Smart building facades, hydrogel-nanoparticle immunotherapy, and innovative electrode design for redox flow batteries are the focus of three TU/e projects awarded ERC Proof of Concept grants. Led by Professors Bas Overvelde, Willem Mulder, and Antoni Forner-Cuenca, each receives funding of €150,000 to help these ERC grantees bring their pioneering results out of the lab. The grant also helps in the early stages of using these results to develop a societal application.
FlowFacade - Bas Overvelde
In the search for sustainable architectural solutions, integrating smart technologies into building facades has been complicated by high costs, reliability issues, reliance on rare-earth metals and external energy sources, and safety and regulatory constraints. A promising alternative is passive shading systems based on soft robotics and active materials, which are free from electronics and software. However, these systems lack programmability and adaptability to user needs.
"FlowFacade seeks to enhance the intelligence of thermo-pneumatic passive shading systems, which operate by generating pressure to heat up an air chamber using sunlight," says Bas Overvelde , Professor of Autonomous Matter & Machines at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. "The key innovation is the use of electronics-free soft robotics and pneumatic circuit technology, which were previously developed to replicate traditional electronics-based smart systems."
Redefine smart architecture
FlowFacade will integrate soft pneumatic circuits and actuators into patented passive shading technology. An existing full-scale façade prototype will be upgraded and tested at public locations to increase visibility and engagement. "This breakthrough has the potential to redefine smart architecture," says Overvelde.
The smart pneumatic circuits that play a key role in FlowFacade are based on recent work from Overvelde's group that was completed as part of his ERC Starting Grant. "We also combine this work by collaborating with multiple industrial partners in the Metadecor project," says Overvelde.
The Metadecor project is now developing the 'sombra' pavilion, which Overvelde and his collaborators plan to bring to the TU/e campus in the future for a period of four to six months.
LOCAL-CAR - Willem Mulder
Peritoneal cancers, which are tumors that spread across the abdominal lining, especially advanced ovarian cancer, are difficult to treat. Even with surgery and chemotherapy, survival rates remain low, and current immunotherapies often fall short or cause serious side effects.
LOCAL-CAR offers a smarter approach. Led by Willem Mulder , Professor of Precision Medicine at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at TU/e, at Radboudumc, and at the BioTrip biotech incubator, in collaboration with Roy van der Meel, Matt Timmers and Ewelina Kluza, the project seeks to develop an injectable hydrogel-nanoparticle platform for localized mRNA immunotherapy.
Minimize side effects
"Our platform is based on two proprietary technologies. First, there's ABGel, which is a biocompatible hydrogel that acts as a slow-release depot in the abdomen. Second, we are using so-called aNP-mRNA nanoparticles, which are tiny particles that efficiently deliver therapeutic mRNA into local immune cells," says Mulder. "Once injected, the gel releases mRNA that tells nearby immune cells to make immunoregulatory proteins (such as cytokines) at the tumor site. This creates a sustained, targeted immune response while minimizing systemic side effects."
The approach offers several advantages, such as biocompatibility, tunable release, and strong patent protection. Using the ERC Proof of Concept grant, the team will optimize formulations, test efficacy in ovarian cancer models, strengthen IP, and build a commercialization plan. If successful, LOCAL-CAR could transform treatment for peritoneal cancers and even lead to other localized immunotherapies, delivering better outcomes with fewer side effects for patients worldwide.
PhaseUP - Antoni Forner-Cuenca
Redox flow batteries are promising for grid-scale energy storage, but their widespread adoption is limited by performance and cost limitations due to suboptimal porous electrodes and stack design.
"In our ongoing ERC Starting Grant (FAIR-RFB), we have developed a new class of electrode materials using advanced computational models and synthetic methods to achieve highly controlled electrode designs," says Antoni Forner-Cuenca , Professor of Electrochemical Materials and Systems in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry.
For PhaseUp, Forner-Cuenca and his team want to place these electrodes in so-called segmented battery stacks, which consist of several separate battery units. "We'll make the electrodes using non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS), which allows us to precisely control the microstructure of the electrodes so that they can store high-power densities," says Forner Cuenca. "Our approach is partially protected by patents."
Next-generation energy storage
"This work targets key barriers to reflux flow battery competitiveness by lowering manufacturing costs and improving efficiency. If successful, PhaseUP will establish NIPS as a platform technology for porous electrodes, enabling next-generation energy storage by bridging fundamental materials innovation and real-world deployment."
Finally, Forner-Cuenca also highlights the critical contribution of postdoctoral researcher Rémy Jacquemond to the development of NIPS. "Remy has contributed in so many ways as a researcher in my group over the past seven years to drive the success of our recent developments and put the proposal for PhaseUP together. Without Remy's expertise, insight, and commitment, neither this ambitious research project nor its significant potential would have been possible."
About the current ERC Proof of Concept Grants
A total of 182 researchers have been awarded ERC Proof of Concept Grants , including 27 in the Netherlands. Altogether, € 27.3 million has been allocated. These grants, worth €150,000 each, help current and recent ERC grantees explore the commercial or societal potential of their research findings. This grant scheme is part of the EU's research and innovation program, Horizon Europe.
Founded by the European Union in 2007, the ERC is Europe's premier funding organization for frontier research. It supports creative researchers of all nationalities and ages in carrying out projects across Europe. The ERC offers four main funding schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants, and Synergy Grants.
