Insights

The UNLOOC project (Unlocking the data content of Organ-on-Chips), launched in May 2024 in Germany, is a three-year initiative focused on creating Organ-on-Chips (OOC) technologies to reduce animal testing and bridge the gender gap in drug development. Funded by the Chips Joint Undertaking and national agencies, the project uses human cells to enhance personalized medicine and tackle gender disparities inherent in clinical research. Spinverse supported the consortium during the project proposal phase and is now taking care of the daily administration of this fascinating project.

Aerones is a Latvian company specialising in robot-enabled turbine inspection and maintenance services. Aerones secured the Innovation Fund support provided for highly innovative, market-ready, scalable and ambitious infrastructure projects aimed at CO₂ emission reduction. Spinverse supported Aerones in their successful application phase by providing the company with project preparation support.

ExpandFibre is an ambitious R&D collaboration launched in 2020 by two Finnish companies Fortum and Metsä Group. ExpandFibre was one of the first leading company or “Veturi” projects – a public funding scheme initiated by Business Finland to boost the Finnish R&D landscape. With wood pulp from the forest industry and straw from agriculture as the preliminary feedstocks, ExpandFibre envisioned to accelerate the development of sustainable bioproducts by upgrading pulp fibres, hemicellulose and lignin into new bioproducts. Co-funded by Business Finland and the leading companies themselves, this 4-year programme officially ended in August 2024 giving way to the next phase in the ExpandFibre journey – a transition phase coordinated by Metsä Group. Spinverse team has been proudly supporting this vibrant programme and ecosystem every step of the way. 

Spinverse supported the POC4TRIAGE project, an ambitious Horizon Europe initiative with a budget of almost 10M€, aimed at developing cutting-edge Point-of-Care (POC) devices and a connected platform to revolutionise urgent care triaging. By enabling faster diagnosis and real-time data transfer to hospital systems, the project aims to shorten the time to treatment and improve clinical outcomes for top 3 critical conditions such as cardiorespiratory, stroke and sepsis. 

A recently completed SWEETWOODS is a 43M€ joint pilot project that was granted 21M€ in funding from the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) instrument under the EU Horizon 2020 programme. Supported by Spinverse throughout its journey, the six-year project reached its completion in May 2024 with the festive inauguration of the flagship biorefinery in Imavere, Estonia. The Fibenol flagship plant has established itself as a cornerstone of the bio-based economy of the future. 

CHARM is a European collaboration to develop industrial IoT solutions for challenging environments such as mining and paper mills. During the four-year project ending in spring 2024, digital solutions have been developed in cooperation between 37 partners from ten different European countries. Project administration support for CHARM was provided by Spinverse. Seven organizations from Finland which joined the project reflect on the benefits of joining an international consortium.

The PROSPER consortium project has recently secured funding from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU). PROSPER aims to promote the recycling and sorting of bio-based plastics as part of the initiatives to boost a circular economy. As a result of successful collaboration with Spinverse, the project application secured the funding of 7.5M€ and received maximum scores in the evaluation process.

The Patria-led defence research and development ecosystem eALLIANCE was granted significant funding from Business Finland in February 2024 for amplifying collaboration between civilian and defence sector companies. Spinverse supported Patria with the preparation of the winning proposal and will be supporting Patria in the project’s day-to-day management and ecosystem orchestration.

Aimed at fostering sustainability in the plastics industry, the four-year SPIRIT programme has already entered its third year of operation. Kicked off in 2022, the SPIRIT programme has successfully launched 14 partnership projects and created a vibrant ecosystem of over 50 members including universities, research institutes, and diverse industry companies. Programme Manager Jaakko Tuomainen from Borealis shares the rewarding experiences gained from this initiative which is part of the Veturi programme for leading companies funded by Business Finland.

For companies considering applying for Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) funding and forming a consortium, understanding the role of a project coordinator is crucial. Karl Peebo is the project manager in the SWEETWOODS flagship project coordinated by Estonian company Fibenol. He shares his insights into the responsibilities and benefits of this key role in EU-funded project consortiums.