Award Recipients: 2020 Horizon Global Platform Competition

1. The specific objectives of the Canadian work in WP2 are to:

• Choose bubbling fluid-bed autothermal pyrolysis (BFB-ATP) operating conditions for optimizing the capture and concentration of the biomass-contaminating metals in the solid phase product of the process.
• Propose a protocol allowing the conversion of the pyroliquids into a conventional refinery FCC-compatible stream.
• Optimize a reforming protocol for the conversion of the pyrogases through catalytic reforming into a Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS)-compatible SG.
• Optimize the FTS conversion of the previously derived SG into a liquid biofuel targeting mainly the maximization of jet biofuel.

2. Summary of research approach

The steps of this conversion route are: a) bubbling fluid bed autothermal pyrolysis or gasification; b) pyrolysis liquids catalytic cracking; and c) use of pyrolysis gases as produced or after a reforming step for biofuel production through a 3-φ slurry reactor FTS. The specification of the contaminated feedstock of WP1 will be carried out using advanced analysis techniques in order to evaluate subsequent technological options.

For this conversion route, the contaminated feedstock will come from local (Quebec and/or Ontario) switchgrass plantations grown on contaminated soils. The level of contamination in inorganic contaminants will be evaluated and comparisons will be made with Europe-produced feedstock. The following specific tasks are to be performed:

2.1. High temperature autothermal pyrolysis: Continuous BFB-ATP of pretreated biomass with inorganic pollutants. This BFB-ATP reactor can be operated under pyrolysis and gasification regimes.

2.2. Pyrolysis liquids catalytic cracking: Pyrolysis liquids produced in BFB-ATP will be tested in a kg-lab-scale fixed-bed catalytic cracker for their potential to produce an appropriate additive for fossil fuel refining operations.

2.3. FTS: Use of pyrolysis products as produced or after a reforming step for biofuel production in a 3-φ slurry reactor FTS.

3. Novelty and expected significance: The BFB-ATP is a novel process intensification technology and its application is highly innovative. The same applies to the pyrolysis liquids posttreatment to produce FCC-compatible fuel and FTS green fuel. Both steps represent a high technological risk and an equivalently high expected yield. The success of these steps will allow land decontamination with production of biofuels and give Canada a clear technological advance.

Climate change is the most significant challenge for humanity today. For this reason, replacement of fossil fuels with renewables and improved energy efficiency in combination with CO2 capture is needed. Among renewables, biomass will play a major role in satisfying the human energy needs. EUCANwin! will increase viability of the biomass supply chain from forest resources, and develop an efficient heat and power technology with a high share of power production together with negative carbon emissions in international cooperation between the European Union and Canada.

In particular, to overcome these challenges, EUCANwin! involves artificial intelligence in combination with tools and technologies within the biomass supply chain, such as the Forest Biomass Atlas, the tree-length harvesting method and the On-board intelligent biomass analyser, to supply sustainable, long-term and cost-efficient biomass feedstock for biopower production. Moreover, it will develop the technology of the Biomass-fired Top Cycle (BTC) for high-efficiency electricity production (up to 55%). Finally, the project will determine the optimal and cost-efficient CO2 capture technology for the purpose of the BTC conversion process.

To do so, the EUCANwin! consortium gathers the necessary experience, knowledge and resources. It successfully works as an international cooperation, by means of 10 entities from six different countries, including Canada and five EU countries (Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Spain and Sweden), among which are two Canadian universities, three RTD organizations and five small to medium-sized enterprises to ensure market exploitation (two industrial companies and three innovation consultancies).

DIALOGUES will support the Energy Union with operational research on energy citizenship that enables citizens to take a central role in the energy transition. To reach this objective, the project will operationalize, contextualize, measure and support the framework environments, policies and institutions that allow deep, inclusive energy citizenship to emerge. The key focus of DIALOGUES is on co-creating energy citizenship innovations that include the perspectives of groups currently on the margins of the energy transition, such as, women, low-income households, energy poor, and ethnic minorities. DIALOGUES's central methodological pillar is grounded in tested inter- and trans-disciplinary techniques, with a spotlight on open innovation and co-design of the research process through novel Citizen Action Labs in eight countries. For the policy and research communities, DIALOGUES will move the idea of energy citizenship forward to an operational concept that offers actionable policy insights, applied research tools and a unifying theory for citizen-oriented energy research. The project will develop tools to measure the degree, and map the modes, of expressing energy citizenship, related KPIs, a policy decision tool, and a Knowledge Platform linking all project data and results. Policy-makers and stakeholders from the DIALOGUES levels of analysis: community, local/regional, and national/supranational, will be included through co-creative workshops and policy briefs. A Policy Advisory Group of leading energy experts, research centres and institutions, local governments, city networks and non-governmental organizations will frame the DIALOGUES research process to ensure maximum impact on all geopolitical levels. The project will foster deep, multilateral exchanges with the 72 supporting organizations, in 13 nations including Canada, whose partnership allows DIALOGUES to extend the dissemination network significantly and improve scientific robustness through sharing best practices and comparative analysis.

Sea ice is an integral, changing part of the global Earth system. The polar climate system affects lives and livelihoods across the world by regulating climate and weather; providing ecosystem services; and regulating the ability of humans to operate (hunting, shipping and resource extraction). The Horizon 2020 project "Climate relevant interactions and feedbacks: the key role of sea ice and snow in the polar and global climate system (CRiceS)" improves understanding of how rapid sea ice decline is interlinked with physical and chemical changes in the polar oceans and atmosphere. In order to plan for and adapt to polar and global climate change, CRiceS aims to fully understand the causes and consequences of this polar transition. Climate and Earth System Models (ESMs) are the key tools for projecting climate change in order to mitigate the impacts and to adapt. However, these models have major shortcomings in their descriptions of interconnected polar ocean-ice / snow-atmosphere interactions that limit their ability to project teleconnections, feedbacks, and impacts. CRiceS will quantify the controlling chemical, biogeochemical, and physical processes/interactions within the coupled ocean-ice / snow-atmosphere system, through comprehensive analysis of new and emerging in-situ and satellite observations. CRiceS improves process, regional and climate models/ESMs by advancing descriptions of: 1) sea ice dynamics / energy exchange; 2) aerosols, clouds and radiation; 3) biogeochemical cycles / greenhouse gas exchanges; and 4) fully coupled system behaviour. This improved understanding allows for assessment of the role of ocean-ice / snow-atmosphere interactions in polar and global climate, and delivers improved quantification of feedback mechanisms and teleconnections within the Earth system. Improved future projections and multisectoral impact assessments will increase our capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate and environmental changes in polar regions and beyond. CRiceS brings together 22 leading institutes in Europe and across the globe, including world-leading observing and modeling expertise.

H2020 JITSUVAX project: Vaccine hesitancy (the delay or refusal of vaccination without medical indication) has been cited as a serious threat to global health by the World Health Organization (WHO), which attributes it to misinformation on the internet. Importantly, the WHO identified health care professionals (HCPs) as the most trusted influencers of vaccination decisions. The main objective of JITSUVAX is to leverage misinformation about vaccination into an HCP training opportunity. Training HCPs through inoculation and refutational learning will help promote effective communication with patients. JITSUVAX comprises four Work packages (WPs): WP1: will systematically measure HCP attitudes toward vaccination; WP2: will develop novel tools to improve HCPs' knowledge and attitudes about vaccination; WP3: will translate findings from WP1&WP2 into practice, by an Empathic Refutational Interview (ERI)-based intervention during HCP training; WP4: will design and develop a guidance document for HCPs and public health bodies.

Canada: A mixed-method study using qualitative and quantitative field experiments will evaluate the effectiveness of the ERI approach in comparison to a) baseline (untrained HCPs) and b) motivational interview (MI) approach developed by Gagneur. The aim of this comparative study is to verify two hypotheses.

Hypothesis 1: ERI and MI exert a stronger effect on dyadic conversations than a baseline condition.

Hypothesis 2: ERI and MI exert different effects on dyadic conversations, one being superior to the other with respect to certain outcome measures.

HCPs (medical residents, n=30) will be trained in ERI or MI or neither, at two Canadian universities (Université de Sherbrooke and University of Calgary).

Posttraining, HCPs will conduct interviews with vaccine-hesitant patients. HCPs' interview approach will be evaluated based on the patients' knowledge, intention to get vaccinated, general vaccine hesitancy and their degree of trust in the HCP. In the qualitative study (n=10/group), patient evaluations will be compared between ERI, MI and control groups. HCPs will report their own perceived usefulness of the newly learned interview approach. In the quantitative study, each HCP will conduct 20 interviews with patients (n=600). Using a pre-post design, the vaccine hesitancy score and vaccination intention will be compared pre- and post-intervention in each group. Results will be included in the H2020 guidance document.

Global beef production is projected to increase 1.2% fold annually to 2050 due to the continued growth in the human population. In Canada, beef is the largest sector in the livestock industry, contributing ~ $16.0 billion annually to the gross domestic product. Continued improvements in production efficiency and the health of Canada's cattle population are central to ensuring sector sustainability and growth. There is growing evidence that microbiomes within the rumen, lower gut and liver have both beneficial and detrimental impacts on host health, welfare and productivity. Previous research was limited to the investigation of these microbiomes individually, and used low-resolution sequencing approaches. But the benefits of understanding the interactions among multiple microbiomes and the host (i.e., the "microactome") for potential improvements in production efficiency, health, welfare and methane emissions have not been realized. We propose to take a systemic approach to define the role of the microactome in cattle health and efficiency, with a focus on the role of the gut microbiome in feed efficiency, methane emissions and gut health. The specific objectives are to: 1) generate microbiome and host transcripome datasets for 432 samples from five key metabolic -organs in cattle; 2) develop new research methods (machine-learning based artificial intelligence and network models) to determine systemic microactomes and their causal effects; 3) identify the potential role of the microbiome in the gut-liver axis in cattle, and its effect on feed efficiency and liver health; 4) establish the first integrated database of the bovine microactome-based host performance prediction for targeted management and treatment options; and 5) partner with the H2020 Holoruminant project to engage stakeholders in Canada and internationally. This will be the first study to provide comprehensive understanding of the bovine microactome using the state-of-the-art long sequencing technology, and will provide answers on how different microactomes (host and microbiomes) interact systemically and influence the various biological processes that determine production and health traits. This knowledge will provide the foundation for the development of novel and adaptive technology (manipulative strategies) to alter the microactome and to implement innovative management practices for industry. Ultimately, this will improve the resilience, health and production efficiency of cattle.

The I-CARE4OLD project will address the multidimensional challenges and care needs of older persons in nursing-home and home-care settings. The research will develop high-quality decision-support tools to improve health care for older persons with complex needs, by employing personalized health data to better predict trajectories of change in health, functional status, and frailty. The study will integrate interdisciplinary aspects of machine learning, artificial intelligence, health informatics and advanced statistical analyses of millions of clinical assessment records from international, real-world data sets available to the consortia. The products of this research will help clinicians and care recipients to engage in shared decision-making to inform treatment and intervention strategies, person-centred service delivery, and end-of-life care planning.

This research is novel because it closes a major gap in knowledge by targeting vulnerable older adults who are routinely excluded from clinical trials, even though they are the largest per capita users of health-care services in developed nations. Also, as described in the section on Canadian contributions, this project provides an unprecedented opportunity for international research on the physical and mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable older adults in long-term care settings. The data available to the researchers include millions of comprehensive, person-level, longitudinal assessment records in home care and nursing homes, beginning in 2010 and continuing through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Consequently, this research will have tremendous relevance to policy and clinical practice related to the direct and indirect impact and ongoing consequences of COVID-19 in Canada and internationally.

The interdisciplinary research team includes senior investigators, mid-career researchers, and young investigators from 10 countries (Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United States). This collaborative network builds on partnerships between universities, health-care service providers, governments, professional associations, and industry. The team includes practicing clinicians, government agencies, university-based researchers, teaching hospitals, and software developers. In Canada, the key partners will include the Canadian Institute for Health Information; federal, provincial and territorial governments; health-care-provider organizations; professional associations; and advocacy groups.

Both the European Union and Canada are signatories of the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5 to 2C. The focus of this call is "energy citizenship," the acknowledgement of the role that citizens must play in order to help realize such an ambitious goal. The EU Horizon 2020 project is focused on gathering a global set of case studies. This research will work with the European Horizon 2020 project by providing Canadian case studies, with a focus on applying the results to the Canadian context. The first objective is to explore meanings and attributes attached to the concept of "energy citizenship" in different contexts, capturing and characterizing the diverse forms of energy citizenship emerging within the European and Canadian energy domains. We will:

1. capture and analyze the varying conceptualizations of energy citizenship found in different contexts;

2. undertake a comprehensive multilevel mapping of existing patterns of emerging examples of energy citizenship;

3. develop a typology of energy citizenship that will connect the different ways in which citizens act in or on the energy system, with the governance structures that condition their action, and the discourses that legitimate or censure it.

The second objective is to contextualize the emergence and consolidation of energy citizenship within by identifying and studying energy citizenship activities that are on the ground:

1. establish and organize a case study pool that includes Canadian cases;

2. characterize the process of emergence of energy citizenships;

3. characterize the consolidation factors within energy citizenships;

4. assess factors for specific energy citizenship arrangements and their subsequent impact on decarbonization.

The last objective is to understand and provide tools for citizen engagement and collective learning. We will:

1. collect and assess collective learning approaches that have been employed within the partner organizations, and case studies that have led to the success and failure of citizen engagement in energy projects;

2. analyze the tacit knowledge versus explicit knowledge necessary for the use of these collective learning approaches in the context of energy citizenship, and develop a database of "the tacit knowledge of energy citizenship mobilization" to capture the lessons from various contexts;

3. create design templates for collaborative decision-making settings at various governance scales for decarbonization.

La contamination des sites industriels, agricoles ou militaires représente un enjeu de taille en vue d'une éventuelle revalorisation de ces sites. La détoxication de tels endroits requiert des investissements de capitaux souvent substantiels, limitant ainsi les superficies pouvant être converties. Dans le cadre de ce projet, cette problématique de taille sera adressée par une approche de biorémédiation soit un concept selon lequel des plantes pourraient extraire et (si possible) assimiler les contaminants du sol, La biorémédiation est une approche bien connue et utilisée déjà à différents niveaux à l'échelle globale. Toutefois, la présente demande se veut adresser un autre enjeu sociétal trés important soit la nécessité de réduire les gaz à effet de serre et en conséquence de remplacer une portion des carburants fossiles utilisés massivement en Europe comme au Canada. A cet effet, l'approche qui sera développée dans le cadre de cette demande impliquera dans un premier temps une biorémédiation des sites contaminés à l'aide de plantes énergétiques qui seront par la suite utilisées et transformées en biocarburants via une approche thermochimique.

La conversion thermochimique impliquera deux techniques soit la pyrolyse et la gazéification. Forte de son expérience dans ce dernier domaine, l'équipe canadienne sera impliquée plus spécifiquement dans les dernières étapes menant du produit primaire de la gazéification (le gaz de synthèse) vers un carburant synthétique (alcane). Le projet à l'échelle canadienne impliquera donc 4 objectifs complémentaires soit:

1. Le reformage du gaz primaire

2. L'ajustement du gaz de synthèse pour en obtenir le bon ration H2/CO propice à la catalyse en carburant

3. La conversion catalytique du gaz ajusté en alcanes via la synthèse de Fischer Tropsch

4. La purification et la caractérisation de la mixture obtenue

Malgré que la biorémédiation et la conversion thermochimique de la biomasse soient des approches et technologies bien connues et employées depuis des décennies dans l'industrie, la combinaison des deux concepts pourrait permettre de transformer deux problématiques environnementales préoccupantes en une seule opportunité, transposable à presque tous les zones du globe.

Objective: This project addresses the urgent need for better coordinated and more accessible Earth observation and information services for the Arctic region. Building on significant international effort, our aim is to defragment, connect and fully integrate the disparate elements of the current pan-Arctic observing system, and advance towards a fully integrated pan-Arctic Observing System of Systems (pan-AOSS) that includes Indigenous Knowledge and a strong Canadian perspective on needs and priorities for observation. We work toward implementation of GEOSS in the Arctic, in collaboration with European and Arctic colleagues and institutions, and the Copernicus initiative.

Approach: This program of research represents a transformational leap over the standard incremental approach that typically characterizes scientific research, and, importantly, it is grounded in the principles of co-production, co-design and co-management with Indigenous partners, as well as with other end users and decision makers. Cross-cultural and interdisciplinary by nature, the project fully integrates different expertises, and knowledge systems across all work packages to achieve diverse desired outcomes.

Novelty and significance: By providing greatly improved access to the latest available Arctic observations, including those from Indigenous Knowledge and community-based monitoring, the pan-AOSS will empower its users to make knowledge-based decisions that will benefit society and support adaptation and the sustainability objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and associated protocols. Using the Arctic Council's Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks framework, we will maximize the utility and strengths of international scientific observations, community-based monitoring, and Indigenous and Local Knowledge. We collaborate across borders and boundaries to develop and implement eight new Pilot Services: 1) an event database of monitoring derived from Oral Histories and Indigenous Knowledge; 2) a pan-Arctic permafrost thaw map; 3) a one-stop portal to key environmental indicators in support of assessment activities; 4) an integrated fire risk management service; 5) a local atmospheric pollutant forecast; 6) real-time risk maps for Arctic shipping; 7) a service for community monitoring of marine noise pollutions; and 8) a lake ice service for winter risk management. Our legacy will be an inclusive pan-Arctic observing system that supports a prosperous, sustainable and environmentally secure Arctic.

The objective of this project is to develop a flexible and cost-effective gasification-based process for the production of pipeline-quality biomethane, high-value biochar and renewable heat from a wide variety of low-quality lignocellulosic biomass residues and biogenic waste feedstocks. The combination of gasification process development and feedstock supply chain optimization will lead to significant cost reductions that allow lowering biomethane production costs by more than 30% compared to other state-of-the-art biomass-to-synthetic-natural-gas (SNG) technologies. The target is medium-scale conversion plants, which allows the use of local biomass residues and biogenic wastes without unrealistic transport logistics. The key innovative technology of FlexSNG is the flexible gasification process that can switch between two operation modes according to price signals and market demand: 1) coproduction of biomethane, biochar and heat; and 2) maximized production of biomethane and heat. The produced biomethane can be injected into the existing gas infrastructure for distribution in the transport sector, heat/power production, industries and households. The co-produced biochar can be used to displace fossil fuels in energy production and industry or in material applications.

The FlexSNG concept is based on the European partners' advanced technologies in the fields of oxygen production, gasification and syngas clean-up, and catalytic methanation. The range of key enabling technologies will be developed and validated to TRL5.

The Canadian partners bring their expertise in feedstock supply chain management, modeling and optimization of integrated biorefinery concepts, and the Canadian perspective into the project value chain context. FlexSNG will demonstrate the targeted 30% cost reduction in concrete case studies representing, in unique ways, both European and Canadian conditions. The proposed activities are consistent with the goals set in the work program for international cooperation with Canada to develop new sustainable solutions for biofuels/bioenergy production.

GoNEXUS aims at developing a framework for designing and assessing innovative solutions for an efficient and sustainable coordinated governance of the water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus. Solutions will combine policy changes and soft path options with technical and infrastructure measures, for a more resilient future. To achieve this objective, the project will build a powerful model toolbox and creative, participatory Nexus Dialogues. The model toolbox will include forefront global/continental and river basin models, innovatively establishing a functional link between them. At global and continental scales, the toolbox will include the individual WEFE element models CAPRI (food, agri-environment), LISFLOOD-EPIC and PCR-GLOBWB (water), PRIMES and PROMETHEUS (energy), GLOBIO (environment), and GEM-E3 (macroeconomics), some of them used in European Union policies. River basin models will include nested, strategic WEFE management models (including behavioural modeling) and hydrological simulation models to expand the analysis of resilience at basin scale, including impacts on ecosystems. Nexus Dialogues will co-design scenarios, models and solutions for joint governance of the WEFE nexus. The solutions will be evaluated using the model toolbox, through a set of novel nexus indicators and criteria (based on relevant sustainable development goals metrics) to assess trade-offs between water status, and food and energy security. GoNEXUS will be applied at global and EU levels, and to six river basins representing different features and WEFE challenges in Europe (Danube, Como, Jucar, Tagus-Segura) and Africa (Zambezi, Senegal). The innovative combination of models and Nexus Dialogues will provide more accurate evaluations of future scenarios, enabling knowledge-sharing and brokerage, and improving WEFE nexus management. The project will also contribute to aligning existing EU WEFE policies, promoting the reduction of institutional fragmentation, and strengthening the EU role on water diplomacy.