Objectives
European regulation with respect to CO2 emission is becoming more and more stringent. Sectors such as transport, energy or construction are demanding lightweight and high-performance materials. Dense metals are being replaced by lighter metals or by polymer composites. However, each one individually does not meet all requirements for mechanical, electrical and thermal abilities; moreover, providing multi-functional products expected by these markets at right cost is boosting the need for further integration of functional elements (materials, electronic components) in the structure and, at the same time, setting-up new processes to reduce cycle times and produce net-shape parts.
The OASIS project aims at fulfilling market potential of nano-enabled multifunctional lightweight composites, particularly of polymer-matrix and aluminium composites. The OASIS gathers manufacturing capacity of 12 pilot lines for the industrial production of nanoscale structures in unprocessed form, intermediate products with nanoscale features and nano-enabled products as well as other complementary technical (modeling, characterization, toxicology, life cycle assessment) and nontechnical services (Business innovation coaching, business planning, access to private capital). These modular services will be provided to companies, particularly to SMEs, to gain access to unique facilities and knowledge without high capital investment. Such support is particularly needed at the crossroads between three KETs (nanotechnologies, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing and processes) and in era of multifunctional products when wide scope of know-how is needed for pre-production or industrial low-medium volume production.
The companies will access these wide offering infrastructures by a single-entry point, which will ensure quality customer relationship and management from request formalization to delivery.
The multi-pilot line manufacturing capacity of OASIS will be validated by 6 industrial showcases, where lightweight products (TRL6-7) ensure significant impact in construction, automotive, energy and aeronautic industries. The OASIS will set up economically sustainable open innovation structure, leveraging the previous investments for the full benefit of European companies introducing new added-value products based on nanotechnologies
Milestones
Sustainable manufacturing of nanotechnology is the final OASIS´s ambition. This challenging concept encompasses the creation of more sustainable manufactured products and production technologies, that minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources, are safe for employees, communities, and consumers and are economically sound. OASIS is therefore established to create an ecosystem for collaboration to drive innovation and strengthen competitiveness based on cutting-edge nanotechnologies through open innovation and integrated operation.
In order to develop this “creative ecosystem” some partial objectives should be fulfilled:
Objective 1. Development and organization of the open innovation testbed.
To develop and organize a sustainable OITB, OASIS project will aim at upscaling and upgrading 12 PLs and develop associated services to provide qualified nano-materials, nano-intermediates and nano-enabled products to meet industrial needs and accelerate market uptake of innovative lightweight multifunctional nano-enabled products.
OASIS will provide a full array of services. Technical services will go from primary concept to final qualification of the product (including materials selection and manufacturing processes, product and process design, modelling and simulation, testing and characterization). Non-technical services will help to understand and characterize the market needs, and ensure and accelerate actual market commercialization of developed products: diagnosis methodology and associated criteria, training, business support, IP, coaching to SMEs and access to finance/investors.
Objective 2 Set-up a Single Entry Point (SEP) for easier access to SMEs and sustainable operation/commercialization of the OITB service offer Wide spreading the use of nanotechnologies requires that potential customers can identify easily the right contact person and be confident in finding thorough support in such innovative (and sometimes perceived as risky) field as nanotechnologies.
Objective 3 Validation of upscale/upgrade of pilots and services
6 global leaders representing high-impact sectors (mobility/transportation, construction, packaging and energy) will implement in real cases the developed tangible materials and components through the 12 PLs and associated services: these will constitute the 6 showcases on which companies will work as proposed and will serve as the innovation lever for OASIS project.
Objective 4 Set up of Open Calls (OC) to validate the SEP and ensure the sustainability of the OITB ecosystem.The OASIS PLs and the associated services will be open to industry, in priority SMEs, individuals, academia and RTOs during the project through an Open Call (OC).
Objective 5 Democases development. Industries, and in particular SMEs, will have the opportunity to validate and test their innovation to achieve multi-functional nano-enabled products.
For ACCIONA our main objective is to manufacture by pultrusion fire resistant and highly corrosion resistant fibre reinforced polymer rebars and stirrups for reinforcing concrete.
Currently, there are some drawbacks for composite rebars to be overcome to become competitive to steel rebars: low fire-retardancy, slow productivity and difficult to reshape into stirrups. Different types of nanoparticles have shown that once incorporated into the resin FR performance improves. On the other side, inductively heatable (superpara)magnetic nanoparticles will be incorporated into the resin system, to better control the curing process. This will allow to speed up the curing reaction but also to reshape the rebars to form stirrups. All these solutions can be combined in single supraparticles leading to a new standard of pultruded composite rebars, potentially being competitive to steel rebars and highly advantageous with respect to mass.
Duration
January 2019 –June 2022 (42 Months)
Participants
- FUNDACION TECNALIA RESEARCH & INNOVATION Spain
- COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES France
- CENTRE TECHNIQUE INDUSTRIEL DE LA PLASTURGIE ET DES COMPOSITES France
- FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V. Germany
- UNIVERSIDAD DE CASTILLA - LA MANCHA Spain
- PANEPISTIMIO PATRON Greece
- ALFRED-WEGENER-INSTITUT HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM FUR POLAR- UND MEERESFORSCHUNG Germany
- ACCIONA CONSTRUCCION SA Spain
- TMBK Partners Sp. z o.o. Poland
- SISTEPLANT SL Spain
- PLEIONE INNOVATIVE ENERGY APPLICATIONS SOCIETE ANONYME Greece
- AIRBUS OPERATIONS SL Spain
- THALES SA France
- FORD-WERKE GMBH Germany
- ADAMANT AERODIASTIMIKES EFARMOGES ETAIREIA PERIORISMENIS EFTHYNIS Greece
- VDL Fibertech Industries bv Netherlands
- ASOCIACION ESPANOLA DE NORMALIZACION Spain
- BLUMORPHO SAS France
- AMIRES SRO Czech Republic
- TECNALIA VENTURES SL
Web page
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 814581