PRODUTECH Cluster have developed an Action Plan for the next programming period (2021-2027), which includes a comprehensive, integrated and coherent set of projects and initiatives, aimed at developing the sector and, at the same time, actively contributing to the development of the national industry.
With the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), an important complementary source of funding for the implementation of this Action Plan emerged and, with the opening of the Innovation Pacts call.
PRODUTECH R3 is composed of a set of Projects/initiates oriented towards the:
Transformation of Industry, materializing the development and transfer of R&D results to new products and services (including production technologies, but also training companies in the user sectors for the production of new goods and services);
Industry Qualification for Resilience, Growth and Innovation;
Training and Professional and Advanced Training in Innovative Production Technologies, thus supporting the desired transformation;
Internationalization of companies.
PROJECT CONSORTIUM AND PARTNERS’ CONTRIBUTION
The consortium promoting this Innovation Pact covers the so-called innovation triangle, integrating:
Companies in the production technologies sector, namely machinery and equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, software houses, engineering and consulting companies, etc., the main promoters of this project and responsible for the development and commercialisation of the new innovative products and services. This group includes 45 companies, mostly SMEs, with the following economic data (for 2020 - approximate values): turnover: 1 800 M€; exports: 80 M€ (in 2019, 185M€); employment: 3965 workers; GVA: 736 M€.
41 industrial companies from various sectors (packaging, metalworking, paper, ornamental rocks, ceramics, moulds, textiles and clothing, transports, retail, etc.), SMEs and large companies, which are the lead end-users for the innovative products and
Services developed, particularly assuming the functions of specification support, testing, validation, and demonstration.
19 non-for-profit entities of the national education, research and innovation system (ENESII is the Portuguese acronym), including universities, polytechnics, R&D and interface institutions, which ensure the necessary scientific and technological knowledge and R&D capacity. Complementarily, they will also have a very relevant role in technological surveillance, roadmap and education and training. The main national entities with relevant activity in the area of production technologies participate, bringing together almost 10 000 researchers and technicians.
Entities of a sectorial nature, namely business associations and technology centres, which play a key role in the tasks of identifying challenges and specifying requirements and in the dissemination activities.
The Working packages are organized in the following way:
WP1 - Resilience, Growth and Innovation Qualification Program
Area A - Product customization and proximity production
WP2 - DESIGN.2.TRANSFORM - Digital Solutions for life cycle management and sustainable & circular product development
WP3: SmartFactory - digital twin-as-a-service (PaaS) platform for complex production systems
Area B - Adaptive, collaborative and competitive manufacturing
WP4: ACUVENT - Digitalisation of the Plastic Molding – new generation molding sector WP5: CePHIM - Hybrid manufacturing centres for the metalworking industry WP6: FlexibleRoboticSolutions - Intelligent, Compact and Flexible End of Line Robotic Solutions
WP7: Q4All - Quality 4.0 solutions for optimising production and resource usage in the packaging, cork, and food sectors
Area C - Interoperable, intelligent, and autonomous production systems
WP8: Digital&Autonomous Factory - Developing equipment and software solutions applicable to SME and scalable to larger companies, to high product mix and demand fluctuations without compromising operational and environmental efficiencies, in a evermore digitised environment.
WP9: SmartlL - Intelligent interoperable robotic intralogistics and quality control platform and solutions for industry
WP10: DigiIndustry - Green digital transition digitization of manufacturing to enable continuous real digital synchronization
Area D - New technologies for the production and use of advanced materials
WP11: SmaRTM - Autonomization of the production processes of composite components/structures focusing on defect-free manufacturing WP12: BIOEQUIP - New technologies for the extraction of Bioactives and production of bio composites and their associated manufacturing Equipment's
Area E - Efficiency in the use of resources and direct integration of renewable energies in production processes
WP13: Advance4i - Advanced Industrial Sustainability to improve energy efficiency and usage of productive resources WP14: Tech4Decarb - Technological Solutions for the Decarbonization of the Manufacturing Industry WP15: Digital4Circular - Solution for sustainability and circularity based on digitalization sustainability and circularity based of digitalization
WP16: Industry-Up - Scalable platform for for extending the useful Life of major capital investments and Large Industrial Equipment
WP 14 | TECH4DECARB
Positive Benefits will be part of Tech4Decarb WP that aims to respond to market gaps and accelerate, through methodologies, tools and technologies, the carbon neutrality of industrial processes and their energy self-sufficiency based on local production of thermal and electrical energy from renewable sources and the use of renewable gases such as green hydrogen.
Based on this general goal, the programme will:
Define sectoral roadmaps for carbon neutrality in the manufacturing industry;
Boost the direct integration of renewable energies (solar thermal with concentration) of low cost and high efficiency for direct heat supply to industrial thermal processes of low and medium temperature (low and medium energy) - predominant in Industry;
Develop and implement energy storage systems to increase flexibility in energy demand in industry;
Develop heat supply technologies for industrial processes using renewable gases (particularly hydrogen), with resulting benefits in efficiency and economy;
Develop technologies, tools and business models to promote the implementation of industrial symbiosis projects (focusing on the recovery and reuse of waste heat);
Develop advanced tools and sensors for thermal energy management in order to optimize, from the point of view of energy costs and carbon footprint reduction, industrial thermal processes;
Demonstrate a pilot unit of a carbon-neutral production line; and to
Develop a technological platform promoting the use of biomass in industry.
TS7 | WP 14
Positive Benefits will be coordinator of the PPS 7 that aims to develop Industrial effluent treatment solutions for water supply to green hydrogen production plants
As mentioned in the National Hydrogen Strategy, an important component of hydrogen production is water. In this context, given that in water resources the priority is to ensure the rational use and satisfaction of the needs of all consumers, a clear opportunity arises to maximize the use of treated waste water. As mentioned above, only 1.2% of treated waste water is reused, which demonstrates the existence of abundant resources that must be used and valued. Waste water from ETARs can be used for electrolysis and should undergo additional treatment steps. Local hydrogen production from industrial waste water collection and treatment sites, in addition to being a new investment opportunity for this sector, is an opportunity to give economic value to a resource that is almost entirely unused.
In fact, the synergies that can be created between these two sectors – energy and water – is an opportunity for both achieving its objectives and achieving the targets, culminating in a common goal, achieving carbon neutrality.
In this context, this project aims to respond to market gaps through the development of customized solutions (for different sectors and in view of the specificity and characteristics of industrial liquid effluents) and efficient treatment of industrial liquid effluents for water use in green hydrogen production systems.
Cofinanced by
Positive Benefits is committed to incorporate this powerful tool in every project we work on, identifying which of the 17 goals can the project relate to and creating specific solutions to achieve them.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.