Project description
Unparalleled wear testing helps industries evaluate and commercialise products faster
Whenever two surfaces move against each other, the friction generated can cause wear that impacts the products’ performance and lifetime. The study of this friction and the lubrication used to minimise it (tribology) is vital to numerous sectors, and the Belgian SME Falex Tribology has been servicing customers in this area for more than two decades. The EU-funded FACT project is supporting the team in expanding its services with a new addition not commercially available anywhere in the world. This service will combine the use of game-changing multi-station tribometers and data analytics enabling much faster and less expensive evaluation, as well as faster commercialisation of new products.
Objective
Falex Tribology, established in 1999 in joint venture with the University of Leuven, is a solvent and debt-free SME with extensive own wear test infrastructure in Rotselaar, Belgium. Falex services the European industry with wear testing for selection of materials for advanced applications. Customers in automotive, aerospace, biomaterials and industrial sectors are then able to improve products’ lifetime, reliability and performance.
Falex could address its customer needs for superior product development with the FACT innovative services that combine the use of a) radically more efficient multistation tribometers (MST); and b) a rich and continuous build-up materials wear database. This service is not yet available commercially in Europe or worldwide, supporting the innovative nature of the FACT proposal.
With the commitment of Falex’s board and CEO, the ambition is to bring FACT innovative services to the market and offer to tailored wear data at least: a) 10 times faster than current wear testing; b) 80% reduced cost; and c) 10 data points for statistical value.
The expected impact from the implementation of FACT services will be superior products that last longer, consume less energy, increase infrastructure’s safety, reduce operation risks, preserve natural resources and improve the environmental footprint of products and processes. Falex’ annual turnover can reach 14 M€ and employ 20 new persons by 2020. ROI is 3 years with positive cash flow from year 4 of commercialisation of the FACT services.
The Feasibility Study during phase-1 will a) ensure the technical and commercial viability of the FACT project; b) demonstrate the MST to targeted users for selected applications; c) analyse FACT competitors; d) confirm the willingness to pay by the targeted users; e) present a detailed SWOT analysis; and f) set the criteria for success of the business plan.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering tribology lubrication
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3110 Rotselaar
Belgium
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.