While Fully electric vehicles (EV) have zero tailpipe emissions and are seen as a key solution to meeting the European Fit-for-55 target of reducing CO2 levels in 2030 and climate-neutrality by 2050, much more can be potentially achieved if the global market uptake of innovative EVs is accelerated. The ZEV-UP project aims to address this urgent need by developing modular, cost-effective, and user-centric EVs for both passenger and goods transportation. Leveraging innovative design and engineering techniques, ZEV-UP vehicles will be tailored to meet the specific needs of users in both developed and emerging markets, ensuring high levels of user acceptance and market uptake. Key innovations include a base L7e BEV model that is designed respectful of affordability and can be upgraded and adapted for various purposes and needs, including commercial applications and higher-value passenger vehicles. By optimizing vehicle components for reduced material usage and enhanced structural properties, the project will achieve lighter vehicles with increased autonomy and minimized environmental impact. ZEV-UP will also develop digital-twin models to improve vehicle development efficiency and reduce validation costs, as well as designing charging capabilities compatible with a variety of regional power systems. Novel business and usage models, such as Battery as a Service, will be explored to maximize the benefits and impact of the L7e BEV platform. User-centric design, informed by market research and field interviews in both established and developing countries, will be a central focus of the project. Additionally, ZEV-UP will develop a proliferation model to assess policy intervention scenarios and strategize for short- and long-term BEV uptake in various markets. By delivering these key results and adhering to its objectives, ZEV-UP will accelerate the transition to sustainable urban mobility and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a material joining technique that is a major breakthrough due to its substantial advantages compared to other techniques for welding aluminum alloys. This has allowed aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing to achieve 60% cost saving and reduce manufacturing time by 73% in aircraft models. This is only a fraction of what could be achieved. Despite its merits, FSW use is still limited due to a certain defect termed “kissing bond”. Kissing bonds reduce the stress-load resilience of FSW materials and are extremely difficult to detect. Thus, out of fear of low fatigue performance, aerospace and automotive manufacturers cannot leverage FSW to its full potential which translates to manufacturing cost savings of €1.6 billion, fuel savings of €1.9 billion and a reduction of 2 million tons of CO2, during the next 20 years. This gap gives rise to a unique business opportunity which Vermon (developer of nonlinear ultrasonic transducers) and RISE (expert in signal processing algorithms), IKH (high-tech SME specializing in human-machine interfaces and service robotics) along with Coskunoz (leader in FSW machinery with commercial presence in 4 continents) seek to seize with the aid of TWI (world class research institute who originally invented FSW) by commercializing FrictionHarmonics. FrictionHarmonics is the fruit of four years of R&D financed by private funds and public grants. It has already been validated in a relevant environment and is proved to detect kissing bonds of less than 0.3mm in diameter with 100% accuracy. We now need to finalize the system’s commercial version, certify it, and validate its performance in a complete FSW production line. Our primary target customers will be aerospace and automotive manufacturers in Europe and North America. To this end, we request a grant of €2.2m. Our aim is to grow our businesses by €33.44m in gross cumulative revenue, operating at a profit of €13.83m and generating 215 new jobs over the 5 years after market launch.

LightMe project targets on the setting up of a self-sustainable open innovation ecosystem for the upscaling of industrial processes concerning lightweight metal alloys (aluminum, magnesium and titanium) composites. It is evident that although the last two decades a high number of research projects has been dedicated in the development of new composite lightweight metals for industrial applications (e.g. according to Scopus, more than 1000 publications concerns this field in the last 5 years), only a very limited number of such cases has been finally commercialized and reached the market end users. There are many reasons that these technologies have not been adopted by the market (e.g. lack of funding for further development and upscaling and the unwillingness of end users to adopt in their processes non-validated and non-standardized technologies) and this phenomenon is usually described as ‘valley of death’. LightMe project aspires to overcome these barriers by offering an open innovation ecosystem, in which technologies that have been developed up to TRL4-5 will be able to be upscaled and validated up to TRL 7.

The MOZART project proposes sustainable coating solutions for replacement of hard chromium in specific applications based on nano-composite electroplating processes. Nano-composite coatings are potential candidates as durable protective coatings in applications where high wear and corrosion resistance is needed. Their significant advantage compared to other alternative solutions to HC is that they can be produced from the existing infrastructure of plating shops by applying low-cost modification in the lines for the safe integration of nano-particles, keeping thus the investment level low. The MOZART project proposes a multidisciplinary approach for achieving high quality durable composite coatings as replacement to hard chromium. The proposed technologies have been already validated in the lab scale (TRL 3) on previous EC, national or institutional projects and will reach TRL 5 by the end of the project, validated in pilot scale and real demonstrators. The proper integration and combination of these technologies will bring the nano-composite coatings to the desired technology maturity. More specifically during the MOZART project a combination of technologies will be used under a Safe & Sustainable by Desing strategy: In-silico method (Artificial Intelligence and Simulations), on-line monitoring technologie, chemical functionalization of nanoparticles and advance electroplating techniques. The novel nano-composite coatings will be tested in demonstrators introduced from companies (SMEs or LEs) in the field of manufacturing, automotive and machinery.

DIAMETER aims to facilitate the implementation of a circular economy within the metal manufacturing sector through the development of hybrid manufacturing systems based on additive manufacturing. The Consortium will develop a set of digital tools to improve the design, optimise the manufacturing process and ease the implementation of circularity strategies (remanufacturing, refurbishing, repairing and recycling) by the additive manufacturing industry. To support those tools, we will develop a novel AI-assisted algorithm able to calculate both the ecological and economic impacts of a process to assess its sustainability. This AI-assisted algorithm will rely on experimental data, from process monitoring and part characterisations, and process simulation, covering pre-processing machining, additive manufacturing and post-processing machining. We will integrate these tools into a first platform, called DIAgonal, to facilitate the uptake by the industry. The platform will integrate the European Digital Product Passport by enabling the use of supplier data for more accurate ecological impact estimations and allowing the upload of experimental data to enrich product transparency on origin, materials, and recyclability. We will develop a second platform, DIAdemia, to support the upskilling of the workforce through interactive training courses, workshops, and exercises. Overall, DIAMETER will contribute to reducing the manufacturing sector's carbon footprint, enhancing recycling, developing a greener Industry 4.0 and promoting local production.