seek input from academics and industry on the research the EU should fund from 2021 onwards, a “foresight exercise” will be launched to establish the societal challenges the new programme should focus on, Smits explained.
“We have commissioned a couple of think tanks to help us, and we’re already seeing topics emerge [which are] not in Horizon 2020,” he said.
This new approach to drawing up a research programme was suggested by renowned Belgian microbiologist Peter Piot, who helped discover the Ebola virus.
The post Work begins on next R&D framework programme appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
Israel-based Lingacom Ltd., a developer and manufacturer of muon-based detection solutions, has been awarded a €1m contract by the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument for the development of an advanced vehicle scanning solution.
Lingacom’s technology is based on high-energy natural atmospheric cosmic ray muon particles, which have the highest known penetration levels on Earth and are capable of penetrating and exiting all attenuating cargo and vehicles.
By harnessing these muon particles, Lingacom is offering a green, passive detection solution designed to meet the global security requirements associated with nuclear and radioactive detection.
The company’s approach to product design makes its technology complementary with existing inspection systems that deploy high-energy X-rays and radiation portal monitors.
“This new contract will enable Lingacom to support the European Commission’s objective to protect sensitive sites and critical infrastructure from transported nuclear and radioactive threats,” said Lingacom CEO David Yaish.
Lingacom investor Brian Rosenzweig, a managing partner of JANVEST Capital Partners, added: “By gaining recognition from the European Commission, Lingacom will be able to drastically increase the pace by which it can attend to Europe’s growing challenges related to nuclear and radioactive terrorism.”
Working alongside Lingacom in the SME Instrument is ISERD, the Israeli Government organisation that supports Israeli entities’ participation in R&D ventures within European research programmes.
The post Israeli company wins SME Instrument grant appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
Europe’s industrial competitiveness is to receive a boost thanks to the launch of three major pilot lines dedicated to helping SMEs take photonics technologies from the lab to the market.
The new pilot lines have been launched by the Photonics Public Private Partnership (PPP) and will focus on health applications (PIX4Life), flexible organic light-emitting diodes (PI-SCALE), and sensors for the detection of chemicals in gas and liquids (MIRPHAB).
They are intended to enable thousands of high-tech SMEs in Europe – who often lack access to the advanced, cost intensive infrastructures and expertise needed to manufacture new and innovative products – to scale up, validate and commercialise their ideas, and have received €35m in funding from the European Commission as part of its €700m investment in the Photonics PPP over the course of Horizon 2020.
The PPP was launched by the Commission in December 2013 in order to solidify European leadership in photonics, a Key Enabling Technology driving innovation in areas such as communications, advanced energy efficient lighting, and the early detection of diseases.
It brings together European industry, researchers, academia and the Commission to co-operate in research and innovation in the photonics domain and define strategic roadmaps in sectors which can shape the future digital economy of the EU and revolutionise the industrial landscape.
“With these pilot lines Europe will position itself at the forefront of innovation in photonics,” said European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Günther H Oettinger.
“Our companies, and in particular the manufacturing sector, will have access to support for innovation and the facilities needed to get ahead in global markets. Photonics is a crucial component for the successful digitalisation of European industry and the economy.”
The post Photonics PPP launches new pilot lines appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
45 SMEs from 19 countries have been selected in the latest round of the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument (Phase 2).
The 30 chosen projects will each receive between €0.5m and €2.5m to bring their product from the pilot phase to the market. Health projects will receive up to €5m. The participating SMEs will also benefit from 12 days of business coaching.
Among the successful projects are Colodetect, which aims to develop a novel blood-based diagnostic test for colorectal cancer; HTPush, which is intended to set up a universal and compatible system for plumbing and heating; and AquaSHIELD, which hopes to protect people against contaminated water via the creation of a water quality firewall.
A total of 1,090 project proposals were submitted under Phase 2 of the SME Instrument by 25 November, the fourth and final cut-off date for 2015.
UK SMEs proved the most successful with seven beneficiaries and €10m in funding; Italy followed with six SMEs and a €4.3m total investment.
Altogether, 356 SMEs have been selected under Phase 2 of the SME Instrument since the programme’s launch on 1 January 2014.
The post 45 SMEs secure SME Instrument funding appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
With a deadline of 11 March 2016 the first AQUAEXCEL2020 (AQUAculture infrastructures for EXCELlence in European fish research towards 2020) call for access is now open.
The AQUAEXCEL2020 project invites proposals from European research groups and unites major aquaculture experimental facilities with the capacity to undertake trials on a selection of aquaculture species and system types. These installations are available to the research community for transnational access with the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
The facilities cover the range of production systems including cage, pond, recirculation, flowthrough, hatchery and disease challenge; environments including freshwater, marine, cold, temperate and warm water; scales (small, medium and industrial scale); fish species (salmonids, cold and warm water marine fish, freshwater fish and artemia); and fields of expertise (nutrition, physiology, health and welfare, genetics, engineering, monitoring and management technologies).
Researchers can propose the visits of up to two people to the chosen research infrastructure for periods of up to three months. Access to the research infrastructures and associated travel and subsistence expenses will be paid for under the project.
The research infrastructure project began in October 2015 and will look to conclude in September 2020. It is co-ordinated by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France, and currently involves 22 research partners from 12 countries. It aims to achieve sustainable growth in Europe’s aquaculture sector.
The post AQUAEXCEL2020 call for access open appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
With a deadline of 11 March 2016 the first AQUAEXCEL2020 (AQUAculture infrastructures for EXCELlence in European fish research towards 2020) call for access is now open.
The AQUAEXCEL2020 project invites proposals from European research groups and unites major aquaculture experimental facilities with the capacity to undertake trials on a selection of aquaculture species and system types. These installations are available to the research community for transnational access with the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
The facilities cover the range of production systems including cage, pond, recirculation, flowthrough, hatchery and disease challenge; environments including freshwater, marine, cold, temperate and warm water; scales (small, medium and industrial scale); fish species (salmonids, cold and warm water marine fish, freshwater fish and artemia); and fields of expertise (nutrition, physiology, health and welfare, genetics, engineering, monitoring and management technologies).
Researchers can propose the visits of up to two people to the chosen research infrastructure for periods of up to three months. Access to the research infrastructures and associated travel and subsistence expenses will be paid for under the project.
The research infrastructure project began in October 2015 and will look to conclude in September 2020. It is co-ordinated by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France, and currently involves 22 research partners from 12 countries. It aims to achieve sustainable growth in Europe’s aquaculture sector.
The post AQUAEXCEL2020 call for access open appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan have discovered the superconductivity of graphene whilst kept in its original state.
With a seemingly limitless array of uses, the ‘wonder material’ has previously been made superconductive by being coated with lithium; now graphene’s ability to conduct electricity with zero resistance has been achieved without modification. This can lead to numerous new electronic devices, power lines, and significant decreases in energy wastage as a result of excess heat from the grid.
Although the discovery was made at an extremely cold temperature of -269°C, researchers believe that this superconductivity could pave the way for the development of computers and other devices capable of transporting electrons without heat or energy wastage.
A spokesperson for the university said: “This is significant because electrons with no mass flowing with no resistance in graphene could lead to the realisation of an ultimately high speed nano-electronic device. The latest results pave the way for the further development of ultra-high speed superconducting nano devices, such as a quantum computing device, which utilises superconducting graphene in its integrated circuit.”
Whilst there is still more work to be done to make this discovery effective, graphene – graphite with a thickness of just a single atom – continues to impress the world of scientific materials.
The post Graphene used as superconductor appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
The 2016 edition of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s (EIT) Innovation Forum INNOVEIT is to take place in Budapest, Hungary, on 25-26 April.
INNOVEIT combines the EIT Awards and the EIT Stakeholder Forum and has a specific focus on joining forces for innovation in Europe.
The two-day event will explore collaboration opportunities between the EIT, KICs and other initiatives and activities in the area, and aims to showcase concrete innovations emerging from the EIT community, engage in dialogue with innovation stakeholders on synergies with other EU programmes, and present the next generation of entrepreneurs and change agents.
It is expected to bring together more than 300 participants, among them entrepreneurs; representatives from higher education and research; EU, national and regional policy makers; and entrepreneurial graduates.
The EIT Alumni CONNECT event, the annual forum for EIT graduates to meet and network, will take place in the lead up to INNOVEIT.
Registration will open at the beginning of March.
The post EIT announces INNOVEIT 2016 appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.
The dRedBox consortium has been awarded €6.4m in EU funding under Horizon 2020 to develop a next-generation cloud computing server.
The new dRedBox design aims to speed up memory access using fibre-optic connections while lowering electric power consumption by up to 20%. It is expected to lead to faster processing, better resource allocation and overall lower costs.
Data centres in Ireland currently use 7% (414MW) of all electricity generated, a figure which is set to more than double by 2020. A 20% reduction in data centres’ electricity consumption would have an environmental benefit equal to removing 150,000 cars from Irish roads.
“Kinesense is delighted to be part of shaping the future of the Cloud,” said Dr Mark Sugrue, chief technology officer at the Irish-based company, which is part of the consortium.
“Our role is to develop our video investigation solutions on the new dRedBox system and prove its efficiency. [What] this means for our customers is faster servers and lower running costs. Access to the right information at the right time is paramount for police, especially in today’s world,” he added.
The dRedBox consortium is led by IBM Research, Ireland, and comprises, in addition to Kinesense, a number of prominent R&D organisations, including Telefonica, Barcelona Supercomputing Center and naudit, Spain; the University of Thessaly and Foundation for Research and Technology, Greece; the University of Bristol, UK; Sintecs, the Netherlands; and Virtual Open Systems, France.
The project will run for three years.
The post H2020 to support greener cloud computing appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.