Let’s discover the ‘green’ projects of the Polish Academy of Sciences!

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You prise others, while unappreciate your own! As you might know, the call for applications in the special H2020 Green Deal Call (GDC) is open until 26th January 2021, however, grants financed under European funds and thematically linked to the areas of GDC have been carried out at the Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) for several years. Therefore, the PolSCA Office is pleased to present 7 selected projects conducted in the Polish Academy of Sciences and related to the second, third, sixth and seventh area of the European Green Deal Call, i.e. clean, affordable, and secure energy, industry for a clean and circular economy, farm to fork as well as ecosystems and biodiversity. Below you can find short descriptions of projects along with their most important achievements, prepared in cooperation with the Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences. We also asked the persons responsible for the implementation of these grants about the potential of their Institutes to participate in the EU Green Deal Call, as well as about the social dimension of projects, i.e. the possibility of involving citizens or representatives of social sciences and humanities. We kindly invite you to take a closer look at these projects!

‘No risk – no energy’ – S4CE project

‘No risk, no energy’ – this slogan is repeatedly used in the Science For Clean Energy (S4CE) project, which is carried out by 24 European organizations that create a multidisciplinary consortium of global research laboratories, representatives of industry, the private sector and leading research centers, including  Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw (IGF PAN). The consortium’s response to the H2020 call arises from the current trend towards the use of broadly defined georesources, and in particular the fact that underground geoenergy operations are essential for sustainable development. However, subsurface operations have an inherent environmental risk. Identifying possible threats with their quantitative analysis, defining best practice procedures, implementing mitigation strategies and, if necessary, repair methods are key for responsible implementation of such operations, which is why the S4CE project is addressing these issues.

One of the primary objectives of the S4CE project is also to spread reliable knowledge about the real risks associated with selected processes and to assist various decision-making bodies in making the most rational decisions based on hard data and the latest knowledge. The S4CE project develops techniques, work plans and procedures as examples of best practice that may become a permanent feature of the industrial MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification) service package in the near future. S4CE coordinators are in dialogue with all stakeholders; what is more, best practices will also be shared with North American countries within their collaboration with the EU.

Professor Stanisław Lasocki, project coordinator in IGF PAN, emphasizes that the Institute also plays an important role in the field of modern methods of disseminating and building a community around the issues undertaken in the S4CE project: ‘We have opened a dedicated space for the consortium of project contractors on the IS-EPOS platform, which is aimed at collecting and exchanging data, preliminary or final findings and other collaborative activities of the project consortium members. In addition, the consortium has the opportunity to use dedicated computer applications implemented on the platform. An important benefit of entering the IGF PAN with the IS-EPOS platform into the project is that after the end of the project, all the project resources integrated on the platform will be opened to the scientific community and other interested groups.

Switching to clean energy production – EoCoE-II project

Climate change caused by human activities are one of the biggest threats now facing humanity. Electricity is a major contributor to the production of carbon dioxide, which is directly responsible for global warming, so reducing or even eliminating the carbon footprint of its production is one of the challenges of the 21st century. The Energy oriented Center of Excellence (EoCoE), in which takes part the Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PCSS) affiliated to the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of PAS, is to support the transition process to clean, carbon-free electricity with the help of modern computational methods.

The project is a continuation of the EoCoE-I project, in which the combination of multidisciplinary expertise in applied mathematics and supercomputing allowed a large group of various applications related to power generation to achieve significant efficiency gains. The second phase (EoCoE-II) focuses on the 5 scientific challenges of exascale related to clean energy production such as ‘energy meteorology’, ‘materials’, ‘water’, ‘wind’ and ‘fusion’ . The 18-partner consortium (including 3 leading European supercomputing centers) builds a unique network of expertise in the fields of energy, scientific computing and high-performance computing. Project partners include research institutes, commercial market representatives, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are developing numerical models related to electricity production, or are able to use such models on supercomputers, capable of processing several trillion operations per second, in order to demonstrate their advantages for simulating clean energy production processes.

In view of Marcin Płóciennik, project coordinator in PCSS, among the most important achievements of EoCoE-II are: ‘establishing permanent cooperation of the most important European centers dealing with energy issues in order to exchange experiences and technologies and share research results, as well as increasing the efficiency of alternative energy sources thanks to improved simulations, more efficient solar panels have been developed, wind turbines have been improved and short-term weather forecasts have been improved.’

Sustainable waste management – WASTEMAN project

The aim of the WASTEMAN project, the leader of which is the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdansk (IMP PAN), is to develop an integrated system of sustainable waste management in the South Baltic Sea, based on a circular economy, which will ensure effective recycling of waste. Professor Adam Cenian, responsible for the implementation of the project on the IMP PAN side, points out that ‘activities under the project include: innovative methods of waste selection and collection, as well as their processing: effective fermentation (IMP PAN Gdańsk) and composting with the use of effective microorganisms. We have also created a Design Manual, seminars and conferences are organized, where, together with the project partners, we discuss the issues of circular economy, proper waste segregation and the use of waste biomass (including agricultural, water, municipal waste, and poultry industry waste).’ IMP PAN is also involved in similar but other projects, such as LowTEMP, the main topic of which is cogeneration systems, using biogas technologies for energy purposes.

The WASTEMAN project involves 6 partners from 3 Member States countries (Denmark, Poland, Lithuania) and 4 associated partners, including research institutions, waste management companies and municipalities. It is financially supported by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund and European Neighborhood Instrument) under the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Program 2014–2020.

Ecological approaches to farming practices – LIFT project

Ecological approaches to farming practices are gaining interest across Europe. As this interest grows, there is a pressing need to assess the potential contributions these practices can make to agricultural development. This requires an in-depth analysis of the conditions in which these practices are undertaken and the factors of their attractiveness to farmers potentially interested in implementing them. The overall goal of the LIFT project, in which the Institute of Rural and Agriculture Development of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IRWiR PAN) participates, is to identify potential benefits related to the introduction of ecological farming practices to conventional agriculture and the transition to organic farming in the EU. This involves explaining how socioeconomic and political factors impact the adoption of such practices, performance and sustainability of ecological farming at various scales, from the level of the single farm to that of a territory. To meet this goal, LIFT assesses the factors favoring or impeding the introduction of organic approaches and practices, and the efficiency and sustainability of these approaches compared to conventional farming practices in different farming systems and geographic locations in the EU.

Professor Katarzyna Zawalińska, project coordinator in IRWiR PAN, stresses out that ‘the objectives of the project are both scientific and practical. In this second case, it is related to cooperation with various groups of stakeholders, including cooperation with the stakeholders of the WPR and organic farming, to support the dissemination of EU priorities regarding the sustainability of rural development and helping farmers to become aware of and introduce pro-environmental practices in order to obtain more subsidies from the WPR.

LIFT will also develop new private arrangements and policy instruments that could improve the adoption and subsequent performance and sustainability of the rural nexus. This H2020 project will provide information and support the EU’s agricultural and environmental development priorities to promote productivity gains and sustain rural development. Due to the enormous variety in the socio-economic and bio-physical conditions for agriculture across the EU, 28 case studies are carried out.

Soil-improving cropping systems – SOILCARE project

Soil organic matter has a positive effect on the course of key soil processes and functions, including plant production. It improves the structure, fertility and water storage capacity of the soil, and thus the plant resistance to more frequent droughts as a result of climate change. Despite the positive effects, the content of organic matter in arable soils is low and often decreases. Hence, the main objective of the SOILCARE project, one of the participants of which is the Institute of Agrophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lublin (IA PAN), is to identify and evaluate promising soil improving cropping systems and agronomic techniques increasing profitability and sustainability across scales in Europe. A trans-disciplinary approach will be used to evaluate benefits and drawbacks of a new generation of soil-improving cropping systems, incorporating all relevant bio-physical, socio-economic and political aspects. Ways to improve soil quality are currently being tested in 16 research centers.

Professors Jerzy Lipiec, Magdalena Frąc and Bogusław Usowicz, who are in charge of the implementation of the project in IA PAS, emphasize that the most important achievements of SOILCARE in cooperation with partners are ‘a summary of the rich literature and research results in the project for assessing the usefulness of agrotechnical treatments and plant production systems, as well as the development and application of a standardized methodology to assess soil quality, the benefits and limitations of profitability, and the stability of the plant production systems.

The SoilCare project is a continuation of the earlier H2020 iSQAPER project (2015–2020) with the participation of IA PAN, which resulted in the development of the SQAPP application allowing for interactive assessment of soil quality, taking into account the latest research findings and global databases.

Genetic resources of food legumes – INCREASE project

The proper use of the genetic resources of food legumes is crucial for sustainable development, food security and human health, which is also essential for the implementation of the EU Protein Plan. The international project INCREASE aims to meet this challenge by focusing on research on four food legumes which are of great importance in human nutrition: chickpea, common beans, lentil and lupin. Based on these four species, the INCREASE project, in which the Institute of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznan (IGR PAN) takes part, intends to develop innovative solutions for the use and management of genetic data as well as genotyping and phenotyping technologies using artificial intelligence.

Thus, the project brings significant value to the innovation of EU agriculture and the European food industry. ‘We expect that the results of our work will contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture and satisfy the need to have cultivated species, capable of adapting to the conditions of a changing climate, and to increase the number of consumers of plant products‘ – says Dr. Karolina Susek, project coordinator in IGR PAN.

The primary task of IGR PAN in this H2020 project is the characterization of an extensive collection of lupins in terms of genotypic and phenotypic diversity, based on the latest sequencing techniques, and their potential for use in breeding programs. As part of the project, the Institute cooperates with researchers from various fields of science, but also with people interested in, for example, breeders, entrepreneurs, and non-governmental organizations. This is mainly done through a stakeholder consortium where interested persons can join research and / or implementation cooperation.

Sustainable management of aquaculture – IMPAQT project

IMPAQT is a H2020 project with the participation of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot (IO PAN), the aim of which is to promote and support the ecological intensification of production in aquaculture, located primarily in marine areas, but also in fresh inland waters. 21 EU and non-EU partners with diverse and complementary competences and experiences are working to build and validate in the field a multi-functional and autonomous system for monitoring and sustainable management of multi-trophic aquaculture.The developed system automatically obtains environmental information relevant to the production in a given aquaculture, not only from a number of different sensors located in the water, but also from properly processed satellite data. It is worth adding that all the collected information is used with the help of the developed models and algorithms for the effective management of such aquaculture, providing them with diet modifications, if necessary, or informing about potential threats.

‘For me, a very important element of this project, and undoubtedly its significant achievement, is the fact that in one project it was possible to combine the competences and knowledge of centers specializing in ‘science’ with the competences of partners dealing with more practical aspects of research, all in to develop an application that, when it will be implemented, will directly benefit the economy and society by providing them with healthy and safe food, produced in sustainable conditions without significant harm to the environment.’underlines professor Mirosław Darecki, head of the IMPAQT project in IO PAN.

The potential of PAS Institutes in the Green Deal Call

There is no doubt that abovementioned PAS institutes see their potential in the Green Deal Call through offering scientific expertise or giving an access to the research infrastructure. For instance, PCSS would like to take part in the GDC as a technological partner in the field of efficient simulation and data processing. PCSS as a leading supercomputing center has modern infrastructure necessary to conduct computer simulations in the field of low-emission and renewable energy. Through the experience gained during the implementation of the EoCoE project, PCSS can support scientists in the optimization of algorithms, as well as facilitate contact with leading scientists in this field in Europe.

Going further, IMP PAS offers its expertise in the Green Deal Call in such topics as distributed ecoenergy and systems for prosumers, a roadmap for 4G low-temperature heat distribution networks or technologies and solutions for a waste-free economy. For several years, IMP PAS has been consistently building its position in the field of distributed energy, which is becoming an increasingly important field of energy in highly developed economies. It includes specialized research that requires a technical knowledge and insight into rapidly changing trends. The Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences actively develops a technology for the needs of small-scale energy by developing staff and research methods, building modern laboratories and becoming a scientific center for the Polish ecoenergy sector or the e-mobility sector. The Institute has also its subsidiary in Jabłonna – Energy Conversion and Renewable Sources PAS Research (KEZO), which is the most modern in Poland and one of the most modern in Europe complex of research laboratories dealing with the use of renewable energy.

On the other hand, IRWiR PAN is interested in submitting joint projects in numerous areas of Green Deal Call, which results from the diversity of interests and competences of the Institute’s scientific staff. The IRWiR PAN gathers specialists from various disciplines: economics, sociology, demography, ethnography, education, geography, forestry and others, whose common interests are focused on rural and agricultural matters. The key areas in Green Deal Call where IRWiR researchers’ competences can be most effectively implemented are: thematic area no. 6 ‘Farm to fork’, area no. 7 ‘Ecosystems and biodiversity’, as well as thematic area no. 10 ‘Empowering citizens for the transition towards a climate neutral, sustainable Europe’.

Prof. Katarzyna Zawalińska (IRWiR PAN) adds: ‘We are prepared to manage a Work Package or a task that takes into account complex or narrow socio-economic, environmental and institutional issues, conducting analyzes of the conditions for the implementation of certain activities in rural areas, the perception of residents villages and readiness to actively participate in the implementation of the researched technologies, practices and approaches. Our contribution may also relate to local research, thanks to a large network of contacts with stakeholders across Poland.

Moving on, IA PAS sees a potential opportunity to participate as a partner in the 6th thematic area of GDC – ‘Farm to fork’. Firstly, by researching the impact of pro-ecological plant rotation (with catch crops) and the use of organic matter and nutrients recovered in the recycling process on plant yield, soil properties and functions, biodiversity, carbon dioxide emissions taking into account climate change. Secondly, through project activities aimed at increasing the social awareness and knowledge of ‘ordinary citizens’ using mobile applications assessing soil quality with recommendations on how to improve it in order to obtain ‘healthy food’.

When it comes to the European Green Deal Call, IGR PAS offers extensive experience in the field of research on the preservation and maintenance of biodiversity of legumes, while prof. Mirosław Darecki from IO PAS is convinced that the Institute will be able to contribute its expertise on the marine environment to many future grants, including projects carried out under this additional H2020 call. Moreover, IGF PAS considers the Institute as a partner in GDC projects, specializing in reducing the adverse seismic influences accompanying the technological activities.

Social/ civic dimension of the projects

In the light of the fact that the Green Deal Call is also about developing new ways to engage civil society and empower citizens in the process of ‘green’ transformation by greater inclusion of representatives of social sciences and humanities in this Call, coordinators of selected projects pointed out main social- or civil-oriented activities which are already exist, will be or should be implemented.

For example, the IMPAQT project engages citizens through environmental observations made by tourists and residents of coastal areas. An application for mobile phones has been developed, thanks to which its owners can easily make certain environmental observations or report observed fish. All information obtained in this way is sent on an ongoing basis to aquaculture management centers, and then it is used to improve the efficiency of this management. As a ‘reward’, the user of such an application receives access to current and synthetic information about the state of the nearest marine environment.

The involvement of local communities in activities aimed at reducing waste emissions, educating future generation in terms of environmental protection and sustainable waste-free management is a crucial element of the WASTEMAN project. The main target groups, in addition to waste service providers and waste management companies, include local authorities, organizations directly involved in waste management, citizens, associations, municipalities, non-governmental organizations and cultural heritage organizations. An important part are the promotional activities of the project partners disseminating the developed solutions through meetings with residents, publications, as well as the educational path in Lubań (Nowa Karczma commune).

The educational path in Lubań built under the WASTEMAN project

Researchers from the IRWiR PAS, who takes part in the LIFT project also remain in contact with their stakeholders. LIFT is particularly focused on examining the opinions and perceptions of stakeholders on the issues of ecological farming practices, hence the project planned to arrange in total 96 local meetings with stakeholders. It is worthy to take into account the views of stakeholders representing various social groups, such as farmers, retailers and wholesalers of agricultural products (including organic), civic associations (e.g. pro-environmental, pro-ecological), NGOs, consumers, as well as other actors, including cooperatives. Professor Katarzyna Zawalińska emphasizes that ‘the way of involvement is diverse – from engaging them in our project activities (e.g. participation in workshops, interviews, surveys), inviting them to conferences, participating in our research, informing via newsletters to sending requests for information or providing stakeholder opinions to the European Commission.’

Workshops
organized as part of the LIFT project

When it comes to the EoCoE-II project, PCSS does not directly involve representatives of social sciences and humanities, but has a great experience, stems from other projects, in the field of including various social groups. Through the ‘Living Labs’, PCSS engages citizens both at the stage of designing, collecting opinions and requirements, and in promoting various initiatives, such as urban, educational or agricultural. PCSS cooperates with many universities and institutes also in the field of combining aspects of social and technical sciences. PCSS also has experience in creating mobile applications, including those addressed to the society.

What is interesting, IGR PAS in the INCREASE project intends to conduct an experiment with the participation of citizens (Citizen Science Experiment), the main goal of which is to involve various social groups in the management and preservation of biodiversity. Scientists would like to engage citizens in testing genetic resources and sharing their preferences and main uses with them in order to provide citizens with easy, quick access to information and data exchange.

Moreover, gender-related predisposition plays a key role in research related to the management and maintenance of genetic resources (biodiversity), therefore it is necessary to increase gender representation in the development of crop management systems. IGR PAS plans to cooperate in this field with the Cultural Anthropology team from the University of Perugia, which will enable the determination of: a) the influence of culture and gender on the management of genetic resources, and b) sexual preferences for certain characteristics of the studied legumes. ‘Thanks to this, we will transfer knowledge about women’s preferences, to ask questions about gender norms and stereotypes, and to rethink standards and reference models in the management of genetic resources.‘ – says Dr. Karolina Susek.

In the S4CE project, the threats and risks associated with anthropogenic seismic processes can be, and often are, considerable. However, these threats are also often overestimated, leading to unnecessary frustration for the potentially vulnerable community and to the suspension or closure of economically significant, and altogether less harmful technology projects. Prof. Stanisław Lasocki from IGF PAS stressed out: ‘We know from experience that the only way to achieve a balance between what is harmful and what seems to be, and is not harmful, is reliable information and mediation discussion with all stakeholders, starting with enterprises running potentially threatening technological activities, through local and central administration, and ending with interested local communities. Representatives of social sciences and humanities would be very useful in monitoring social attitudes towards technological activities and mapping concerns, in studying the attitudes of those who undertake these technological activities towards local communities and their willingness to make concessions, in communicating appropriately specialist information on threats to the public and in general mediation.’

If you want to find out more about the ‘green’ projects of the Polish Academy of Sciences, you are interested in the PAS Institutes’ offer when it comes to GDC or you just would like to share your opinion with us, write to us at: polsca@polsca.pan.pl.


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Published: 2020-11-06, J. Kramarczyk

Translation: 2021-01-05, J. Kramarczyk

Visuals: @Freepik.com


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