BATTITO and SAC3 research projects at Politecnico di Milano win two ERC Proof of Concept grants
The first automated and intelligent heart-on-chip and the first 3D-printed single-atom catalysts are the subjects of the research projects that have received funding from the European Research Council (ERC)
image: Assistant professor Paola Occhetta
Credit: Politecnico di Milano
Milan, June 30th, 2026 – Two projects by faculty members at Politecnico di Milano have received funding through the award of an ERC Proof of Concept. BATTITO, by professor Paola Occhetta (Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering), aims to address one of the biggest problems in pharmaceutical research: unexpected cardiotoxicity. SAC3, coordinated by Gianvito Vilé, professor at the Department of Chemistry, Material and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, aims to transform single-atom catalysts into an industrial technology for fine chemistry and the pharmaceutical sector.
Through the ERC PoC call, the European Research Council (ERC) funds excellent projects capable of standing out in frontier fields, supplementary to the main ERC, with the aim of bringing the first results of basic research to market.With the ERC PoCs just obtained, Politecnico further strengthens its lead, confirming itself as the leading Italian university for funding received under the Horizon Europe programme, with 448 projects for a total of approximately EUR 211.86 million. Within the Horizon Europe 2021-2027 framework programme for funding, Politecnico di Milano has so far obtained 49 ERC projects for a total of approximately EUR 49.26 million.
BATTITO
The BATTITO project aims to revolutionize preclinical drug testing by addressing one of the biggest problems in pharmaceutical research: unexpected cardiotoxicity, which is the main cause of failure for new medicines. Today, the models used in laboratories often fail to predict how a human heart will react.
To overcome this limitation, BATTITO — developed through a collaboration between Politecnico di Milano and its spin-off BiomimX S.r.l. — introduces the first fully automated and intelligent "heart on chip" (Organ-on-Chip). At the core of this innovation is uHeart, a miniaturised, beating 3D model of human cardiac tissue, combined with an Artificial Intelligence-based control system. Rather than merely observing the tissue, the system learns and adapts the mechanical stimuli in real time as the state of the cells changes, guiding the tissue towards an optimal maturation standard.
This approach will drastically reduce the variability of experiments and will provide pharmaceutical companies with a highly reliable test to assess the safety of drugs under development, making it possible to save resources and, above all, to reduce the need for animal testing.
Paola Occhetta is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) at Politecnico di Milano, where she leads research projects in the field of bioengineering and mechanobiology. Her research is supported by prestigious funding, including the ERC Starting Grant and the Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder. She earned her PhD from Politecnico di Milano in 2015, specialising in the development of microfluidic platforms for 3D cell cultures, and subsequently completed a postdoc in translational medicine at University Hospital Basel. Author of more than 40 international scientific publications, Paola Occhetta is a recognised innovator: she is the inventor of patented technologies and co-founder of BiomimX S.r.l., a Politecnico spin-off pioneering the development of beating "Organs on Chip". She is also a member of international standardisation committees and Vice-President for Regulatory Adoption of the Industrial Alliance for Microphysiological Systems (IAMPS), committed to defining the new European and global standards for these technologies.
SAC3
SAC3 (“Single-Atom Cartridges: From Powder to Product”) aims to transform one of the most promising innovations in modern catalysis into a technology ready for industry. The project will develop the first platform to create 3D-printed single-atom catalysts.
This solution overcomes one of the main limitations of fine chemistry, where catalysts are often used in the form of powders that are difficult to handle, recover and reuse. SAC3 in fact uses an innovative 3D-printing process that makes it possible to create robust catalytic “cartridges” ready for industrial use. The production process eliminates complex traditional steps, which compromise the atomic dispersion responsible for the catalyst’s performance. The first results demonstrate the potential of the technology: a nickel-based catalytic cartridge, containing an amount of metal 100 times lower than conventional catalysts, showed productivity 43% higher.
The aim of the project is to validate this technology on a pre-industrial scale and to create the foundations for a Politecnico di Milano spin-off dedicated to the commercialisation of single-atom cartridges for the fine chemistry and pharmaceutical sectors.
Gianvito Vilé is an Associate Professor of Chemical Plants in the Department of Chemistry, Material and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” at Politecnico di Milano. His research activity is devoted to the development of innovative chemical processes for the sustainable production of high value-added molecules intended for the pharmaceutical and fine chemistry sectors. His studies focus on the use of advanced catalysts, with the aim of reducing the consumption of critical raw materials, minimising waste production and making industrial synthesis processes more efficient. His scientific activity is supported by prestigious European funding, including an ERC Starting Grant, a previous ERC Proof of Concept and further projects funded under Horizon Europe. In 2025, he won the EFCATS Young Researcher Award in Catalysis, one of the most prestigious European recognitions in the field of catalysis.