Project description
High-precision temperature monitoring
Monitoring subsurface temperatures is essential to understand how the Earth stores energy and how ice sheets evolve. Also, it is a way of predicting permafrost stability under climate change. Current tools lack the necessary precision and cannot operate in extreme environments. The ERC-funded HIP-Bore project builds on previous research to address this issue and to develop a system that exhibits long-term stability and requires minimal maintenance even under extreme conditions. The millikelvin precision of the system will help capture the heat dynamics of previously inaccessible regions, providing critical data for the improvement of climate models and risk assessments.
Objective
The Earth’s climate system is experiencing an accelerating energy imbalance, with unprecedented heat accumulation driving rapid transformations across the ocean, land, cryosphere, and atmosphere. Despite the critical need for high-precision subsurface ice and soil temperature measurements—to assess land energy storage1, reconstruct past climate evolution2,3, refine ice models4, and determine permafrost stability5 — existing solutions are either insufficiently precise, prohibitively expensive, or incapable of long-term operation in extreme environments.
Based on my ERC SPACE research, we started to develop HIP-Bore, a system that delivers unmatched milli-kelvin long-term precision, operates reliably in the harshest conditions, and transmits long-term subsurface temperature data with minimal maintenance. No comparable solution exists today. By bridging a key technological gap, HIP-Bore is set to revolutionize environmental monitoring and advance climate science. Its ability to capture transient subsurface thermal data in previously unmonitored regions will unlock new insights into ice sheet stability, permafrost response to global warming, and the planet’s shifting energy balance. To bring HIP-Bore from research to real-world application, we seek funding to finalize development, assess market potential, and define a commercialization strategy. This project will drive technology transfer, positioning HIP-Bore for deployment. With its scalable, cost-effective design, HIP-Bore has strong market potential across research institutions, government agencies, and industries focused on environmental and infrastructure risk assessment. By delivering unprecedented insights into subsurface temperature changes, HIP-Bore can set a new standard in monitoring and play a pivotal role in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management climate change adaptation
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- engineering and technology environmental engineering remote sensing
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-POC
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
27570 BREMERHAVEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.