RESERVIST aims to establish ‘reservist cells’ that in times of crises can be activated within 48hrs to switch to manufacturing medical products and services that are spiking in demand. Such a ‘reservist cell’ will consist of (i) a backbone network of core companies for manufacturing and testing; (ii) an extended network for further capacities (eg local provision, packaging, distribution, customization,…); (iii) a digital coordination platform and (iv) a pool of experts from the companies of the network. These cells will become operational in case of an emergency/pandemic but to make economic sense, the same approach of rapid flexibility and adaptability will be used to deal with surging demand in ‘normal circumstances’. To realise this concept, we will first work on three levels individually: network level, connected manufacturing/digital manufacturing level and technical level, the latter referring to tweaking manufacturing lines, developing required materials and establishing links with testing/certification. Next, we will demonstrate the repurposing of 5 existing manufacturing lines within 48hrs towards manufacturing of ‘textile PPE’ (surgical and respiratory face masks, medical aprons) and ‘respiratory ventilators’ (invasive and non invasive) that comply with necessary testing and certification and proceed with the embedment of the reservist cells at the partners in the network. We will develop blueprints for further take-up and replication of the concept to other sectors. Within the project we will develop two replication demos: ‘disinfection equipment’ and ‘emergency medical equipement’. To support the Cells we will tap into the worldwide maker community and into relevant OITBs and networks. The consortium is strongly industry-driven, including 4 LE and 7 SMEs coming from 7 EU countries. To maximise impact, we will extend our partner network and our Impact Support Group (18 Support Letters provided at proposal stage).

The EU has set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. The transport sector is a major contributor to these emissions, but the targets for this sector cannot be met with currently available materials technology. Due to the direct link between weight and energy consumption, EU investment in advancing lightweight technologies is crucial. Therefore, fibre-reinforced composites are a key technology, but they are not yet widely used due (1) to their high price, (2) overdesign due to a lack of toughness and (3) difficulties with recycling. Addressing these challenges through fibre-hybridisation requires a highly interdisciplinary team of researchers with a strong background in both modelling and experimentation. Since such combined expertise is scarce, HyFiSyn aims to train 13 early stage researchers to become interdisciplinary, multi-talented experts. The 8 universities, 5 industrial partners and 2 professional training organisations offer the researchers a unique opportunity to be trained by world-leading experts in cutting-edge technologies, where they are supported by a strong network and industry participation. The training programme strongly emphasises entrepreneurship and innovation skills to maximise the impact of the project, thereby increasing the EU’s innovation capacity. Simultaneously, the researchers will be trained through research by developing and experimentally validating advanced simulation tools to predict optimal microstructures for fibre-hybrid composites. These microstructures will then be manufactured and verified in industrial applications. To further increase its impact, HyFiSyn also designs hybrids with smart and functional properties, and will investigate strategies for more efficient usage of recycled fibres through fibre-hybridisation. The overall goal is to fundamentally understand synergetic effects, so that they can be maximally exploited and unprecedented composite performance can be achieved.

DigInTraCE aims at the development of i)transparent and interoperableDecentralised Traceability platform using novel tracking, sensing and sorting techniques ii)Dynamically updated DPPschemes supporting certification and quality validation iii)AI based and decision making mechanisms for process and lifecycle optimisation iv)up-cycling, reuse and upgrade technologies for improved secondary raw materials use v)contribute to standardization, open and easy accessible data vi)business models creating new economic opportunities and learning resources for employees, promoting new digital skills and meeting regional social needs. The solutions are demonstrated in the sectors of a) Pulp & Paper focused in 2 cases: composite wood and furniture; and wood and Pulp & Paper and b) Chemicals focused in 2 cases: plastic parts from ICT equipment and automotive market; and polymers and textiles: in 4 countries, while composite wood case combines both the 2 main sectors.