MEAN4SG network aims to educate 11 young researchers in the smart grids metrology field by constructing a training network gathering the whole innovation value chain. The main EU actors in the field of smart grids metrology have worked together, under the umbrella of the European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET), and relying on the support of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), in order to design a training program coping with the principal R&D challenges related to metrology for smart grids while tackling the shortage of highly-skilled professionals on this area that has been foreseen by the European Commission, the electricity grids industrial sector and the academia. The overall MEAN4SG research programme tackles the main research challenges in the smart grids metrology field identified by the European R&D community: (1) power quality analysis, (2) smart grids modelling and management, (3) advanced monitoring through Phasor Measurement Units applications and (4) smart cable diagnosis. These main goals have been divided into eleven specific objectives, which will be assigned to the fellows, for them to focus their R&D project, PhD Thesis and professional career. The established training plan answers the challenges identified by the SET Plan Education Roadmap. Personal Development Career Plans (PCDP) will be tuned up for every fellow, being their accomplishment controlled by a Personal Supervisory Team (PST), composed by a main supervisor from the beneficiary and two mentors from the institutions hosting the two fellows’ secondments. The training plan includes intra-network activities, like Specific Courses lectured by the project partners, as well as network-wide initiatives, like two secondments for every fellow, PhD Seminars organized in cooperation with EURAMET and Summer Schools. Internal agreements have been reached among the beneficiaries to ensure the access for all the fellows to the obtention of a PhD degree.

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) allows, by enabling use of advanced design, production of high added value components, at levels that cannot be reached with conventional manufacturing technique. Still, the AM-based manufacturing sequence implies large amounts of critical steps – design for AM, AM fabrication, post processing, etc. – compared to conventional production sequences. Presently, the key competencies related to these steps are either not fully implemented at industrial level (process quality monitoring) or dispersed geographically with poor connection between different steps. Relying on two major AM technologies (LPBF: Laser Powder Bed Fusion and EBM Electron Beam Melting), MANUELA aims at deploying an open-access pilot line facility, covering the whole production sequence, to show full potential of metal AM for industrial AM production. At first, careful instrumentation and adaptation of LPBF & EBM machines will allow increased process reliability and speed. Secondly, the pilot line – including the adapted processes – will be deployed. The hardware layer will integrate novel process quality control monitoring and automated post-AM handling and processing. The line will be fed by design/optimization and AM process simulation workshops. Those workshops will collect continuous feedback from the physical parts of the pilot lines, to increase process reliability and robustness. MANUELA relies on a consortium composed of industrial end user’s, suppliers, (material/powder, AM hardware, quality monitoring system, software, automation and post-AM treatment) as well as top research institutes in powder-bed metal-AM, covering full range of AM technology chain for pilot line deployment. The deployed pilot line will be validated for use cases, covering wide span of applications including automotive, aerospace, energy and medical. To insure sustainability of the deployed line and its open access at project end, a dedicated exploitation plan will be established.

MATChING goal is the reduction of cooling water demand in the energy sector through innovative technological solutions, to be demonstrated in thermal and geothermal power plants. The project targets include an overall saving of water withdrawal of 30% in thermal power generation, and a decrease of evaporative losses up to 15% in geothermal sector. The use of advanced and nano-technology based materials will be leveraged to make economically affordable water saving in power plants and pave the way to the market uptake. All technological areas of plant cooling systems will be affected: cooling tower, steam condenser, cooling water circuit and water conditioning. The use of alternative cooling fluids will be investigated to develop advanced hybrid cooling towers for geothermal high temperature power plants, and hybrid cooled binary cycles for low temperature geothermal fields, combining dry/wet cooling, and closed loop groundwater cooling. To increase available effective water supply at reasonable costs, alternative water sources will be exploited: different membrane based technologies will be used to re-cycle or re-use municipal, process and blow down waters. To improve cooling equipment robustness advanced materials and coatings for cooling tower and condensers will be investigated, allowing increasing concentration cycles or directly using aggressive fluids. Demonstration will take place in partner-owned industrial sites, operating pilot plants in intended environment and/or in demo scale, guaranteeing the achievement of TRL 6 for all the technologies. The demonstration activities and the partnership composition ensures the validation of suitable business models and the finalization of business plans, guaranteeing the technological transfer from industry to market, increasing competitiveness at European level, and impacting on water use in power generation sector.