Developing expertise in Polymer Technology (POTRA) 2000 - 2003

The polymer chemistry industry is undergoing extensive structural change:
the large companies are merging and many are simultaneously refocusing their area of expertise. The technology programme POTRA organized by Tekes intends to meet the challenge of this change. Under general theme of Intelligent Materials five programmes are currently at the execution stage in Finland. The total Budget for these programmes is approximately 17 M EUR per annum. The earliest programmes started in 1998 and the latest (PINTA) will end in 2006.

The list of the programmes is given below. Separate records for each programme can be found in the service.
- PIGMENTS: Pigments - Raw Materials of Paper
- POTRA: Polymers are building the future
- STAHA: Managing Static Electricity Dynamically
- PINTA: Clean Surfaces
- EMMA: Electronic Materials and Microsystems.

The annual budget for POTRA is 5 MEUR.
Polymers for building the future -Potra 2000-2003
The aim of the programme is to develop expertise in and new products for polymer technology in Finland. Some of the research projects are focused on designing new materials to meet existing needs, while others aim to develop completely new applications. The applications will be of use not only to the chemical industry but also to medicine and the electronics industry.
Research efforts can be concentrated on the structure of monomers, the main component of a polymer, or on the synthesis of the material. The desired properties of the materials include biocompatibility, improved modifiability, stability under extreme conditions or conductivity, for example.

One goal of the programme is to create top-level knowledge in polymer technology. Projects are encouraged to cross the old barriers of scientific disciplines and to join forces between industry, research institutes and universities to achieve efficient national and international cooperation.
The POTRA technology programme was launched in January 2000. In February 2001 there are 15 public research projects and 10 confidential product development projects carried out by enterprises.
Foreign partners can also participate in the programme in cooperation with Finnish partners.
Funding is provided for a period of 1-2 years. New projects are accepted once a year. A total of EUR 17 million (FIM 100 million) has been budgeted over four years.