SustainCARE studies how paper-based heritage lives with its climate — from the molecule to the repository.
Preserving history is increasingly challenging amidst climate change: the intensive climate control that protects historical documents consumes vast energy, fuelling the crisis it tries to outrun. This ERC-funded project models the environmental life of documentary heritage to make preservation predictive, sustainable, and open to every archive.
- FUNDING
- €2.27M
- DURATION
- 2026–2031
- SCHEME
- ERC Starting Grant
- GRANT AGREEMENT
- 101220359
Explore the research
Three integrated pillars, validated through global case studies across diverse cultural and climatic contexts.
Degradation modelling
A comprehensive model quantifying material–micro-environment interactions for detailed paper degradation analysis — from cellulose chemistry to the page.
Multiscale hygrothermal simulation
Innovative models capturing heat and moisture transfer across scales — from individual bound volumes to entire repositories.
Open risk-assessment tool
An open-source online tool for dynamic, spatially resolved environmental risk assessment and predictive preservation planning.