Project description DEENESFRITPL Robotics and ML for advanced materials Functional materials possess particular properties and functions and have a determinant impact in a wide range of fields from healthcare to data storage and energy production. However, the design of functional materials cannot be approached with existing rules applied in the development of macroscopic objects. The EU-funded ADAM project intends to revolutionise the exploration process by combining synergistic exploitation of experiences in crystal structure modelling, prediction methods, chemistry and robotics. The aim of the project is to create and couple two parallel engines, a computational engine for evolutionary exploration of chemical space and an experimental engine for autonomous synthesis and properties testing, in order to establish an autonomous discovery platform that will search the immense and unexplored chemical space for new advanced materials. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Materials impact most aspects of our lives, including healthcare, energy production, data storage and pollution control. However, the design of functional materials cannot be approached with the certainty and the engineering rules that would be used in planning and constructing a macroscopic object, such as a car or bridge. This is because of the limited scope for design that exists at the atomic scale: experimentally realizable materials must correspond to local minima on a complex, multidimensional energy surface, whose positions and depths are difficult to predict. This project will change the way that we discover new molecular materials by revolutionizing the exploration process, rather than focussing on rules for intuitive design. This will be achieved through a unique synergistic partnership between three principal investigators, bringing together an international leader in crystal structure modelling and prediction methods, an experimental chemist with a track record for inventing new classes of functional materials, and a pioneer in robotics for laboratory and process automation. The programme integrates state-of-the-art computation, experiment and robotics, building on joint breakthroughs from our team (Nature, 2011; Nature, 2017) that lay the groundwork for a transformation in our materials discovery capabilities. We will build a Computational Engine for evolutionary exploration of chemical space using crystal structure prediction and machine learning of structure-property relationships for the assessment of molecules. In parallel, we will develop an Experimental Engine for autonomous synthesis and properties testing using newly-developed, artificially-intelligent, mobile ‘robot chemists’. The vision of ADAM is to couple these two engines together, creating an autonomous discovery platform that amplifies human creativity by searching the vast, unexplored chemical space for new materials with step change properties. Fields of science engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcrystalssocial sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomationnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollutionengineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringroboticsnatural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learning Keywords materials discovery chemistry automation Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2019-SyG - ERC Synergy Grant Call for proposal ERC-2019-SyG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-SyG - Synergy grant Coordinator UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON Net EU contribution € 3 493 039,00 Address Highfield SO17 1BJ Southampton United Kingdom See on map Region South East (England) Hampshire and Isle of Wight Southampton Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Beneficiaries (3) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 3 493 039,00 Address Highfield SO17 1BJ Southampton See on map Region South East (England) Hampshire and Isle of Wight Southampton Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 4 119 096,00 Address Brownlow hill 765 foundation building L69 7ZX Liverpool See on map Region North West (England) Merseyside Liverpool Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 UNIVERSITAET ROSTOCK Germany Net EU contribution € 2 387 148,00 Address Universitatsplatz 1 18055 Rostock See on map Region Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Rostock, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
