Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DeMANS (Design and manufacture of sustainable materials for additive manufacturing technologies)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-05-01 bis 2024-04-30
The overall objective of DeMANS - an international and intersectoral Research and Innovation Staff Exchange action - is to produce world-class innovation in the design and additive manufacture (AM) of parts, components and devices for European consumers, using sustainable (bio)polymer materials. This will be achieved through the research expertise of a global network of leading academic and industrial partners, working together to develop technologies and facilitate improvements in AM for flexible manufacturing of consumer products. This type of process is known as ‘mass customisation’ and allows for components to be produced and delivered at a scale between bespoke (often once off) and commodity (available for all). This presents a way to deliver sustainable biopolymer technologies to the market using AM and a means of developing commercial opportunities for exploitation beyond this project, leading to benefits for consumers and producers. It is clear from European and international policy and research priorities, and demonstrated through the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the focus of EU funded projects that there is a real need for work in this area driven by the environmental impact of fossil fuel derived polymers. Today, 25 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Europe every year. DeMANS will have significant benefit for European society by exploring new opportunities for replacing traditional synthetic plastics with biomaterials in complex consumer products, simultaneously reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and developing new innovations and markets for biopolymer-based products. This will be achieved through (1) the selection of suitable, sustainable materials for AM; (2) the development of suitable prototypes as a proof-of-concept; and (3) the development of a technical "roadmap" that will describe the future vision for AM in Europe and beyond.
As a research and Innovation Staff Exchange action, DeMANS is an opportunity for researchers and technical staff to travel and work with other researchers and technicians in other sectors and counties, to share experiences and transfer knowledge. Although there were delays to the programme because of COVID, the secondments are now taking place. Overall, 48 secondments, over the course of a total of 75 person-months are expected to take place between partners in Europe, New Zealand and Australia, making it a truly global venture. To date, eight secondments have been completed, covering some 16 months of direct activity. In order to support these efforts, the wider project consortium has been working to make the management of the action as smooth as possible. Numerous internal reports have been produced, all leading to suitable dissemination of the project results and tangible outputs, resources and commodities for people.
Among the most innovative manufacturing solutions of the last decade, additive manufacturing technologies have been identified as one of the most promising production technologies globally for its ability to speed up innovation and mitigate supply chain disruption. Europe, on both a political and industrial level, possesses potential to become a world leader in the development and deployment of these technologies. in Europe there are currently world-class machine builders, material providers, service bureaus, business model developers, etc., operating at a global level, along with reputable universities and research centres. There is also a clear need to develop a ‘talent-pipeline’ of expert researchers to enable the growth of an AM based economy in Europe. European research leadership in this sector has been heavily promoted and the European Commission has been a pioneer in developing AM by providing funding in this area, with more than 60 EU-funded projects in AM, with a combined budget of more than €225 million. Despite this enormous investment, none of these projects focussed on manufacturing applications of biopolymers (outside the health sector). Industries are looking to make investments in AM printing equipment, materials, or products; in order to sustain further development of these technologies, this should be supported with the investment in appropriate skills. Thus, DeMANS centres on the development of methods and demonstrators of AM in the manufacture of advanced components from sustainable polymers, while simultaneously training the AM experts of the future.