Projects

TIRAMISU “Training and Innovation in Reliable and Efficient Chip Design for Edge AI” is a European HORIZON MSCA Doctoral Network project. The general research objective of TIRAMISU is a practical methodology for reliable and energy-efficient Edge AI hardware backbone design and innovation management. The action will provide strong interdisciplinary training for future European engineers and researchers driving the innovation for reliable and energy-efficient Edge AI chips. The consortium is strategically designed to foster cross-disciplinary synergies, by seamlessly integrating innovation management research with the technical aspects of Edge AI design. The non-academic sector is represented by a European flagship R&D hub for nanoelectronics - IMEC, a global leader in industrial electronics and the largest semiconductor manufacturer in Germany - Infineon, a trusted automotive solutions provider - Dumarey, the worldwide leader in EDA tools development - Cadence. The academic excellence is established by the top ICT and Technology Innovation engineering universities and Europe's largest application-oriented research organisation - Fraunhofer.

This project is based on the new paradigm of "flow as information", a groundbreaking approach for underwater sensing of multiscale flows in Nature. It will lead to new, optimized devices and methods to measure, classify and explore the underwater environment when traditional methods are too expensive or simply do not work. Flow as information is inspired by aquatic animals who have evolved advanced sensory systems which combine sensing and information processing into a single framework. The proposal will advance TalTech's underwater sensing technologies from working prototypes (TRL3 to TRL5) to tests in relevant operational environments (TRL6), and support technology transfer to Estonian and international firms. These devices and methods will provide researchers, industry and authorities with new and reliable sources of flow data during extreme climate and weather events where conventional devices fail and when critical infrastructure is at risk, such as during storm surges and floods.

Data has become the most valuable resource for the automation and optimization of tasks arising both in the private and public spheres. The proposed research area/project aims at strengthening both the synergy and quality of the current research of Taltech in this area, while significantly enhancing the capabilities of Uni to cooperate with Estonian industry and public sphere by joint work, consultations, continuous and regular education. The focus of the project is on using machine learning for data science: ML, in particular deep learning, has shown the most promise in advancing the capabilities of future software systems and empowering the whole business of software development. The concrete goal is to increase the manpower and competence in machine learning, while enhancing and cooperating with the existing areas of data science like data and rule mining, data semantics and knowledge representation, natural language data queries, data integration, statistics and data management.

The overall goal of the project is to increase the number of healthy life years of the population. Currently, Estonia has recorded one of the lowest number of healthy life years at birth in the EU. To achieve this goal, three closely related areas of digital health are researched, developed and piloted. We use the standardized data exchange environment and digital data of the Estonian health information system (EHIS) to develop applications that increase the use of data collected by the person for health promotion, prevention and control of chronic conditions. Second, we focus on sensors and digital applications supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to allow a person to collect both biosignals and textual data in machine-readable form. With this, we speed up the detection of health risks and reduce the healthcare workload. Thirdly, we develop various AI methods by combining the data in EHIS and the Health Insurance Fund's database, as well as the data collected by the person.

The Xpanding Innovative Alliance (XiA) project is dedicated to advancing interoperability within the healthcare sector, particularly in anticipation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation. Through a comprehensive educational initiative, XiA aims to address the skills gap in advanced digital health interoperability standards among healthcare providers, digital health solution providers, and individuals. By developing high-quality educational materials and courses, XiA seeks to equip stakeholders with the necessary skills to embrace EHDS-related standards and foster a culture of interoperability.

Field of Research: Develops eco-friendly, nonthermal processing methods (HIPEF, HHP) to enhance food safety, nutrient retention, and probiotic viability in plant-based juices, with emphasis on industrial scalability. Specialty: • Primary: Integration of nonthermal technologies (HIPEF+HHP) to achieve synergistic effects—enzyme inactivation, release of bound bioactives (e.g., carotenoids), and stabilization of probiotics in acidic, nutrient-rich juices. • Secondary: Application of in vitro digestion models to evaluate bioactive absorption and optimization of processes for industry-scale adoption. Contributions: Leads experimental design and process trials with HIPEF+HHP, and performs detailed HPLC/MS analysis of bioactive release and digestive stability. Bridges laboratory research with sustainable food processing, supporting nutrient-rich, waste-reducing, and consumer-friendly innovations.

As the concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere continue to rise, methods for alleviation are desperately needed. Instead of a greenhouse gas, CO2 can also be a valuable resource, but this requires technology to split it up. Among the proposed technologies to split CO2 is its capture and electrolysis in molten salts, turning CO2 into solid carbon and gaseous oxygen. This project aims to further this technology by looking closely at the processes taking place and creating new ways of valorizing the products to create a financial incentive for scaling. Smart utilization of this powerful technology will allow us to not only directly reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, but also to limit future emissions by empowering CO2-free energy conversion devices such as fuel cells, batteries, and supercapacitors. To keep the CO2 equivalents low and to not offset the positive effect of CO2 capture and utilization, the effect of green chemistry principles and their utilization will also be studied.

The efficient utilisation of bio-based resources is essential for achieving a sustainable, carbon-neutral society. AGRI-WASTE2H2 will focus on straw-derived cellulose – an abundant but underexploited agricultural side-product – as feedstock in an advanced electrochemical process, tailored for enhanced efficiency in the production of green hydrogen with significantly reduced energy consumption compared to standard water electrolysis. At the same time, the process will concurrently produce valuable platform chemicals and materials. AGRI-WASTE2H2 relies on the combined expertise of researchers in three Nordic-Baltic countries – Finland, Sweden and Estonia. The Synthetic Flow Chemistry group at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, will focus on transferring the electrochemical oxidation of cellulose into the flow regime, aiming to achieve high efficiency and productivity of the developed transformation. The scaling-up process in flow is a key step for a successful industrial application. AGRI-WASTE2H2 capitalises on the abundance of renewable electricity and agricultural side-streams in the Nordic-Baltic area to produce fuel and chemicals, thereby alleviating the region’s dependence on import of fossil feedstocks. As such, the project will result in tools for reduced CO2 emissions and increased regional resilience, while spurring the growth of new green industries of particular benefit for rural areas. The collaboration between researchers three Nordic-Baltic countries will enable results beyond what the individual partner can achieve alone and promote regional mobility and new collaborations. By leveraging our specialised know-how, we aim to drive innovation tailored to our regional needs and strengths.

Organic electrochemistry is transforming modern synthesis by offering green, efficient methods that replace toxic oxidants and reductants with electricity. Continuous flow electrosynthesis, superior to batch processes, addresses challenges like heat transfer, mixing, and scalability enabling lab-scale replication of industrial methods. This project targets the sustainable synthesis of alkyl and fluoroalkyl hypervalent iodine reagents (λ3-iodanes) using electrochemical flow methods. Traditionally generated with stoichiometric oxidants, these reagents cause waste and separation issues. Electrochemical strategies allow access to unstable aliphatic iodanes cleanly. Their use in stereoselective α-alkylation, amination, and nucleophilic (radio)fluorination and fluoroalkylation reactions will be explored. This work aligns with the European Green Deal, advancing green chemistry and innovation in sustainable catalysis.

Modern society depends on new molecules to advance medicine, agriculture, and materials, but developing safe and sustainable synthetic strategies remains a challenge. Nitrogen heterocycles are especially important due to their presence in many pharmaceuticals and natural products. Haloaziridines are powerful intermediates for constructing diverse nitrogen heterocycles, thanks to their unique reactivity in ring-opening and transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. The FlowHalAzi project addresses this by developing scalable strategies for synthesizing halogen-functionalized aziridines. It will employ zinc-mediated, photochemical, and electrochemical methods to generate halocarben(oid) species from CHX₃ or CRX₃ precursors and directly incorporate them into multicomponent reactions. Continuous-flow conditions will be used to allow precise control and facilitate scale-up.

This proposal places flow chemistry at the heart of this strategy to develop innovative synthetic methods for selective partial dehydrogenative and hydrogenative functionalization of N-heterocycles. N-Heterocycles are crucial scaffolds in medicinal chemistry, forming the core of numerous pharmaceuticals and biologically active compounds. By leveraging the precise control and tunability offered by flow systems, we aim to generate and intercept reactive intermediates that are difficult to access under traditional batch conditions. These intermediates will then undergo downstream transformations, including earth-abundant metal catalysis, and electrochemical activation, to build complex, stereochemically defined heterocyclic frameworks.

The CROSS project aims to strengthen the European Research Area by developing innovative tools to mainstream the new Charters´ principles, fostering organisational change and career interoperability. Key outputs include a Self-Assessment Competence Tool, a comprehensive Roadmap for transversal skills training, a Mentoring Handbook, a Roadmap for career counseling, an Intersectoral Collaboration Handbook, and an HRS4R Repository. These form a comprehensive set of career management services, which will be piloted and implemented across four intersectoral networks. The development of these resources will follow a co-creative process, engaging stakeholders across Europe, facilitated through the creation of our ResearchComp Community of Practice. This approach ensures their adaptability to diverse European ecosystems. A key component of CROSS is the creation of a platform designed to support institutions in obtaining the HRS4R award. This platform can also serve as a shared resource for all projects funded under this call, ensuring their continued use and expansion beyond the project’s lifecycle. By promoting organisational change, CROSS will benefit research-performing organisations and researchers at all career stages, significantly improving career prospects and delivering broader societal impact.

In engineered wood production, the wood goes through many process steps, which affect both the wood and the final product quality. Holistic studies on the co-effect of these processes on adhesive bond quality are lacking. Despite a 20 year old theoretical basis to understand poor adhesion and adhesive testing variability, the tools to understand the impact on surface defects on bond quality are underdeveloped, resulting in uncontrolled bonding conditions, high variances, and slow technical progress. In addition, the fire resistance of engineered wood structures is investigated. Design and assessment methods are improved, and their scope widened to new innovative wood products based on experimental studies and thermo-mechanical simulations. This will accelerate the implementation of bio-based adhesives, improving the competitiveness and safety of the engineered wood products and promoting the utilization of low-quality wood species.