Converting Facilities Network for accelerating uptake of climate neutral materials in innovative products

Project Information

Convert2Green

Grant agreement ID: 101092347

DOI

10.3030/101092347

Project closed

EC signature date 26 November 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 March 2026

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 12 471 935,00

EU contribution

€ 11 383 136,63

Coordinated by

ETHNICON METSOVION POLYTECHNION
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Convert2Green (Converting Facilities Network for accelerating uptake of climate neutral materials in innovative products)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The overall objective of Convert2Green is to establish a sustainable, business-oriented open innovation ecosystem that provides upgraded technical facilities and specialized business development services to accelerate market entry of novel circular and carbon-neutral material solutions in the following European key value chains. (1) flexible electronics (printed and silicon-based) for Industrial Internet of Things and Smart Health Use Scenarios; (2) Smart and eco-friendly textiles for Smart health & medical Application; Clean and autonomous vehicles and Clean energy solutions; (3) Process chains for bioplastic and plastic recyclates for clean and autonomous vehicles, clean energy solutions, and eco-friendly packaging solutions across value chains. Facilities for Surface functionalisation (coating) and electron beam crosslinking are required to improve the functional properties of circular and/or bioplastics as these usually fall behind the properties of their petrol-based counterparts.
Το achieve that, Convert2Green sets technical, business and organisational objective, which includes:
1. Set-up a lean, flexible and effective organisational structure and contract framework for a sustainable Open Innovation Test Bed with a for-profit single entry point that allows easy access for SME and Industry from the whole European Single Market to the Convert2Green and partner OITB Facilities and Services
2. Upgrade and make available connected TRL4 - TRL7 technical pilot facilities and testing, characterisation and validation services to support SME in bringing novel climate neutral materials to the EU Key value chains and to reduce time-to-market by > 30% by more efficient prototyping and development
3. Establish a sustainable business model and market-oriented service portfolio of the Convert2Green OITB
4. Establish and integrate SME-targetedbusiness services; establish novel funding solutions for SME to accelerate innovation and market entry; and support 20 SME through an open call for pre-commercial pilot cases.
5. Validate and demonstrate the Technical Facilities of the Convert2Green OITB in 5 industrial use cases
6. Interconnect the European Open Innovation Ecosystem and establish local access strategies

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the initial 18 months of the project, a lean structure has been established based on a framework collaboration agreement between all partners and individual marketing/sales partnership agreements between individual partners and SEP. Currently, Convert2Green has created a set of 78 dedicated R&D, innovation and business services that target SMEs in need of replacing established materials with circular solutions (e.g. recycled materials) and SMEs offering such materials helping them to bring their solution to the market.
Facilities for Circularity Design, Re-Use and Compounding, Materials Design and Modelling, were upgraded and commissioned, resulting in very promising preliminary results related to critical metals recovery, batteries recycling, and recycled plastics re-using and compounding. Converting and Application Integration Facilities were equipped with inline monitoring systems resulting in efficient resource utilisation and waste minimization.
Verification and Testing Facilities and Services delivered a database for testing methodologies covering 46 distinct methodologies in 8 different categories. The database was processed into an accessible catalogue of C2G physicochemical and functional characterisation testing capabilities, including application examples to support Open Call applications. Human and Environmental Hazard Testing Facility Qualification managed to generate 3D dynamic cell spheroids utilising data harvested from static growth conditions. A handbook draft for Measure and Verification methodology was prepared setting up a methodology framework for implementation in Pilot Lines including the evaluation of parameters under real condition operation covering technical, environmental, economic and social aspects.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The major advancement during the first reporting period has been achieved with regards to the setup of the Single Entry Point, enabling C2G ecosystem operation and the attraction of 8 pilot case projects from the first open call cutoff and 6 projects from the second cutoff. More than half of these projects make use of business services such as market analysis, IP consulting, and/or investor /funding access consulting. C2G ecosystem are accessible to users all over Europe through the Single-Entry Point (KET) and regional agents making available a European Offering locally in the native language. The management scheme adapted will reduce the development cost and time to market by > 10% by implementing a “Safe-and Circular by Design”-Approach. Therefore, Convert2Green will rely on a growing life cycle and toxicological data inventory including all materials evaluated and customer contracts and all processes used in these projects.
During the first reporting period, substrates portfolio (recycled, biobased, and fibrous) and conducting inks were tested, and their processing parameters were optimized for producing flexible electronics on plastics. Additionally, a group of injection moulding materials (recycled and biobased) have been tested and the overmoulding testing has been performed. Facilities for nanocomposites and fibres produced films from PLA consisted of uniform and free of defects. A fully functional upgraded supercomputing facility for multiscale materials modelling was made available embedding machine learning methods for accurate prediction of metallic nanoparticles properties prediction of physicochemical relevant properties. In parallel, to proceed to the LCA analysis and evaluate the impact on the environmental indicators caused by the adoption of Convert2Green circularity and recycling of batteries proposed technology, a series of actions performed for collecting inventory data and to identify key areas for reducing environmental footprint.