Objective: As consumption of psychoactive substances such as alcohol, drugs and certain medicines are likely to endanger the drivers aptitude and impaired driving is still one of the major causes for road accidents, some active steps have to be taken to reach the goal of a 50% reduction in the number of road deaths in the EU. The objective of DRUID is to give scientific support to the EU transport policy to reach the 2010th road safety target by establishing guidelines and measures to combat impaired driving. DRUID will - conduct reference studies of the impact on fitness to drive for alcohol, illicit drugs and medicines and give new insights to the real degree of impairment caused by psychoactive drugs and their actual impact on road safety - generate recommendations for the definition of analytical and risk thresholds - analyse the prevalence of drugs and medicines in accidents and in general driving, set up a comprehensive and efficient epidemiological database.
The proposed regulation concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH) requires demonstration of the safe manufacture of chemicals and their safe use throughout the supply chain. There is therefore a strong need to strengthen and advance human and environmental risk assessment knowledge and practices with regard to chemicals, in accord with the precautionary principle. The goal of the project OSIRIS is to develop integrated testing strategies (ITS) fit for REACH that enable to significantly increase the use of non-testing information for regulatory decision making, and thus minimise the need for animal testing. To this end, operational procedures will be developed, tested and disseminated that guide a transparent and scientifically sound evaluation of chemical substances in a risk-driven, context-specific and substance-tailored (RCS) manner. The envisaged decision theory framework includes alternative methods such as chemical and biological read-across, in vitro results, in vivo information on analogues, qualitative and quantitative structure-activity relationships, thresholds of toxicological concern and exposure-based waiving, and takes into account cost-benefit analyses as well as societal risk perception. It is based on the new REACH paradigm to move away from extensive standard testing to a more intelligent, substance-tailored approach. The work will be organised in five interlinked research pillars (chemical domain, biological domain, exposure, integration strategies and tools, case studies), with a particular focus on more complex, long-term and high-cost endpoints. Case studies will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the new ITS methodologies, and provide guidance in concrete form. To ensure optimal uptake of the results obtained in this project, end-users in industry and regulatory authorities will be closely involved in monitoring and in providing specific technical contributions to this project.
The ATTICA consortium offers to provide the European community with a coherent series of assessments of the impact of transport emissions on climate change and ozone depletion. Three assessments will cover the emissions of single transport sectors, viz. of aviation, shipping, and road and rail traffic. Another assessment deals with metrics that allow to describe, quantify, and compare in a fair way the effects of the transport emissions in the atmosphere. Finally, a synthesis of the foregoing assessments will be written that will provide the overview of the impacts of the emissions of all transport sectors on climate change and the ozone layer. For the first time, different modes of transport will be consistently assessed. The consistent assessment allows the interested citizen to estimate in principle their own contribution to environmental problems and to compare it to that of others. Apart from policy and decision makers, the synthesis assessment will help journalists, teachers, and others, to digest the results and to present them in public media, in schools and universities, ensuring wide spread of the results. The assessments and the synthesis report will inform the EU in developing its policy and will strengthen its position in international climate conventions and other international agreements. It will help finding emission reduction and mitigation strategies, and give advice for industry on design of future engines and vehicles, thereby strengthening the European position.
MODELKEY comprises a mulitdisciplinary approach aiming at developing interlinked and verified predictive modelling tools as well as state-of-the-art effect-assessment and analytical methods generally applicable to European freshwater and marine ecosystems: 1) to assess, forecast, and mitigate the risks of traditional and recently evolving pollutants on fresh water and marine ecosystems and their biodiversity at a river basin and adjacent marine environment scale, 2) to provide early warning strategies on the basis of sub-lethal effects in vitro and in vivo, 3) to provide a better understanding of cause-effect-relationships between changes in biodiversity and the ecological status, as addressed by the Water Framework Directive, and the impact of environmental pollution as causative factor, 4) to provide methods for state-of-the-art risk assessment and decision support systems for the selection of the most efficient management options to prevent effects on biodiversity and to prioritise contamination sources and contaminated sites, 5) to strengthen the scientific knowledge on an European level in the field of impact assessment of environmental pollution on aquatic eco-systems and their biodiversity by extensive training activities and knowledge dissemination to stakeholders and the scientific community. This goal shall be achieved by combining innovative predictive tools for modelling exposure on a river basin scale including the estuary and the coastal zone, for modelling effects on higher levels of biological organisation with powerful assessment tools for the identification of key modes of action, key toxicants and key parameters determining exposure. The developed tools will be verified in case studies representing European key areas including Mediterranean, Western and Central European river basins. An end-user-directed decision support system will be provided for cost-effective tool selection and appropriate risk and site prioritisation.
The HyFLEET:CUTE project involves the operation of 47 hydrogen powered buses in regular public transport service in 10 cities on three continents. The Project aims to diversify and reduce energy consumption in the transport system by developing new, fuel efficient hydrogen powered bus technology, and clean, efficient and safe ways of producing and distributing hydrogen fuel. Objectives: - Develop hydrogen powered bus technology in order to reduce the consumption of fuel and energy in the whole transportation system. - Develop efficient and environmentally 'friendly' ways to produce hydrogen. - Research the technology and development needs to establish a hydrogen refueling infrastructure. - Inform the community and key decision-makers about the potential advantages of a hydrogen-based transport system and how they can help to develop it.
Earthquakes are a serious threat for many countries of Europe, particularly for those around the Mediterranean Sea. Early warning systems, based on real time, automated analysis of ground motion measurements, can play an important role in reducing the negative impact of catastrophic events on densely populated areas and, particularly, in mitigating the damage to strategic structures and lifelines. Europe is covered by numerous high quality seismic networks, managed by national and by European agencies, including also some local networks specifically designed for seismic early warning around large cities like Bucharest, Istanbul and Naples, respectively. The SAFER project is aimed at fully exploiting the possibilities offered by a real time analysis of the signals coming from seismic networks for a wide range of actions, performed in a time interval of a few seconds to some tens of minutes. These actions range from the shut down of critical systems of lifelines, industries, highways, railways, etc. and the activation of control systems for the protection of crucial structures, to decision support for rapid response of the emergency management (ground shaking maps, continuously expected damage scenarios, aftershocks hazard etc.). The project is structured in 6 work-packages: (1) Project Coordination and Management (2) Real-Time Estimation of Source Parameters (3) Real-Time Damage Assessment and Reduction Strategies (4) Real- Time Shake Maps (5) Real-Time Aftershock Hazard Assessment (6) Dissemination of Results and End User Interface. The work-packages address all major components of an earthquake early warning system. Tasks of Section 5.3 within the project Preparation of the foundations to generate the most realistic earth shake maps possible: 1.) Derivation of detailed attenuation models of the macroseismic intensity in specified test areas and 2.) Derivation of regional relations between intensities and physical ground motion parameters.
Objective: Designed as a joint EU and US collaborative effort in the framework of the EU-US Cooperation Agreement on fuel cells, NextGenCell aims to bring domestic fuel cell microCHP (1-5kWel) next step towards commercialisation. In FP5 Vaillant, Plug Power, and othe r European partners have demonstrated low temperature PEM fuel cell microCHP systems. Three major hurdles were identified: 1. Costs must be reduced significantly, 2. Reliability must be improved via system simplification, 3. System temperature must be increased. High Temperature (HT) PEM MEA technology at 160-180 C has the potential to overcome those hurdles. R&D on MEA, Fuel Cell System, components development and integration will lead to a developed and tested 1-5kW HT PEM fuel cell prototype microCH P system with modular design for global markets. Specific objectives relevant to TP 6.1 at production volumes are: 1. Total system costs less than 400 EUR/kW: - Significant system simplification (no CO clean-up and water management) - Increase mechanical stability of MEA - Reduction of system costs (e.g. of Balance of Plant, fuel processor, maintenance/recycling) and low cost bi-directional inverter development 2. Modular system design: - modular system design for different market applications (CHP and future tri-generation) - Increase electrical efficiency up to 35Prozent with 85Prozent total efficiency 3. Durability greater than 40.000 hours: - MEA Development with more stable cathode material and corrosion -resistant cathodes 4. Electronic control systems for optimal heat and power management and reduced costs; - CHP hydraulics concept Development (system scalability 1-5kW) - Embedded controller with 70Prozent less cost - microCHP Controls optimisation in a Virtual Power Plant. The team is based on strong industrial and scientifically partnership, includes a SME and participants from Acceding Country Bulgaria and Slovenia as one of the new member states. Five participants have expressed to join the Joint Technology Platform (JTI).
Knowledge of the solar energy resource has been generated over the past years within several European and national projects. Large steps forward have been made for the benefit of research, renewable energy industry, policy making and the environment. Nevertheless, these multiple efforts have led to a fragmentation and uncoordinated access: different sources of information and solar radiation products are now available, but uncertainty about their quality remains. At the same time, communities of users lack common understanding how to exploit the developed knowledge. The project MESoR aims at removing the uncertainty and improving the management of the solar energy resource knowledge. The results of past and present large-scale initiatives in Europe, will be integrated, standardised and disseminated in a harmonised way to facilitate their effective exploitation by stakeholders. This coordination action will contribute to preparation of the future roadmap for R&D and strengthening the European position in the international field. The project includes activities in user guidance (benchmarking of models and data sets; handbook; best practices), unification of access to information (use of advanced information technologies; offering one-stop-access to several databases), connecting to other initiatives (INSPIRE of the EU, POWER of the NASA, SHC and PVPS of the IEA, GMES/GEO) and to related scientific communities (energy, meteorology, geography, medicine, ecology), and dissemination (stakeholders involvement, future R&D, communication).
Objective: The use of Solid Recovered Fuels (SRF) derived from mixed-/mono waste streams is expected to result in a significant contribution to the generation of sustainable energy. The demand for alternative waste treatment is addressed by production and direct co-combustion of SRF in pulverised fuel fired power plants as an environmentally friendly, energy efficient, short-term available and cost effective technical solution. The project assists the implementation of EU policies (energy, environmental, economic and social goals) by sustainable energy production, CO2 emission reduction, preservation of natural resources and abatement of hazardous impacts on the environment due to landfill. The proposed project comprises large-scale demonstration of SRF co-combustion at a 450MWth brown coal/lignite boiler of RWE Rheinbraun AG in a continuous period of at least 12 months with the scope of permanent and reliable operation. A thermal share of 10% is envisaged (25.000 - 50.000 Mg/a SRF) resulting in a direct environmental benefit up to 50.000 Mg/a CO2 by the efficient use of the renewable share of SRF. With successful demonstration the implementation of the SRF co-combustion technology at further comparable and larger units of RWE is envisaged. Operational problems arising during former short-term co-combustion tests with hard coal could be successfully solved by an improved fuel production and a reliable quality control system. The interaction between a reliable quality control, quality management system and the combustion technology makes this technology competitive in the liberalised energy market without any additional subsidy. To achieve the ambitious goals partners of industry and research centres with substantial expertise in the areas covering the whole waste-to-energy chain created a consortium.
Objective: PROMIT is the European Coordination Action (CA) for inter-modal freight transport initiating, facilitating and supporting the coordination and cooperation of national and European initiatives, projects, promotion centres, technology providers, research institutes and user groups related to this most complex transport form. The strategic PROMIT objective is to contribute to a faster improvement and implementation of inter-modal transport technologies and procedures and to help promoting inter-modal transport and mode shift by creating awareness on innovations, best practices and inter-modal transport opportunities for potential users as well as for politicians and for the research community. Due to the immense size of the inter-modality domain PROMIT has chosen a matrix organisation, where the domain expertise is treated in five parallel clusters: (1) Organisation and business models, (2) Inter-modal infrastructure and equipment, (3) Information and Communication Technologies, (4) Operation and services.
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