Library FAQ
How should Area 2 validate the developed metrics and protocols?
Devices from Area 1 should serve as a portfolio-owned testbed to validate methodologies, protocols and equipment in practice, and acceptance by a broad range of stakeholders must be ensured from the start (e.g., co-creation workshops and outreach).
What are the requirements for Area 1 (standalone solar-to-X devices)?
Develop standalone devices converting sunlight and simple low-energy molecules (e.g., water, carbon oxides, N2) into fuels, chemicals or materials, enable simplified production chains beyond H2/CO, design systems to operate independently for local use, and rea...
What are the three specific Areas projects must choose from in the solar-to-X Challenge?
Area 1: Standalone solar-to-X device development; Area 2: Benchmarking and common metrics development for solar-to-X devices; Area 3: Understanding fundamental mechanisms via computational materials science.
What collective outcomes are expected from the solar-to-X project portfolio?
To cover Areas 1–3 ensuring device maturity, standardized metrics and exploration of fundamental mechanisms, and to identify impactful end products and application cases across sectors such as energy, chemical, transport, construction, agriculture, and food/fe...
What does Area 3 (computational materials science) focus on?
Exploring fundamental phenomena crucial to multiple device architectures, improving atomistic theory-experiment comparisons, developing accurate and less resource-demanding quantum mechanical methods, and bridging scales from atomic to macroscopic within multi...
What environmental and economic criteria must solar-to-X systems meet?
They must be cost-efficient with a simplified balance-of-plant, use locally sourced feedstock (preferably valorizing waste streams and solar energy), promote abundant and sustainable fabrication resources, and clearly identify and address a future market need.
What is not considered eligible for the solar-to-X Challenge regarding feedstock and scope?
Technologies starting from energy-rich feedstock like biomass and proposals that address only parts of the full solar-to-X chain (e.g., half reactions) will not be considered.
What is the aim of Area 2 (benchmarking and metrics) in the solar-to-X Challenge?
To develop common metrics, protocols and equipment for fair and standardized comparison across technologies and classes, plus a holistic framework of key performance indicators applicable to multiple device architectures.
What is the aim of the Nature inspired alternatives for food packaging and films challenge?
To develop sustainable, nature-inspired alternatives to fossil-carbon-based plastics for food packaging and agricultural films that deliver required functional characteristics while reducing environmental impact and maximizing reuse, recycling and biodegradabi...
What is the goal of the Nanoelectronics for energy-efficient smart edge devices Challenge?
To explore novel materials, beyond-CMOS devices, non-von Neumann architectures and alternative processing paradigms that drastically reduce energy consumption and heat dissipation in smart edge devices through holistic co-design of geometry, materials, circuit...
What is the main objective of the solar-to-X Challenge?
To develop devices that directly convert sunlight and simple feedstock molecules into fuels, chemicals or materials by integrating all necessary conversion steps into a single solar-driven device that is self-sustaining and benefits prosumers and the environme...
What is the overall goal of the cement and concrete Pathfinder Challenge?
To support breakthrough innovations that utilize and store CO2 or avoid CO2 emissions in cement and concrete production, aiming to be more cost-effective than CCS and to significantly reduce the sector's environmental impact.
What materials and lifecycle requirements are requested for packaging alternatives?
Projects should utilize abundant bio-based sources (e.g., cellulose, chitin, lignin, keratin, microbial, fungal, plant materials) and demonstrate at least preliminary evidence of improved cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave lifecycle assessments, reducing energ...
What performance requirement must low-carbon cement innovations meet?
Any innovation that reduces CO2 emissions must still enable, meet or exceed the performance and workability criteria of incumbent products by the time of market adoption, as referenced by industry norms and standards.
What regulatory and functional aspects must packaging proposals address?
Pay attention to regulatory aspects of chemical additives for food contact, formulate to meet biodegradability criteria across EU environments, include enhanced functional characteristics (e.g., increase shelf life, enhance agricultural film productivity), and...
What technological categories must Area 1 applicants specify?
Applicants must state which of the following their technology belongs to: novel electrolyzer designs, fully-integrated PV-EC, photosynthetic devices, or solar-driven biological conversion devices.
What TRL and outcome expectations exist for cement-related projects?
Project results must demonstrate validation in a laboratory environment (TRL4). The portfolio should cover the four domains, develop common metrics and terminology, and include a rough order of magnitude estimate of potential emission reduction impacts.
Which technology domains does the cement challenge support?
1) Alternative low-carbon binders and engineered carbon mineralisation (e.g., magnesia-based, carbonation curing); 2) Technologies for more efficient use of clinker and cement (novel SCMs, particle size optimization, admixtures); 3) Technologies lowering or ne...
Which types of devices are excluded from the solar-to-X Challenge?
Devices driven by electricity or heat are not the focus, except for radically new electrolyzer designs beyond incremental R&D on mature electrolyzer designs. Partially integrated systems that do not significantly simplify the balance-of-plant are out of scope.
How could inverse design with digital twins strengthen Europe’s resilience and autonomy?
By accelerating development of advanced materials tailored to European industrial, environmental, and regulatory conditions, shortening design-to-manufacturing cycles, supporting Net-Zero Industry Act objectives, and reinforcing value chains for clean and reso...
How could perennial crops support Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy?
Accelerated domestication could enable low-input cropping that reduces fertiliser reliance, stabilises soils, limits nutrient leakage, enhances carbon sequestration, and strengthens regionally adapted crop development aligned with EU agricultural and soil stra...
How could spin-caloritronic materials matter for Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy?
They may broaden options for low-grade heat recovery and thermal sensing, support energy efficiency goals under EU directives, and align with STEP priorities in magnetic materials and spin-based transport, but require sustained research to address stability, s...
How does mycelium-based hybrid fermentation differ from existing food biotech approaches?
Rather than ultra-processed single-ingredient precision fermentation, it creates complex whole-food products via engineered multi-species consortia in a single fermentation step, integrating structure and function and shortening value chains while leveraging d...
How do spin-caloritronic systems differ from conventional thermoelectrics?
They generate heat-induced electrical signals via spin currents and magnetic excitations rather than relying on charge carrier diffusion and high charge mobility, making them potentially suitable for low-grade heat harvesting and sensing where classic thermoel...