The ATHENA project addresses emerging risks for the water sector in operational technology created by digitalisation. The project responds to Digital Europe call DIGITAL-ECCC-2022-CYBER-03-UPTAKE-CYBERSOLUTIONS – Uptake op Innovative Cybersecurity Solutions. The project started in September 2023 and will run until November 2026. De Vlaamse Waterweg - The Flemish Waterway participates in the project to enhance the resilience of the organisation by co-developing targeted training modules for operational technology environments.

The Horizon2020 project BEAT-AF brings together 9 European renowned clinical centres in France, Belgium, Czechia, Germany and Austria. Together, the consortium strives to revolutionize Atrial Fibrillation (AF) treatment through catheter ablation and contribute to decrease the huge burden of AF in Europe. The BEAT-AF project kicked off in 2021 and will run until 2026. The department of electrophysiology of the AZ Sint-Jan Hospital in Bruges is partner in the project and has so far contributed to the pre-clinical development, the first in man studies and first registries of the revolutionary AF treatment put forward by the consortium. The first pilot studies show that the treatment is safe, effective and efficient.

Autoship is, as the name suggests, an acronym for autonomous ship. Just like with self-driving cars, the possibilities of an unmanned boat seem endless. It can create more efficient freight transport, around the clock deliveries and these are just a few of the examples. The project has two societal challenges. At first, De Vlaamse Waterweg was a bit hesitant as their experience with FP7 or Horizon 2020 projects was limited and they had not been very successful up until then. The fact that they were already doing basic research on the topic of autonomous boats, and the administrative help of NCP Flanders helped De Vlaamse waterweg to cross the line and get involved.