Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VITRIMAT (Training in VITRImers: high performance MAterials and Trainees for cutting-edge industrial applications) Reporting period: 2020-03-01 to 2022-02-28 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project Today’s plastics are either thermoplastics composed of polymer chains, recyclable and processable at high throughput yet with poor heat and solvent resistance, or cross-linked thermosets made of permanent polymer networks with far better thermomechanical properties and solvent resistance yet essentially intractable and non-recyclable once processed. Vitrimers, or associative covalent adaptable networks (CANs), are a recently developed class of polymer materials, rewarded by the 2015 European Inventor Award, taking benefit of dynamic exchangeable cross-links and combining the best features of thermoplastics and thermosets. By combining enhanced mechanical and chemical performances with abilities to be healed, welded, reprocessed and recycled, vitrimers bear the promise of the next generation of polymer materials and composites with new fields of applications in line with sustainable development and requisites of the plastics circular economy. VITRIMAT (https://www.vitrimat.eu/) is offering to the eleven recruited early stage researchers (ESRs) a critical and highly valuable training able to bridge the gap between cutting-edge European academic research on vitrimers and industrial developments of daily life products. VITRIMAT ESRs are the recipients of a pioneering, highly interdisciplinary, international and intersectoral training program covering the whole value chain of advanced polymer materials currently employed in sectors with high employability and expected growth (e.g. consumer goods, construction, recreational, wind energy, electromobility and automotive industries). Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far The main achievements of the VITRIMAT consortium over the first two years included:- the recruitment of eleven outstanding young candidates corresponding to the PhD projects planned within the Description of the Action, and their enrolment in PhD programs- the setting-up of the management legal frame, governing bodies and operating tools as well as the preparation of a first request for amendment,- the setting-up of the communication frame, supports and corresponding tools, - the organisation of the first VITRIMAT Training School (TS1), entitled "Vitrimers: high performance materials for cutting-edge applications" held online due to sanitary circumstances, on 12th February 2021, from 10 am to 5 pm. This online event gathered up to 300 attendees worldwide including all ESRs and consortium members.- the organisation in the frame of the 10th Summer School of the European Polymer Federation (EPF) of the second VITRIMAT Training School (TS2), entitled "Polymers and Circular Economy" held online due to sanitary circumstances, on 17-19th May 2021. This online event gathered up to 280 attendees worldwide including all VITRIMAT ESRs.- the organisation of the first VITRIMAT workshop (WS1) dedicated to transversal skills (i.e. research integrity, public speaking (for scientific community), teamwork and collective intelligence, and the peer-to-peer circle: how to deal with challenging situations during a PhD Journey) organized online due to sanitary circumstances, on 8-11th June 2021. This open event (11 VITRIMAT ESRs and 9 ESRs from other projects) gathered 20 online attendees.- the organisation of the first VITRIMAT scientific meeting (SM1) held on a hybrid mode (20 participants face-to-face and 15 online) on 17-18th February 2022 in Paris, which conveyed all ESRs for extensive scientific presentations (1h30 each) but also all beneficiaries and associated partners’ representatives for a Supervisory Board meeting. The meeting ended with a visit of the Musée des Arts et Métiers (Paris) by all ESRs and some of the PIs on 19th February 2022.- Most importantly all ESRs have developed original and highly promising systems (i.e. new vitrimer-based materials, vitrimer-based (nano)composites and theoretical models) that will be further studied, derived and applied in different sectors during the second half of the project. 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) VITRIMAT aims at strengthening the European leadership on vitrimers by combining the expertise and technologies of 6 academic partners-pioneers in vitrimers and advanced composite materials - with 1 national technical center and 7 industrial partners (including 2 beneficiaries and 1 SME) that are world leaders in the chemistry, adhesives, thermosets and composites for consumer goods, construction and automotive applications. These sectors represent high employability for VITRIMAT ESRs that are acquiring a broad range of advanced and transferable skills within a unique, innovative, multidisciplinary and inter-sectoral training environment. VITRIMAT ESRs have set up ground-breaking research around the field of vitrimer materials that exhibit promising performances for their applications in the above-mentioned sectors. They contribute to a cutting-edge thinking about the future and circular economy of plastic materials that is being disseminated broadly to the public at large. vitrimat-50-web.jpg
