Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NET4TRAIN (Revamping trains with the most advanced broadband communication system)
Reporting period: 2015-12-01 to 2016-04-30
Following almost two years of research and development, prototyping on testing o NET4TRAIN technology, we reached a stage where it was absolutely essential to perform a technical, commercial and economic Feasibility Study of the project in order to analyze the possibility of industrially developing and commercializing NET4TRAIN. Having presented the Phase 1 of our project in December 2015 to the first SME Instrument programme, and having received the approval of this, we then performed a Feasibility Study between December 2015 and April 2016. This was led by our director Mr. Giuseppe Chili and was focused on a technical feasibility study, a business plan and a freedom to operate analysis.
Techno-economic analysis, where we have verified the applications of NET4TRAIN. The results obtained shows that the PLC technology used in NET4TRAIN can reduce the cost of the upgrade of the train communication network by 30%, compared to existing technologies.
Market analysis. Through an exhaustive market analysis we have assessed the volume and potential of our target markets, our competitors and defined our market position and barriers. Based on this information, we have defined a commercial strategy, where we expect to become a preferred-supplier of any of the major European rail systems integrators, i.e. Alstom or Siemens. Furthermore, we concluded that the uniqueness of our solution (we are the first company installed PLC devices on-board of trains) together with our vast experience with this technology, represents a very favorable scenario for the deployment of our technology, improving the comfort of the passengers using the railways. Moreover, the update of NET4TRAIN´s financial forecast demonstrated the economic feasibility of the prototype, with precisely calculated production costs and sell prices (e.g. €2,700 NET4TRAIN unit) as well as sales projections (e.g. 4,500 units/year by 2023). As a result, we have prepared a commercial and dissemination strategy based on reinforcing our presence in the European market. For this reason, we will launch NET4TRAIN at InnoTrans 2018, the largest rail fair in the world celebrated biannually in Berlin. We will also focus our commercial effort lobbying major European rail companies.
Patent research. We have conducted an in-depth analysis of the existing patents and research projects in the field of PLC technologies applied to the rail industry and concluded that there are no legal impediments to the commercialization of NET4TRAIN.