Selected projects 2025

Modern cities monitor air quality, traffic flows, noise levels, and other urban parameters in real time, in order to make urban life safer, cleaner, and more efficient. Thousands of sensors collect and share data through a system of connected devices (known as “the Internet of Things”, IoT).  But powering these sensors is a real challenge. Most devices are plugged into the electrical grid via cables or run on disposable batteries, which results in high installation costs, demands frequent maintenance, and generates electronic waste. These constraints slow down the widespread adoption of smart city technologies.

The EMPOWER#IoT project proposes a different approach: autonomous sensors powered by solar energy, avoiding the need for costly wiring or constant battery replacements. To achieve this, the consortium is developing new photovoltaic materials, including organic and perovskite solar cells, that perform well in shaded areas, cloudy weather, or even under streetlights. Unlike traditional silicon cells, these technologies keep working efficiently in low-light conditions, making them particularly suited to dense urban environments.

But EMPOWER#IoT also goes beyond technology. From the start, the team integrated eco-design principles and recycling strategies for photovoltaic materials, with the aim of reducing waste and limiting the use of critical raw materials.

A trinational consortium, coordinated by the University of Freiburg, brings together the University of Strasbourg, CNRS, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the Eurométropole de Strasbourg, and Novartis. Together, they are developing solar modules, power-management electronics, and sensor prototypes. Field tests will be carried out in cities in France and Germany.

By the end of the project, EMPOWER#IoT aims to deliver working prototypes demonstrating the potential of solar-powered, self-sustaining sensors. For cities and companies, this means more reliable data at lower costs. And for the Upper Rhine region, it represents a step toward a future where digital innovation and clean energy advance together.

• Project partners : Universität Freiburg (DE), Université de Strasbourg (Icube-Labor) (FR), Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW), with further academic institutions (Fraunhofer ISE, CNRS), cities and companies. 
• Budget: 1.390.073,85 Eur
• Implementation:  1.1.2026 – 31.12.2028

Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease often progress silently, with subtle shifts in how cells function. Today’s diagnostic tools lack molecular precision: when patients are examined, conventional imaging often misses metabolic changes that could inform treatment decisions.

QUANTUM-PRECISION aims to change this. The project develops a new generation of MRI based on hyperpolarization, a quantum mechanics technology that acts like a magnifying glass, amplifying the signal of key molecules such as lactate and pyruvate. Why does this matter? Because these molecules are early indicators of disease. In cancer, tumors grow by consuming sugar at high speed and producing large amounts of lactate. In Alzheimer’s disease, neurons struggle to use pyruvate efficiently, creating an early energy deficit. With quantum-enhanced MRI, doctors could observe these alterations, enabling earlier detection and more effective treatments.

Researchers from the Medical Center – University of Freiburg and the ICube laboratory (University of Strasbourg) in Strasbourg will co-develop a demonstrator and validate it for both cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Academic and industrial partners from France, Germany, and Switzerland will bring their expertise to the project.

The project’s potential impact is substantial: in the Upper Rhine region alone, tens of thousands of people are diagnosed each year with cancer or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and cases are expected to increase as the population ages. These illnesses represent a heavy burden for patients, families, and healthcare systems. By applying quantum mechanics technologies to pressing healthcare needs, QUANTUM-PRECISION will enable earlier detection, more precise therapy tracking, and individualized care.

• Project partners: Uniklinikum Freiburg (DE), Université de Strasbourg (laboratoire Icube) (FR), with other academic and industrial partners in the field of simulation and quantum algorithms for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries
• Budget: 999.860,66 €
• Implementation : 1.1.2026 – 31.12.2028

Industrial parks are major consumers of energy. Yet inside these parks, each company usually manages energy on its own. One may waste solar power while a neighbor buys electricity from the grid. Others run machines at the same time, causing costly peaks. Without coordination, valuable energy is wasted, costs rise, and CO₂ emissions increase. As energy prices rise and climate targets become more ambitious, this approach is no longer sustainable.

The FLEX-E project aims to help companies act together, like one big smart system, while keeping their sensitive consumption data private. The project uses innovative artificial intelligence tools based on federated learning. Instead of pooling data, each site trains its own model, and only shares ‘lessons learned’ to build a collective model that guides energy optimization. To implement this approach, FLEX-E will map and model energy flows in three real industrial parks of various sizes in France and Germany. The selected sites serve as test fields to demonstrate how AI-driven coordination can improve efficiency and flexibility. By comparing sites of different scales, the project will assess how flexible energy management can be adapted to a wide range of industrial contexts. Results include a practical software toolkit and an energy flow modeling guide. These tools, based on Building Information Modeling (BIM) standards, will make it easier for other industrial parks to apply the same methods and benefit from the results.

FLEX-E brings together universities, companies, and public partners from France and Germany. Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and INSA Strasbourg provide expertise in energy flow modeling and artificial intelligence. The consortium also includes industrial actors and economic development agencies from both sides of the Rhine, ensuring that research outcomes can be transferred to the market. Together, these actors form a collaborative ecosystem that drives energy optimization.

The project’s potential impact is substantial. Companies can make better use of energy, lower their costs and boost competitiveness. At the same time, society gains a replicable model that can be scaled across Europe, turning fragmented energy management into collective intelligence.

• Project Partners: Hochschule Karlsruhe (DE), INSA Strasbourg (FR) and industrial areas in Grand Est and Baden-Württemberg
• Budget: 995.637,97 €
• Implementation: 1.1.2026 – 31.12.2028

Every summer, the risk of fires increases as climate change leads to longer droughts and higher temperatures. These fires can affect not only forests but also inhabited areas and sometimes sensitive industrial sites, releasing thick plumes of smoke loaded with fine particles and toxic gases. Such pollutants can spread over long distances, cross borders, and endanger public health. The fires of summer 2025 in France and Germany reminded how crucial it is to have fast and reliable information on air quality, to protect both residents and emergency teams. Today, firefighters mainly rely on ground-based sensors, which remain insufficient to track the real-time dynamics of airborne pollutants.

The HEDRAF project aims to fill this gap with a unique drone designed for emergency operations. It combines several innovations: five hours of flight autonomy thanks to a hybrid energy system combining lithium batteries, a hydrogen fuel cell, and organic solar panels; a lightweight, bio-based, yet durable structure; and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability for rapid deployment on site. Its onboard intelligence should allow it to follow smoke plumes, staying at their edges to avoid sensor saturation, while providing real-time measurements of the air’s chemical composition. This data will be invaluable for guiding decision-making by authorities and supporting firefighting operations.

The project is led by researchers from INSA Strasbourg (ICUBE Laboratory), CNRS (ICPEES Laboratory), and the University of Freiburg, in cooperation with industrial partners, firefighting services, and air quality monitoring agencies. With this innovative drone, HEDRAF aims to deliver a strategic tool capable of rapid deployment and precise analysis of atmospheric pollution, directly within the plume.

• Project partners: INSA Strasbourg (FR), CNRS (FR) and Universität Freiburg (DE), in collaboration with partners from industry, fire services and air monitoring authorities
• Budget: 999.957,81 €
• Implementation: 1.1.2026 – 31.12.2028

Operating rooms are nerve centres of hospitals, where cutting-edge expertise and high levels of pressure converge. Nurses not only assist surgeons but also handle numerous logistical tasks: preparing trolleys, checking instruments, and transporting equipment. Essential to the safety of procedures, these time-consuming tasks reduce the availability of professionals for the core of their work, patient care. In a context of a growing shortage of healthcare personnel across Europe, they are placing an increasingly heavy burden on staff.

The IMARA project is designing a robotic platform to support nurses in operating rooms. It consists of two complementary innovations: an autonomous mobile robot that transports equipment from storage areas to the operating room, and a robotic arm capable of learning by imitation, that uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to observe and reproduce nurses’ gestures involved in the preparation and presentation of surgical instruments. These technologies, which originate from industrial robotics, are ingeniously adapted to the medical field and integrated into an interoperable ecosystem designed to integrate seamlessly into the hospital’s digital environment. By automating these operations, IMARA helps reduce nurses’ logistical workload while minimising the risk of human error during equipment preparation.

A co-design approach lies at the heart of the project. The prototypes are being developed and tested with operating rooms teams to ensure they meet real-world needs. French and German scientific and technological partners are joining forces with the IHU Strasbourg to contribute their expertise: the University of Reutlingen, the ICube laboratory (IRIS) in Strasbourg, and the Fraunhofer IPA Institute in Mannheim.

The expected benefits are numerous: relieving nurses of some of their logistical burden, freeing up time for patient care, streamlining operating room organization, and enhancing the safety of procedures. Beyond that, IMARA is helping to strengthen cross-border cooperation and position the Upper Rhine region as a European center of excellence in medical robotics, foreshadowing the hospitals of tomorrow: connected environments where robotics and artificial intelligence support healthcare professionals to improve the quality and safety of care.

• Project partners: Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire de Strasbourg (FR), Université de Strasbourg (Icube-Labor) (FR), Hochschule Reutlingen (DE) as well as partners from academia and the hospital sector
• Budget: 956.734,80 €
• Implementation: 01.01.2026 – 31.12.2027

The Upper Rhine region is home to some of Europe’s most renowned vineyards, yet this viticultural heritage is threatened by grapevine wood diseases. Fungal pathogens slowly destroy vine trunks from the inside, often without visible symptoms for years. By the time signs appear on the wood or leaves, it is often too late: yields decline, vines die, and entire plots must be uprooted and replanted. Today, detection relies mainly on visual observation of discolored leaves and necrotic trunks. While simple and inexpensive, this method is limited: the symptoms can resemble those caused by other stress factors, such as drought or nutrient deficiencies, and do not always reflect the internal condition of the wood. As a result, interventions are often late and less effective. Advanced laboratory techniques exist, but they are too costly and complex for everyday use.

In response, the VitiSense project is developing two innovative and practical tools for vineyards: a portable optical sensor that measures photosynthetic activity and leaf fluorescence to detect stress at a very early, invisible stage, and a portable MRI adapted from the medical field, capable of visualizing the interior of the vine and identifying necrotic areas. These devices can be used individually or linked in a connected sensor network for continuous monitoring and targeted interventions, reducing losses and costs. The electronics of these devices will be encapsulated to ensure weather resistance.

The project brings together a transnational, multidisciplinary consortium: grapevine and viticulture disease researchers from the University of Haute-Alsace and the Julius Kühn Institute, optics and MRI specialists from the University of Strasbourg and the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW), device design and encapsulation experts from Hochschule Furtwangen, as well as industrial partners. Together, they design prototypes, test them in the lab and in vineyards, and make them robust for field conditions.

In the long term, VitiSense plans to establish a start-up to widely deploy these solutions. The expected benefits are significant: healthier vineyards, reduced losses, sustainable viticulture, and the preservation of an exceptional regional heritage.

• Project partners: Université de Strasbourg (Icube-Labor) (FR), Université de Haute-Alsace (FR), Hochschule Furtwangen (DE) as well as other associated academic partners (FHNW, Julius Kühn Institute) and partners from industry
• Budget: 998.141,47 €
• Implementation: 1.01.2026 – 31.12.2028

The Rhine, one of Europe’s most important rivers, is both a source of drinking water and a major pathway for microplastics to the oceans. These tiny particles originate either from intentionally manufactured plastics (e.g., cosmetics, paints) or from the degradation of improperly disposed plastic products. In aquatic organisms, microplastic ingestion can cause malnutrition, inflammation, reduced fertility, and increased mortality, and studies show that ultrafine particles can reach nearly all organs in the human body, although the precise effects on human health remain unclear. Water monitoring currently relies on manual sampling and laboratory analyses, which are costly and slow.

The ZUNAMI project sets out to change this by building an automated system that can detect and quantify microplastics directly on-site within about an hour. To achieve this, ZUNAMI brings together a cross-border consortium of universities, industry, and public water providers. Researchers at the Universities of Freiburg and Basel, together with RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, are developing three interconnected innovations: advanced sample preparation methods to capture microplastics from large water volumes, microfluidic systems to automate sample preparation, and micropore/nanopore sensors to detect individual particles through changes in electric current. A pore is a tiny hole in a membrane through which an electric current flows. When a particle moves close to the pore, it briefly alters the current in a way that depends on its size and shape. This modification produces a unique electrical “signature” that can be decoded to identify the particle.

Over three years, the project will first demonstrate the technology in laboratory settings, then validate it with real Rhine samples provided by public water utilities in Switzerland and France. The main challenge is to prove that micropore detection can reliably distinguish particle types and sizes, and that the integrated workflow delivers results comparable to established laboratory techniques.

The potential impact is significant. With faster, cheaper, and easier monitoring, ZUNAMI could simplify regular surveillance of microplastics for water operators. Reliable data would strengthen the basis for environmental regulation. In the longer term, the approach could be extended beyond the Rhine, contributing to global efforts to tackle plastic pollution and protect both nature and people.

• Project partners: Universität Freiburg (DE), Universität Basel (CH) und RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau (DE) as well as water suppliers and industrial partners
• Budget: 1 378 583,37 Eur
• Implementation: 01.01.2026 – 31.12.2028