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FP6-SUSTDEV, Integrated Flood Risk Analysis and Management Methodologies (FLOODsite)

The management of flood risk is a critical component of public safety and quality of life. The FLOODsite Integrated Project will produce improved understanding of specific flood processes and mechanisms and methodologies for flood risk analysis and management ranging from the high level management of risk at a river-basin, estuary and coastal process cell scale down to the detailed assessment in specific areas. It includes specific actions on the hazard of coastal extremes, coastal morphodynamics and flash flood forecasting, as well as understanding of social vulnerability and flood impacts, which are critical to improving the mitigation of flood risk from all causes. The project seeks to identify technologies and strategies for sustainable flood mitigation and defence, recognising the complex interaction between natural bio-physical systems and socio-economic systems, to support spatial and policy planning in the context of global change and societal advance. Several pilot studies are included in FLOODsite. These will identify lessons from recent floods (e.g. Elbe, 2002), and test the proposed operational use of methods on integrated risk management and sustainable flood defence (the Thames and Scheldt Estuaries and the Ebro coastal delta) or new technology for flash flood forecasting (in France and Italy). FLOODsite will also develop common language, guidance and tools for dissemination of the project results and professional training packages. FLOODsite will build upon the previous and current European and national research and practice in river and coastal flood processes and flood risk mitigation methods to promote consistency of approach. Several of the FLOODsite project partners are identified as contributors to proposals for the virtual centre on floods and droughts identified in Para 1.1.6.3.II of the work programme; this virtual centre will complement the activities of the FLOODsite project.

Catenary Interface Monitoring Coherent sensing technology for electrical railway infrastructure and rolling stock for interoperable cross boundary transportation (CATIEMON)

Objective: In a deregulated EU rail market monitoring of the vehicle and infrastructure interface is mandatory for enhanced availability of operation reducing costs. Especially when a rolling stock is crossing boundaries between independent infrastructure grids, cond ition monitoring becomes crucial. A monitoring tool on OCLs overhead contact lines - for infrastructure managers is needed for an separate measurement of contact force and surface condition of the vehicle current strip. The rolling stock operator needs a complementary device to measure not only the vertical contact force, but moreover the friction force, in order to analyse the vehicle and OCL interface condition. In SMITS a monitoring system for contact force on the interface current collector lt;- gt; c ontact wire has been developed. A sensor technology has been started to explore showing the potential for an extended range of rail monitoring tools. An innovative coherent sensor technology approach shall be investigated and two independent monitoring too ls for vehicle and infrastructure be developed. These shall be validated at new rail tracks specified for TSI interoperable cross boundary transportation: the Ltschberg Basis Tunnel, CH and the HSL Zuid high speed line, NL, both ready for operation in 2007 . Demonstration tests in operation will be performed along the Korridor X infrastructure passing through different countries rail networks. The outcome of the project will enable managers to specify driving conditions for the usage of their infrastructure to avoid excessive wear improving availability. Complementary rolling stock operators can monitor OCL condition giving them an informative argument in case of damage. Condition-dependent user fees as well as threat of penalty will force vehicle and infrast ructure managers to maintain the vehicle and infrastructure interface on a superior level of availability. The operational costs will be reduced and availability of transportation capacity enhanced.

Climate Change and Variability: Impact on Central and Eastern Europe (CLAVIER)

Objective: Observational records show that the global climate is changing and ongoing changes are also visible in Central Eastern Europe. About 64Prozent of all catastrophic events in Europe since 1980 can directly be attributed to weather and climate extremes. Climate change projections show even an increasing likelihood of extremes. Certainly negative impacts of climate change will involve significant economic looses in several regions of Europe, while others may bring health or welfare problems somewhere else. Within CLAVIER three representative Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) will be studied in detail: Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Researches from 6 countries and different disciplines will identify linkages between climate change and its impact on weather patterns with consequences on air pollution, extremes events, and on water resources. Furthermore, an evaluation of the economic impact on agriculture, tourism, energy supply and the public sector will be conducted. This is of increasing importance for CEEC, which are currently facing a rapid economic development, but also for the European Union as e.g. Romania's and Bulgaria's high vulnerability from extreme events such as floods will impact not only the respective economic goals for joining the EU but also the EU solidarity fund. CLAVIER will focus on ongoing and future climate changes in Central and Eastern European Countries using measurements and existing regional scenarios to determine possible developments of the climate and to address related uncertainty. In addition, climate projections with very high detail will be carried out for CEEC to fulfil the need for a large amount of detail in time and space, which is inherent in local and regional impact assessment.

Energy in Minds

Das europaweite Förderprojekt hat zum Ziel, den Anteil fossiler Energieträger und den Ausstoß von CO2 in vier europäischen Städten innerhalb von 5 Jahren um 20 Prozent bis 30 Prozent zu senken. Teilnehmer sind Neckarsulm in Deutschland, die Energieregion Weiz-Gleisdorf in Österreich, Falkenberg in Schweden und Zlin in Tschechien. Neben diesen Städten nehmen Gornji Grad in Slowenien und die Region Turin in Italien als Beobachterstädte an dem Projekt teil. Alle Partner sind führend auf dem Gebiet regenerativer Energiesysteme und rationeller Energieverwendung. Maßnahmen: - Sensibilisierung der Bevölkerung für Energiefragen, - Energieagenturen werden eingerichtet bzw. ausgebaut, - ein jährlich stattfindender Energie-Tag' wird eingeführt, - Durchführung von Informationskampagnen, - Energiechecks und Gebäudesanierungen, - Realisierung von Sonnenkollektoren und Photovoltaikanlagen, - alte Heizungsanlagen privater Haushalte werden durch CO2-neutrale Holzpellet-Heizungen ersetzt, - biomassebetriebene Heizkraftwerke sollen die Effizienz bestehender Nahwärmeversorgung verbessern. Projekte der Partnerstädte: Im Rahmen des Projekts werden innovative Energietechnologien getestet, weiterentwickelt, ausgewertet und optimiert. Neckarsulm: Realisierung einer solarbetriebenen Klärschlamm-Trocknungsanlage, - Durchführung eines Feldversuches mit Holzpellet-Stirling Motoren. Weiz-Gleisdorf: Schaffung einer Infrastruktur zur Belieferung mit Pflanzenöl, - Fahrzeugtests mit dem Kraftstoff-Pflanzenöl. Falkenberg: Errichtung von Windturbinen, - Untersuchung passiver Kühlung mit der innovativen PCM-Technik. Zlin: Nutzung von Energie aus der Abfallverbrennung. Ein wichtiger Aspekt während der gesamten Projektdauer ist die Zusammenarbeit, der Erfahrungsaustausch, die Wissensverbreitung aller Partner inner- und außerhalb des Konsortiums. Energy in Minds.' - Visionen: Dieses Forschungsprojekt soll Initiativen anregen, unterstützend wirken, um das Energiebewußtsein der Bevölkerung positiv zu verändern und zu stärken. STZ-EGS ist Initiator und Koordinator der 18 Vertragspartner.

NextGenCell - The next generation of stationary fuel cells (NEXTGENCELL)

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).

Biomass fluidised bed gasification with in situ hot gas cleaning (AER-GAS II)

Objective: The project aim is a low-cost gasification process with integrated in-situ gas cleaning for the conversion of biomass into a product gas with high hydrogen concentration, high heating value and low tar/alkali/sulphur concentration in one process step for s ubsequent power production. The proposed process uses in-situ CO2 capture (AER, Absorption Enhanced Reforming). It is more efficient than conventional gasification due to (i) the in-situ integration of the reaction heat of CO2 absorption and water-gas shif t reaction heat (both exothermic) into the gasification and (ii) the internal reforming of primary and secondary tars, which cuts off the formation of higher tars. Thus, the chemical energy of tars remains in the product gas. The product gas after dust rem oval can directly be used in a gas engine for electricity generation. Due to the low operation temperature (up to 700 C) and due to CaO-containing bed materials, the proposed process allows the use of problematic feedstocks such as biomass with high minera l and high moisture content, e.g. straw, sewage sludge, etc., leading to an increased market potential for biomass gasification processes. Screening/development of absorbent materials with high attrition stability and tar cracking properties will be carrie d out. Analysis of tar formation/decomposition process will be studied in a lab-scale fixed bed reactor and a 100 kWth circulating fluidised bed reactor (continuous mode). With the acquired data, the 8 MWth biomass plant at Guessing, Austria, will be opera ted with absorbent bed material in order to prove the feasibility of a scale-up and to assess the economical aspects of the process. In order to point out the market potential, the cost reduction of the AER technology will be quantified in comparison with the conventional gasification power plant. Expected results will be: (i) a broad knowledge of the proposed process and (ii) a low-cost technology for biomass gasification with subsequent power production.

Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTS) of Toxic Algae (ESTTAL)

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are caused by local proliferation of algae, with deleterious consequences, particularly in coastal waters throughout the world. Negative environmental effects include toxicity to human consumers of seafood, marine faunal mortalities or morbidity, habitat damage, disruption of marine food webs and economic losses to fishing, aquaculture, and tourism. In Europe, socio-economic factors and human health risk have led to comprehensive surveillance programmes for harmful microalgae and their toxins. Among harmful microalgae and cyanobacteria in European marine and brackish waters, many produce potent neurotoxins, ichthyotoxins or hepatotoxins. Although structural elucidation of many of these groups of toxins has advanced, much less is known about biosynthetic pathways and gene regulation in toxigenic species. We propose a limited genomic study of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for toxigenic representatives of major eukaryotic microalgal groups, including dinoflagellates, raphidophytes, prymnesiophytes and diatoms, and cyanobacteria. Cultures will be grown under various environmental conditions to investigate the effects of external forcing functions on gene expression linked to toxicity and growth. After cloning of cDNA of toxigenic strains pooled from cultures grown under these different conditions into plasmid vectors, about 10,000 clones from each taxon will be randomly sequenced for ESTs. Our approach is to annotate the ESTs and attempt to identify genes associated with toxin production. DNA microarrays will be developed for screening of toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains. In addition, the sequence data will be analysed to identify other genes that may be involved in cell regulation or growth, cell cycle events, stress response and the induction of sexuality. Cultures will be grown under various environmental conditions to investigate the effects of external forcing functions on gene expression linked to toxicity and growth. Successful completion of this project will yield new information on microalgal and cyanobacterial genomic sequences for a diversity of taxa and will assist in the diagnosis of genes related to toxin biosynthesis and the formation of toxic blooms.

Reduktion des Verkehrslärms in städtischen Ballungsregionen

SILENCE ist ein integriertes Projekt im 6. EU Rahmenprogramm und basiert auf einer Kooperation von 45 Partnern aus den Bereichen Straßen- und Schienenverkehr sowie Städteplanung. Ziel ist die Entwicklung eines integrierten Systems von Methoden und Technologien für eine effiziente Reduktion der Belastung durch Verkehrslärm unter Berücksichtigung von Individualverkehr (Straße), Massentransport (Straße und Schiene) und Städteplanung. Teilprojekte: A Lärmwirkung B Computersimulation C Wechselwirkung Reifen-Straße D Schallemission Straßenfahrzeuge E Schallemission Schienenfahrzeuge F Oberflächen von Straßen G Schieneninfrastruktur H Verkehrslenkung Straßenverkehr I Städteplanung J Migration der Projektergebnisse in die Anwendung. Das gesamte Projektbudget beträgt 15.8 Millionen Euro bei einer EU-Förderung von 8.9 Millionen Euro. Die DB AG ist an den Teilprojekten E und G beteiligt mit den Schwerpunkten: 1. Reduktion des von der Schiene abgestrahlten, - Luftschalls 2. Reduktion der Luftschallemission von, - Güterwagenrädern.

Integriertes Europäisches Netzwerk für Biomasse Co-Verbrennung (NETBIOCOF)

In NETBIOCOF arbeitet das TTZ mit 24 weiteren Partnern aus 19 verschiedenen zentral- und ost-europäischen Ländern zusammen. Das Ziel dieser Koordinierungsmaßnahme ist der Aufbau einer multilateralen, interdisziplinären Interessengruppe von europäischen Fachleuten für die nachhaltige Beförderung von Biomasse Co-Verbrennung. NETBIOCOF fördert internationale Zusammenarbeit zwischen Forschungsinstitutionen, Verbänden, Universitäten in einen europäischen Zusammenhang mit einer speziellen Ausrichtung auf die osteuropäischen Länder. Eine beständige Plattform für Experten und Forschung im Biomasse Co-Verbrennung und ein Sachverständigennetzwerk werden eingerichtet, um nutzbringende Forschung und strategische Aktivitäten zu koordinieren, zu bestimmen und zu leiten, mit dem Ziel einerseits ein optimales Verfahren, Wissenslücken und Grenzen für das weitere Vorgehen zu bestimmen und andererseits Vorschläge für die Richtung zukünftiger Forschungen zu unterbreiten.

Bringing Retrofit Innovation to Application in Public Buildings (BRITA IN PUBS)

Objective: The BRITA proposal on Eco-buildings aims to increase the market penetration of innovative and effective retrofit solutions to improve energy and implement renewables, with moderate additional costs. In the first place, this will be realised by the exemplary retrofit of 9 demonstration public buildings in the four participating European region (North, Central, South, East). By choosing public buildings of different types such as colleges, cultural centres, nursery homes, student houses, churches etc. for implementing the measures it will awareness and sensitise society on energy conservation. Secondly, the research work packages will include the socio-economic research such as the identification of real project-planning needs and financing strategies, the assessment of design guidelines, the development of an internet-based knowledge tool on retrofit measures and case studies and a quality control-tool box to secure a good long-term performance of the building and the systems.

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