CINEA has signed grant agreements worth EUR 437 million under Horizon Europe Transport with 79 projects selected for funding with topics relating to Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition(HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01), Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes (HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01), and Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods (HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01).

Examples of funded projects

HELENA – Halide solid state batteries for ELectric vEhicles aNd Aircrafts

HELENA responds to the need to develop safe, high energy efficiency and power density solid-state battery (4b generation batteries) cells based on high capacity Ni-rich cathode, high-energy Li metal anode and Li-ion superionic halide solid electrolyte for application in electric vehicles and aircraft. HELENA will support Europe’s transition towards a climate-neutral continent, also avoiding dependence on battery production from Asia.

HELENA is built by a multidisciplinary and highly research experienced consortium that covers the whole battery value chain and proposes a disruptive halide-based solid-state cell technology intending to significantly increase the adoption of these batteries on EVs and aircraft. The technical challenges presented by current conventional battery technology will be overcome by reducing the batteries’ costs, enabling scalable and safe cell manufacturing, increasing their capabilities for long-distance travelling and fast charging, and ensuring high battery safety.

  • EU contribution: € 8,37  million
  • Total cost: € 8,37 million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-03 – Advanced high-performance Generation 4a, 4b (solid-state) Li-ion batteries supporting electro mobility and other applications
  • Duration: 48 months
  • Partners countries: ES, AT, FR, BE, NL, DE, SI, IT

NextETRUCK

The overreaching objective of the NexETRUCK project is to play an important role in the decarbonization of the vehicle fleets by demonstrating next generation e-mobility concepts consisting of holistic, innovative, affordable, competitive and synergetic zero emission vehicles (ZEV) and ecosystems for tomorrow’s medium freight haulage (MFH).

NexETRUCK aims towards a significant leap of knowledge at component, vehicle, fleet, infrastructure and ecosystem levels, via innovations at e-powertrain components and architectures, smart charging infrastructure and management improved thermal design of the cabin, fleet management systems with IoT and digital tools.

The main NextETRUCK objectives include 10% energy efficiency increase compared to existing highest-end benchmark EVs of the same size, efficient fast charging concept and infrastructure and development of business models to increase the end user acceptance and foster market uptake. Results will be demonstrated in three different unique real-world cases where the concept will be validated for a range of at least 200 km daily operation over a period of at least 6 months.

  • EU contribution: € 11,4 million
  • Total cost: € 14,7 million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01 “Nextgen vehicles: Innovative zero emission BEV architectures for regional medium freight haulage”
  • Duration: 42 months
  • Partners: Netherlands (2), Belgium (3), Germany (3), Spain (5), Greece, Austria (2), Turkey, UK(2).

AeroSolfd – Fast track to cleaner, healthier urban Aerosols by market ready Solutions of retrofit Filtration Devices for tailpipe, brake systems and closed environments

The AeroSolfd project will deliver affordable, adaptable, and environmentally friendly retrofit solutions to reduce tailpipe and brake emissions and pollution in (semi-) closed environments. This will allow a quick transition towards cleaner mobility and a healthier environment.

Toxic particles from tailpipe, brakes, tyres and rail-wheel contact – especially in semi-open and closed environments like bus stops, tunnels, and train and metro stations – contribute to poor local air, soil, and water quality, severely impacting human health. To limit these detrimental effects, immediate retrofit solutions to reduce tailpipe and brake wear emissions must be urgently developed and introduced to the market by 2025.

AeroSolfd is a fast-track innovation action established to tackle these challenges. A consortium – composed of large industrial players, renowned scientific institutes and lighthouse demo sites from 8 European countries – has joined forces to realise the quick deployment of three low-cost retrofit solutions so that people in Europe and beyond can benefit already by 2025 from cleaner mobility and a healthier environment.

During the three-year innovation project, the effectiveness of AeroSolfd’s solutions will be demonstrated in the field and during real driving conditions in lighthouse demo sites across Europe: Valladolid (Spain), Sofia (Bulgaria), Ancona and Fermo (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal), Rovaniemi (Finland), Haifa (Israel), and Biel (Switzerland).

  • EU contribution: € 5,00  million
  • Total cost: € 8,22 million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01
  • Duration: 36 months
  • Partners countries: GE, ES, DK, NL, BG, PT, IT, CH

HYPOBATT – Hyper powered vessel battery charging system

HYPOBATT project will deliver a modular, fast, and easy multi-MW recharging system that copes with required grid constraints (frequency/input voltage levels, grid codes) and battery degradation constraints. Moreover, the project will develop new business models for electrical ships and their port operations in close cooperation with land side stakeholders and engagement of shipbuilders, ports, charger, and connection providers considering future port and energy infrastructures. Impact of the solution form social, environmental, and commercial aspects will be assessed throughout the lifetime of the project.

In addition, HYPOBATT will analyse the market and feasibility assessment of the more widespread deployment of fast high power electrical charging of vessels in other ports and will deliver new business models considering high availability, reduced maintenance, and fast turnaround increasing Europe’s technological lead in fast charging systems for batteries in a wide range of vessel types.

  • EU contribution: € 6.6 million
  • Total cost: € 9.3 million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01
  • Duration: 42 months
  • Partners countries: ES, NL, IT, BE, FR, TR, DE, PL, EL

HELENUS – High-Efficiency Low Emission Nautical Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

HELENUS will demonstrate a 500 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) module that is spatially, electrically, and thermally integrated within a cruise ship. Moreover, the project will demonstrate the scalability of the installed SOFC capacity up to 20 MW for large cruise ship applications, in terms of spatial integration into the ship design, efficiency improvement, emissions reduction, system reliability, and redundancy requirements. The system efficiency and emissions improvements will be demonstrated through the implementation of SOFCs over a broad range of maritime applications such as dredging and offshore vessels, through assessment of system sizing, transient optimisation, and experimental validation.

The project will create a technological and regulatory roadmap toward increasing the use of renewable fuels with SOFCs in maritime applications. This includes demonstrating the fuel flexibility of the developed SOFC module through technical assessment and experimental validation, with renewable maritime fuels (e.g. ammonia, methanol, ammonia, renewable diesel, or hydrogen).

  • EU contribution: € 14.8 million
  • Total cost: € 15.670.245.million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01
  • Duration: 60 months
  • Partners countries: DE, NO, NL, FR, MT

NH3CRAFT – Safe and efficient storage of ammonia within ships

The NH3CRAFT project will develop a next-generation sustainable, commercially attractive and safe technology for high-volume storage and transportation of ammonia as fuel on-board ships. Both hydrogen and ammonia offer decarbonised operation of shipping when being used as engine fuel. Hydrogen storage as liquid on-board ship requires high pressure and extremely low temperature (approx. -260°C at atmosphere pressure). In contrast, ammonia comes with a number of advantages. Ammonia needs less space for the same energy content and current market prices are more competitive, it can be easily stored in liquid form (-33°C at atmosphere pressure) and from an industry point of view, ammonia is more mature for use as a marine fuel.

The project will focus on ammonia storage system design and demonstration on the case ship, including five (5) desktop study case ships and a scale-up study.

The process will be realized by developing a new design methodology that will offer the feasibility of 1,000 m3 storage of ammonia (NH3) in liquid form at a pressure of 10 bar and demonstrating it on a 31,000 deadweight ton multi-purpose vessel. In addition, for ensuring the wider applicability and refinement of the developed methodology, five (5) different types of vessels and corresponding fuel-storage tanks concepts will be studied and documented.

  • EU contribution: € 8.5 million
  • Total cost: € 12.8 million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01
  • Duration: 36 months
  • Partners countries: EL, IT, DE, CY, NL

BeCoM Better Contrails Mitigation

The BeCoM project aims to improve the understanding and to mitigate the climate impact of non-CO2 aviation emissions. The project will tackle contrails at different levels (observations and measurements, modelling and predictions using advanced numerical methods and AI, ATM and optimized trajectories, as well as policy aspects relevant to market-based measures.

The BeCoM project will largely reduce or eliminate the global mean contrail radiative forcing, hence a substantial reduction of aviation’s share of global warming to be achievable on a much shorter time horizon. This is facilitated by confidently forecast of persistent contrails, the reduced weather-dependent individual contrail radiative effects, and the successful avoidance of strongly warming contrails via trajectory optimization.

The project will develop novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to complement the assimilation and validation process. BeCoM will predict the exact location and time of persistent contrail formation and formulate recommendations on how to implement strategies to enable Air Traffic Management to reduce aviation’s climate impact.

The BeCoM consortium, composed of one university, three research institutes, two companies and one international association, builds on its knowledge and expertise covering a wide spectrum from atmospheric science, climate research and AI capabilities to aviation operations research and policy development.

  • EU contribution: € 4.5 million
  • Total cost: € 4.5 million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01
  • Duration: 48 months
  • Partners countries: NL, DE, FR, BE

MATISSE – Multifunctional structures with quasi-solid-state Li-ion battery cells and sensors for the next generation climate-neutral aircraft

The MATISSE project will deliver improved aircraft technologies in the area of multifunctional structures capable of storing electrical energy for hybrid electric aircraft applications. This consists in integrating Li-ion cells into aeronautical composite structures, sharing the load-bearing function with the structure and achieving an aircraft structural element capable of functioning as a battery module.

The MATISSE project will also encompass aspects related to flight certification, life-cycle sustainability and virtual scale-up, paving the way towards the application of structural batteries as an improved performance key enabling technology for next-generation commuter and regional hybrid-electric aircraft applications.

The MATISSE project will deliver a multifunctional structure demonstrator capable of power delivery, power management and safety monitoring and will also encompass aspects related to flight certification,  life-cycle sustainability and virtual scale-up, paving the way toward the application of structural batteries as an improved performance key enabling technology for next-generation commuter and regional hybrid-electric aircraft applications.

  • EU contribution: € 3.5 million
  • Total cost: € 3.5 million
  • Topic: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01
  • Duration: 36 months
  • Partners countries: AT, FR, IT, SI, DE, IL

Source: European Commission