EMAT is an advanced couplant-free ultrasonic technology that overcomes the Achilles heel of conventional ultrasonic testing (UT), transferring energy from the probe into the material inspected. Unlike UT, EMAT does not require couplant nor direct contact with the target surface, making the technology ideal for field-use and automation. The biggest drawback of this technology is its high-power consumption, which in turn leads to bulky instrumentation and higher pricing when compared to conventional ultrasonic devices. LOPEMAT project will tackle this challenge, paving the way to a new paradigm of ultrasonic inspection trough the development of the first line of Low-Power EMAT systems. In line with the trend to make technology cheaper, lighter and more efficient, recent publications have shown it feasible to generate EMAT bursts with an excitation of 0.5 W and 4.5 Vpp, using a combination of advanced signal processing techniques such as binary quantization and coded excitation, whilst a typical high-power EMAT instrument such as Innerspec’s PowerBox H, works with 8000 W and 1200 Vpp, limiting its size, price range and portability. A change so vast in power consumption would constitute a total gamechanger in the field, allowing for cheaper and lighter EMAT instruments, no bigger than a smartphone, that could be powered trough a power-bank or USB port, and could compete with conventional ultrasonic devices across the whole range of NDT applications. Thus, the main goal of the LOPEMAT project is to develop and validate a first working prototype of low-power EMAT system for normal beam and guided wave generation.

ZDZW excels in offering a catalogue of IoT based non-destructive inspection technologies, providing an accurate inline evaluation of key product parameters that have an effect in quality requirements within different technical areas, such as: Part Integrity, Visual Requirements and Thermal Process efficiency. The ZDZW Inspection Solutions follow the concept of Inspection as a service, guaranteeing its cost effectiveness and improved return of investment, offering different types of subscription and pay-per-use models depending on the offered functionalities. To pursue the main goal of reducing defects and the waste generated in manufacturing processes, ZDZW addresses defects and waste reduction in three key areas that cover the entire manufacturing process and product lifecycle: (i) Monitoring and control improvement for process quality assurance, where first-time-right manufacturing rate can be increased, including improved durability properties and reduced waste generation; (ii) digitally enhanced Rework & Repair procedures for necessary part recovery and scrap reduction; and (iii) Continuous Sustainability evaluation to ensure the efficient use of materials and components across the full production line. ZDZW is strongly supported by collaboration with relevant EU initiatives such as ZDMP and i4Q, providing components and services that enhance key ICT aspects such as interoperability, interlinking, security, data reliability and digital platforms. ZDZW will demonstrate its ZD and ZW approach in 6 Pilots involving production processes with an important waste reduction potential, such as injection moulding, thermoforming, welding and coating, induction hardening, lithography and packaging, involving key industrial sectors as automotive, home appliances, renewable energy, e-health, and food and beverages.

Production of high integrity vehicle components in Europe must be enhanced in order to optimize the implementation of lightweight materials which ensure that environmental impact is minimised. The use of Tailor Welded Blanks, (TWB) is an advanced manufacturing technique that ensures that production of automotive parts is carried out with resource efficiency. However, this technology still struggles with technical and reliability consistency during production. Innerspec is a global leader in Ultrasonic EMAT technology for automotive TWB inspection, and have sold and installed TWB inspection units in production lines worldwide. OPTIBLANKS project will overcome the limitations of automotive TWB manufacturing process by maximising weld quality control with a novel Hybrid technology approach. The outcome of this project will help improving the results of current state of the art alternatives and will boost Innerspec Technologies growth while saving TWB manufacturers accross Europe more than 9.000 Tons of wasted materials per year. The verified design of a Hybrid inspection system will enable 100% inspection of autogenously laser welded parts to identify defects such as porosity, lack of root penetration, lack of side wall fusion, etc. Innerspec will commercialise this equipment within the target market worldwide offering paying users unique benefits and a ROI of less than a year in most cases. The equipment will enable a reduction of scrap materials of more than 50% compared with competing solutions. Equipment sales are expected to boost Innerspec´s growth and will generate more than 90 new posts in the company. Furthermore, it is expected that more than 300 skilled jobs for OPTIBLANKS system operators will be created accross Europe. Innerspec will initiate marketing and commercialisation activities during the project in order to ensure that automotive manufacturers worldwide and car passengers benefit from the enhanced TWB weld safety offered by this technology.

In the need to improve the efficiency and driving range of electric vehicles (EVs), one strategy is the weight reduction of the global vehicle. There are already available solutions based on advanced light materials with promising structural properties but they still need further development to increase their TRL and reach the market. Furthermore, increasing environmental awareness and forthcoming stricter regulations demands the adoption of circular economy principles across the entire vehicle life-cycle. To respond to this challenge, ALMA will develop a novel BEV structure for a passenger car with 45% weight reduction potential compared to current baseline (15% additional reduction if compared to prior-art solutions) at affordable costs (below 3€/Kg-saved of additional cost), thus enabling up to 2.2 KWh/100Km efficiency increase and 11% LCA improvement. For this purpose, ALMA will develop a multi-material modular platform (BIW, chassis and closures) made of a combination of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHHS), Advanced-SMC and steel-hybrid materials, characterized with multiscale model-based tools. ALMA will adopt circular economy principles from early stages through the application of eco-design strategies to create a novel BEV platform “made to be recycled”, using a structural reversible bonding technology to enable the separation of components at the end-of-life (EoL) for repair and reuse. A ground-breaking health monitoring system based on acoustic emissions will be integrated in the structure to detect and locate damage while in-service. At last, efficient recycling and material recovery options will be analysed to complete the circular loop. ALMA involves a well balance group of 9 partners from 4 different EU countries, 5 of them are market-oriented companies (with 2 SMEs), being one an automotive OEM. It also includes 3 RTOs and one international association. ALMA has also gathered the support of 15 external supporting partners in the Advisory Board.