NEXT-3D is an innovative European-Australian project that consists of 4 academic and 2 non-academic members. The research methodology is based on the multi-disciplinary and inter-sectorial collaboration among the network participants and focuses into main themes: 3D Printing, Enhance Coating, and medical translation with the main aim to develop the next generation of multifunctional 3D materials for orthopaedic and dental implants. Multifunctional materials with drug delivery properties and antibacterial properties are desirable by clinicians. These materials promote healing and can reduce and prevent from unexpected effects on patients. Research will be conducted following a multi- and inter-disciplinary research methodology designed to develop innovative biomedical materials using advanced processing technologies (3D laser printing and sintering) with market potential. The proposed research and innovative programme will lead to the advancement of knowledge in the field and to new materials with superior properties.

The HASTECS project aims at supporting the demonstration of radical aircraft configurations (CS-2/WP1.6) by means of models and tools development that can help the designers in assessing main benefits of architectures and power management of hybrid electric propulsion. The proposed consortium involves all competences to face the huge complexity of this process. All academic researchers will gather their expertise to optimize the overall hybrid power chain, starting with electric and thermal components up to system integration by taking into account main environmental constraints. Assessments will be integrated at the system level and will include design and analysis of main components of the hybrid power chain: electric machines and related cooling, cables, power electronics and related thermal management. This system integration will take into account the main environmental constraints, especially partial discharges due to new high power and ultra-high voltage standards. The HASTECS project proposes to reach aggressive targets with a strong increase of specific powers for the main components; We especially target to double the specific power of electric machines from 5kW/kg for 2025 to 10kW/kg for 2035 while specific powers of converters would evolve from 15kW/kg for 2025 to 25kW/kg for 2035: this expected gap, when installing 4 inverter–motor drives of 1.5MW, will lead to a weight reduction of 1.8 tons, which will offer a significant fuel burn reduction estimated at 3.5% for a short range (~300nm) flight. Additional fuel burn reduction will be obtained thanks to several technological steps as on “auxiliary sources” (batteries, fuel cells, etc) and by optimizing the overall system sizing integrating the power management. Recent assessments estimate that the reduction of total energy provided by both Gas Turbines and auxiliaries (batteries of fuel cells) of the most promising electric hybrid architecture may go beyond 20% for a 300nm regional flight!

The challenge for the railway sector regarding energy is to increase the capacity while improving the energy consumption and limiting the environmental impacts, and to decrease the investment and exploitation costs, while maintaining safety and service quality. It makes it necessary to rethink railway power supply under future requests, reflecting the status of different systems. The project FUNDRES presents a deep thinking and related work to define the future of railway, based on new unified Future UNified Dc Railway Electrification System based on 9 kvDC, able to integrate the existing lines during transition period. In the coming years, MVDC power grids will contribute to the deployment of renewable energies and the electrification of transport systems. Compared to classical AC electricity distribution networks, they are generally more energy efficient and facilitate the interconnection of sources, storage elements and loads. In 2018, a new 9 kV DC railway electrification system is presented as an opportunity for railway sector. The ambitions of FUNDRES are to bring substantial improvements in the energy technology area and station for the future unified system based on 9 kVDC. The consortium composed by LAPLACE, EPFL, POLIMI and UIC will develop several scenarios, validated by experimental demonstration at the laboratory level (TRL4). The digital twin offers the possibility to predict the behaviour and the impacts of the proposed unified electrical system based on 9kvDC. The project outputs will be used to deliver new integrated technology demonstrators and scientific progress for the project IN2STEMPO, and more largely for Shift2Rail, which will be implemented in the railway network.