Periodic Reporting for period 2 - INN-PRESSME (open INNovation ecosystem for sustainable Plant-based nano-enabled biomateRials deploymEnt for packaging, tranSport and conSuMEr goods)
Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2023-12-31
Europe is currently very dependent on fossil-based raw materials. Since these resources are very scarce in the EU, reducing this dependency is of paramount importance. Novel bio-based material solutions are widely studied in laboratory scale in universities and research institutes to replace fossil-based materials. As the next step scaling-up the material production and processing these novel materials are needed. Long time and special pilot facilities are needed to develop, demonstrate, and test products in pre-industrial scale.
INN-PRESSME OITB tackles these challenges by associating these competences as scaling up and testing services in pilot scale for SMEs and companies, allowing them to get access to bio-based materials, with enhanced properties mainly by incorporating nano additives. The OITB pilot facilities are covering the whole value chains with sixteen pilot lines (from feedstock conversion to final products), with circularity and sustainability as essential drivers. These services are being validated together with industrial partners producing products for packaging, automotive/energy, and consumer goods markets. This will ensure competitive prices to test nano bio-based materials in development phase and reduce time-to-market by testing developed solutions before industrial scale investments are made. This will lower the risks and make faster progress possible in development phases. The OITB services are also taking into consideration the regulations and requirements of the different supply chains and offer multiple other useful services to companies such as help in making business plans, finding help in studying freedom to operate, protecting new innovations (IPR), and looking for funding for the development work and investments.
The overall objective is to set up a Single-Entry Point for INN-PRESSME Open Innovation Test Bed allowing companies to scale up nano-enabled bio-based materials from lab scale to pre-industrial scale with improved pilot processes covering all steps from feedstock conversion to processing bio-based materials to novel nano-enabled biomaterials. The main objective of this period was to test the sixteen pilot facilities by developing nine test cases and demonstrators of nano-enabled biomaterials and to ensure material /product performance in cooperation with nine industrial partners.
INN-PRESSME OITB tackles these challenges by associating these competences as scaling up and testing services in pilot scale for SMEs and companies, allowing them to get access to bio-based materials, with enhanced properties mainly by incorporating nano additives. The OITB pilot facilities are covering the whole value chains with sixteen pilot lines (from feedstock conversion to final products), with circularity and sustainability as essential drivers. These services are being validated together with industrial partners producing products for packaging, automotive/energy, and consumer goods markets. This will ensure competitive prices to test nano bio-based materials in development phase and reduce time-to-market by testing developed solutions before industrial scale investments are made. This will lower the risks and make faster progress possible in development phases. The OITB services are also taking into consideration the regulations and requirements of the different supply chains and offer multiple other useful services to companies such as help in making business plans, finding help in studying freedom to operate, protecting new innovations (IPR), and looking for funding for the development work and investments.
The overall objective is to set up a Single-Entry Point for INN-PRESSME Open Innovation Test Bed allowing companies to scale up nano-enabled bio-based materials from lab scale to pre-industrial scale with improved pilot processes covering all steps from feedstock conversion to processing bio-based materials to novel nano-enabled biomaterials. The main objective of this period was to test the sixteen pilot facilities by developing nine test cases and demonstrators of nano-enabled biomaterials and to ensure material /product performance in cooperation with nine industrial partners.
All sixteen pilot lines across Europe have been upgraded by increasing their production capacity, improving instrumentation and data collection making the control, analysing, and reporting the experiments more efficient and customer friendly.
The validation of the pilot lines continued by finding the right processing conditions for experiments to develop demonstrators in co-operation with nine industrial partners. During the product development work the final operation conditions were defined and adjusted based on the experience and feedback from industrial partners. Novel nano-enabled biomaterials were developed altogether in nine test cases planned with industrial partners. In all cases the work has been started in small-scale to test first that the used materials are compatible and to find right processing conditions to achieve uniform product properties. The outcome of this validation work was nine demonstrators, which all were produced in pilot scale.
The validation work continues with eleven new test cases that were chosen from the proposals received through open call in two stages. Eleven proposals that were evaluated by external and internal reviewers as most potential and most suitable ones for INN-PRESSME OITB were chosen to test the services. The chosen new industrial companies are across Europe, and they are mainly SMEs.
As the main outcome of the used eco-design strategies linked to PL upgrades resource efficiency was found to be the eco-design strategy under which, its key practices (increased productivity, improved energy efficiency and recyclability) have been applied by many pilot lines. LCA an LCC analysis are performed on each pilot line, taking an Attributional Approach and this work continues by using the latest data from demonstrators. The risk and regulation assessments were targeted to ensure compliance of the defined test cases with future regulation, focusing on REACH legislation. Based on the results of nano safety questionnaires collected during the first reporting period three pilot lines were selected for the nano-measurement campaigns. The results of occupational exposure assessments will be used for EHS recommendations for the three pilot line owners during the next reporting period.
The Clustering activities of INN-PRESSME project focused on exchanging experiences with other Open Innovation Test Beds to learn from OITB projects that were already or will be soon finalized. After considering several models the main administrative and operational procedures and OITB structure were drafted and defined. The work continued with fine tuning the OITB procedure including the inputs from the market analysis and experiences from open call done in parallel throughout the timeline of the project and taking in to account the changes happening in the regulation of using the material targeted to be developed by INN-PRESSME. Because of all these aspects related to the business of the partners and of the OITB itself, the INN-PRESSME OITB core members target to have an existing legal entity as INN-PRESSME Single Entry Point and base the rules on a simple contractual agreement to be signed by all the OITB members.
The Communication, Dissemination and Stakeholder Engagement Plan was updated using inputs from all INN-PRESSME partners. All partners are contributing to increase the outreach and awareness of INN-PRESSME by searching for new dissemination opportunities and leveraging their own networks and channels. Such joint effort is made with the objective of reaching European audiences, increasing the impacts of the project among key target groups and potential customers (SMEs, industry, scientific community, NGOs, policy makers), and fostering the exploitation opportunities.
The validation of the pilot lines continued by finding the right processing conditions for experiments to develop demonstrators in co-operation with nine industrial partners. During the product development work the final operation conditions were defined and adjusted based on the experience and feedback from industrial partners. Novel nano-enabled biomaterials were developed altogether in nine test cases planned with industrial partners. In all cases the work has been started in small-scale to test first that the used materials are compatible and to find right processing conditions to achieve uniform product properties. The outcome of this validation work was nine demonstrators, which all were produced in pilot scale.
The validation work continues with eleven new test cases that were chosen from the proposals received through open call in two stages. Eleven proposals that were evaluated by external and internal reviewers as most potential and most suitable ones for INN-PRESSME OITB were chosen to test the services. The chosen new industrial companies are across Europe, and they are mainly SMEs.
As the main outcome of the used eco-design strategies linked to PL upgrades resource efficiency was found to be the eco-design strategy under which, its key practices (increased productivity, improved energy efficiency and recyclability) have been applied by many pilot lines. LCA an LCC analysis are performed on each pilot line, taking an Attributional Approach and this work continues by using the latest data from demonstrators. The risk and regulation assessments were targeted to ensure compliance of the defined test cases with future regulation, focusing on REACH legislation. Based on the results of nano safety questionnaires collected during the first reporting period three pilot lines were selected for the nano-measurement campaigns. The results of occupational exposure assessments will be used for EHS recommendations for the three pilot line owners during the next reporting period.
The Clustering activities of INN-PRESSME project focused on exchanging experiences with other Open Innovation Test Beds to learn from OITB projects that were already or will be soon finalized. After considering several models the main administrative and operational procedures and OITB structure were drafted and defined. The work continued with fine tuning the OITB procedure including the inputs from the market analysis and experiences from open call done in parallel throughout the timeline of the project and taking in to account the changes happening in the regulation of using the material targeted to be developed by INN-PRESSME. Because of all these aspects related to the business of the partners and of the OITB itself, the INN-PRESSME OITB core members target to have an existing legal entity as INN-PRESSME Single Entry Point and base the rules on a simple contractual agreement to be signed by all the OITB members.
The Communication, Dissemination and Stakeholder Engagement Plan was updated using inputs from all INN-PRESSME partners. All partners are contributing to increase the outreach and awareness of INN-PRESSME by searching for new dissemination opportunities and leveraging their own networks and channels. Such joint effort is made with the objective of reaching European audiences, increasing the impacts of the project among key target groups and potential customers (SMEs, industry, scientific community, NGOs, policy makers), and fostering the exploitation opportunities.
INN-PRESSME OITB will provide industrial entities open access to sixteen pilot lines as well as to advanced characterization techniques, sustainability assessment, and consultancy on regulatory aspects for upscaling concepts, among other services. The OITB customers will get access through Single Entry Point as collaborative or private R&D projects led by industry and ranging from TRL4 to TRL7. Access is facilitated through financial incentives, partnerships with regional/national activities, and a web platform to provide information about available services, confidentiality, IP, and success stories. Alliances with national/regional strategic partners (e.g. regional clusters, professional federations/unions) will be created. INN-PRESSME will notably focus its efforts to the SME community at all the levels of the value chain. The upgrading, along with a general upscaling of pilot lines’ capacities target towards an efficient data-management to link parameter-properties relationships all along the value chain and therefore leverage the use of feedstock conversion to quality goods. The up-graded pilot lines with on-line measurements and data collection will ensure at least 15% improved industrial process parameters and 20% faster verification of materials performance.