The results of this year’s MSCA Doctoral Networks call have been announced, with Wrocław Tech participating in two selected projects: CeSuds and NICEST.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions “Doctoral Networks 2025” programme is organised by the European Commission. It supports the training of highly qualified doctoral candidates by fostering their creativity, enhancing innovation capacity, and improving long-term employability.

In this year’s call, 1,616 proposals were submitted, and 141 projects received funding totalling €617.18 million. These projects will be coordinated across 23 countries, with a total of 2,115 doctoral candidates to be trained.

Polish scientific institutions and organisations from the non-academic sector are involved in 35 grants as consortium partners, while two projects will be coordinated by AGH University of Kraków and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

Representatives of Wrocław University of Science and Technology will participate in the following project consortia: CeSuds (teams led by Prof. Katarzyna Chojnacka from the Faculty of Chemistry and Prof. Renata Krzyżyńska from the Faculty of Environmental Engineering) and NICEST (team led by Dr hab. Eng. Grzegorz Soboń, University Professor, from the Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems).

A new approach to sewage sludge management

The CeSuds project (Circular Economy Approaches to Digested Sludge Utilization in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Based on Hydrothermal Carbonization and Complementary Technologies) is carried out by an international consortium led by the University of Limerick in Ireland (coordinator: Prof. Witold Kwapiński).

The project involves twelve partners from Ireland, Poland, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Spain, as well as 13 associated partners from industry and research. Together, they will train 14 doctoral candidates working on technologies for sewage sludge valorisation.

The project focuses on developing new methods for managing sewage sludge and converting it into valuable resources in line with circular economy principles.

A key role is played by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), a technology that enables the conversion of wet sludge into hydrochar – a material with fuel-like properties. Complementary processes include pyrolysis and gasification. The goal is to recover nitrogen and phosphorus and improve the energy properties of the resulting products, supported by machine learning tools that optimise the entire process.

Teams from Wrocław University of Science and Technology will play a significant role in the project. Work at the Faculty of Chemistry will be led by Prof. Katarzyna Chojnacka, while Prof. Renata Krzyżyńska will collaborate on her part of the research with the Czech Technical University in Prague.

Recovering resources from wastewater

The team from the Faculty of Chemistry will focus on transforming sewage sludge into valuable products within the circular economy framework.

Researchers will use hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) to recover nitrogen and phosphorus from wet sludge—elements essential for fertiliser production, which Europe currently largely imports. Machine learning will be used to optimise the process from both economic and environmental perspectives.

“We aim to develop a selective, durable, and cost-effective material with real implementation potential. The final product will be a nitrogen fertiliser derived from municipal wastewater,” says Prof. Katarzyna Chojnacka.

The results will feed into two additional doctoral theses within the network: one on the biological treatment of HTC process water (in collaboration with MPWiK Wrocław) and another on anaerobic co-digestion (conducted at the University of Galway).

Giving sludge a second life as an energy source

The team led by Prof. Renata Krzyżyńska will focus on the energy use of products obtained through hydrothermal carbonization. In collaboration with the Czech Technical University in Prague, they will analyse hydrochar properties and develop methods to enhance its performance as a fuel.

The research will include modifying the material’s chemical composition and structure, as well as assessing how process conditions affect its energy efficiency. This is crucial for reducing emissions and improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment systems.

“We want to give sewage sludge a second life by transforming it into fuel with the best possible parameters,” says Prof. Krzyżyńska. “Our goal is to develop solutions that are not only efficient but also safe and feasible for practical implementation. Cooperation with our Czech partners allows us to combine expertise in process engineering and energy systems to support the development of low-emission technologies.”

The CeSuds project will run for four years, with a total budget of €4.2 million. More than €251,000 will be allocated to support a doctoral candidate conducting research at Wrocław University of Science and Technology.

New tools for precision spectroscopy

The second project involving Wrocław University of Science and Technology is NICEST (Network for Integration of Comb Experimental Spectroscopic Techniques). It is an international initiative coordinated by the University of Rennes in France (coordinator: Prof. Lucile Rutkowski) and aims to develop a new generation of tools for ultra-precise gas composition analysis.

The project also includes research institutions from Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and Italy, as well as industrial partners and research organisations such as the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and companies including Thorlabs and Bruker.

The Wrocław Tech team is led by Dr hab. Eng. Grzegorz Soboń, University Professor, from the Faculty of Electronics, Microsystems and Photonics.

“The NICEST project is a natural continuation of our long-standing international collaboration. Together, we are developing technologies based on optical frequency combs, which enable extremely precise gas composition analysis. This allows us to better monitor the environment, study planetary atmospheres, and support industry in decarbonisation processes,” says Prof. Grzegorz Soboń.

The consortium focuses on developing ultra-sensitive spectrometers based on optical frequency combs—advanced laser sources emitting radiation in the mid-infrared range. This spectral region contains the characteristic “fingerprints” of many gases, including pollutants and greenhouse gases, enabling highly accurate identification.

The technologies developed within the project will be applied in climate change research, environmental monitoring, planetary atmosphere analysis, and optimisation of industrial processes for decarbonisation.

The team led by Prof. Soboń will be responsible for designing and supplying lasers with unique parameters, which will be key components of the new measurement systems.

Within the network, eleven doctoral candidates will be trained through international doctoral programmes that include long-term research stays abroad, participation in conferences, and training in soft skills and research commercialisation.

The NICEST project will begin in early 2027 and will run for five years. Its budget exceeds €4.48 million, with €167,000 allocated to support a doctoral candidate at Wrocław University of Science and Technology.