Library FAQ
What space technology challenges has the EIC launched competitions for?
The EIC launched challenge competitions for in-space solar energy harvesting, debris removal, in-space mobility, and de-orbiting solutions.
For which water types is CDI particularly suited?
Low- to moderate-salinity waters such as brackish water or partially treated wastewater.
How could advanced thermoelectric materials matter for Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy?
By enabling recovery of low- and mid-grade waste heat across industry, mobility and buildings to improve energy efficiency, reducing reliance on critical or toxic elements, and strengthening European capabilities in materials discovery, greener synthesis, modu...
How could CDI contribute to Europe’s water resilience and autonomy?
By providing low-voltage, pressure-free desalination and selective removal of salts, nutrients, or heavy metals, enabling decentralised treatment and resource recovery, reducing energy intensity and operational dependencies, and aligning with European water po...
How could in-space servicing robotics affect Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy?
By enabling life extension, controlled refurbishment, and selective reuse of space assets, reducing exposure to irreversible failures and launch/supply-chain disruptions, and strengthening European capabilities in space safety, sustainability, and traffic mana...
How could microbial biomining support Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy?
By enabling recovery of critical metals from secondary and unconventional sources within Europe, supporting the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Circular Economy Action Plan, and embedding metal extraction with bioremediation at industrial or post-mining sit...
What are advanced in-space servicing robotics?
Technologies enabling autonomous or semi-autonomous execution of complex operations in space with minimal human intervention, including inspection, repair, refuelling, relocation, assembly, end-of-life handling, and processing of materials already in orbit.
What are electrochemical treatment systems for persistent contaminants in water?
Systems that chemically transform or mineralise persistent pollutants such as PFAS and degrade micro- and nanoplastics directly in the aqueous phase, aiming to destroy contaminants rather than transfer them into secondary waste streams.
What are recent advances in CDI technology?
Improved electrode materials (carbon nanotubes, graphene), membrane capacitive deionization, flow-electrode CDI for continuous operation, and exploration of Faradaic redox-active electrodes for higher ion selectivity, capacity, and cycling stability, extending...
What are the main challenges for in-space servicing robotics today?
Most enabling technologies remain at low-to-mid readiness levels; key challenges include autonomy, reliability, qualification, safety and verification models, transferable skills, and governance of autonomous operations in shared orbits.
What are thermoelectric materials and what do they do?
Materials that convert heat directly into electricity via effects such as the Seebeck and Nernst effects; their performance is measured by the figure of merit zT and they are well suited to harvesting low- to mid-grade waste heat.
What is capacitive deionization (CDI)?
An electrochemical water treatment that removes dissolved ions by applying a voltage between high-surface-area carbon electrodes, causing ions to adsorb in electrical double layers; electrodes are regenerated by reversing or removing the voltage, and the proce...
What is microbial biomining?
A biotechnological process that uses extremophilic, acidophilic microorganisms (thriving at about pH 0.05–3.0) to oxidise metal sulphides and release metal ions, enabling extraction of metals from ores, solid materials, water, and waste streams; it also includ...
What is new about recent developments in in-space servicing robotics?
A shift from isolated demonstrations to integrated, repeatable maintenance and reuse concepts, including robotic-assisted assembly, coordinated clusters of simpler robotic arms, in-orbit additive manufacturing, and feasibility studies for reusing space debris...
What kinds of operations can in-space servicing robotics perform?
Inspection, repair, refuelling, relocation, assembly, end-of-life handling of spacecraft and orbital assets, and extraction, processing, and transformation of materials present in orbit.
What recent advances have been made in microbial biomining?
Extending biomining to mine tailings, industrial residues, e‑waste and wastewater; improvements in metal selectivity and extraction via bioengineered surfaces, synthetic peptides, customised microbial collections; use of multi-omics, synthetic biology, adaptiv...
What recent developments improve electrochemical destruction of PFAS and plastics?
Advanced electrode materials and architectures (including three-dimensional graphene-based electrodes) that enhance electrocatalytic activity, improve pollutant–electrode interaction, suppress unwanted by-products, and enable operation at ambient conditions wi...
Which metals can microbial biomining target?
Gold, silver, uranium, nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium, and zinc, among others.
Which thermoelectric materials and approaches are highlighted as emerging?
Established systems (bismuth telluride, lead telluride, skutterudites, half-Heuslers) and emerging classes (magnesium-based compounds, organic and polymer thermoelectrics, organic–inorganic hybrids), plus approaches using topological band structures, magnetic...
Why are electrochemical systems for contaminant destruction important for Europe?
They address regulatory and public-health priorities (e.g., Drinking Water Directive, REACH) by enabling decentralised, reagent-free treatment of PFAS and plastics, reducing environmental liabilities and improving control over advanced water-treatment capabili...
How are EIC Pathfinder proposals evaluated?
Evaluation is in two steps: remote evaluation by EIC expert evaluators against the award criteria, then an EIC evaluation committee reviews proposals passing the first step to select the best portfolio to meet the Challenge objectives.
How are EIC Transition proposals selected and what happens at the interview?
A pool of the best ranked proposals requesting about double the available budget may be invited to interview. The EIC aims to adjust to ensure at least 30% of applications are from women-led SMEs/consortia where possible. At interview up to five persons (who m...
What are the 2022 cut-off dates and the evaluation timeline for EIC Transition proposals?
Cut-off dates are 4 May 2022 and 28 September 2022 at 17:00 Brussels time. Remote evaluation results are provided within 9 weeks after the cut-off; interviews are organised approximately 13 weeks after the cut-off; and interview results are communicated within...
What are the award criteria and thresholds for EIC Pathfinder Challenges?
Three criteria: Excellence (threshold 4/5, weight 60%), Impact (threshold 3.5/5, weight 20%), and Quality and efficiency of the implementation (threshold 3/5, weight 20%). Subcriteria include objectives and relevance, novelty, methodology, potential impact, in...