Over 160 companies from 23 countries have been selected in the latest round of the European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 SME Instrument Phase 1, which funds small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For each project, the participants will receive €50,000 to finance feasibility studies. They can also request up to three days of business coaching.

Among the recipients are Magpie Polymers—a spin-off from the École Polytechnique, France— which recovers precious metals such as platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold from wastewater or process water. The company received funding for its proposal for vertical integration into platinum group metals refining processes.

The United Kingdom’s C4 Carbides Ltd. received funding for “Laser bonding of linear edged superabrasive blades,” and France’s POWERTECH SYSTEMS received support for “Pre-Commercial Production Demonstration of Very High Capacity Silicon Anode for High Performance and Low Cost Li-Ion Batteries.” Both of these are in the topical area called “Accelerating the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs.” The full list of recipients is available on the Horizon 2020 website.