Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AceForm4.0 (Activating Value Chains for EU leadership in FORMulation Manufacturing 4.0)

Teaser

AceForm4.0 will strengthen European leadership in the development and commercialisation of innovative sustainable formulated products by working with relevant stakeholders to establish a strategic roadmap in the form of European Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and associated...

Summary

AceForm4.0 will strengthen European leadership in the development and commercialisation of innovative sustainable formulated products by working with relevant stakeholders to establish a strategic roadmap in the form of European Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and associated Imp0lementation Plan for formulated products in context of Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy. In doing so AceForm4.0 will help ensure that Europe to retain and grow its capacity for the innovation and manufacture of sustainable formulated products that deliver radical effects and performance to downstream industries, end-users and consumers. The project will also support knowledge activities between stakeholders. The design and production of formulated products is a highly value-adding step, which can add 3 – 100 times more value compared to the value of basic building block chemicals and particles. The global emerging market for formulated products is worth in the order of €1,400 billion. The specific objectives of AceForm4.0 are depicted below in Figure 1.

Work performed

• Completed and validated a Common Vision, Roadmap and associated Implementation Plan as an integrated document via WP3. The document has been published and is available on the AceForm4.0 project website. The validation of the document was undertaken through a series of 19 key stakeholder interviews, three interactive feedback workshops combined with knowledge exchange activities, three webinars and the final validation workshop.

• The validated Common Vision, Roadmap and associated Implementation Plan and the recommendations comprised were evolved based on feedback and information gathering during validation process. The document has been endorsed by over twenty stakeholders across the project’s six target sectors including SMEs and have been developed in context of the challenges faced by the formulation industry in context of Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy.

• The consortium organised seven knowledge exchange workshops total during the project. Six of these where organised during Period 1, as detailed below and a further knowledge exchange workshop was organised and held in Barcelona on during April 2008. Three additional webinars were held by the consortium targeting specific themes:
o Circular Economy and Formulated Products – 12th June 2018
o Industry 4.0 and Formulated Products – 19th June 2018
o Formulated Products – 21st June 2018

• During the project the consortium helped to initiate eleven relevant formulated product initiatives. Four during Period 1 and seven during Period 2.

• A Business Continuity Plan with commitment from partners has been established by the AceForm4.0 Consortium. As part of the business continuity plan, the consortium has developed close links with the EuCheMS working party for Formulation Chemistry, which has recently been established and is chair by Professor Alain Durand who is a member of the AceForm4.0 project.

• The EU Formulation Interest Group (EU-FIG) is established and includes after completion of the project 245 members. For strategic reasons it will be renamed in European Formulation Network (EUFormNet) after the end of the project. Registration is still possible via the project homepage. Besides a restricted download area with all important documents also a Matchmaking Database was created. Both can be found here: https://formulation-network.eu/members. The EU-FIG is also present in social media on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13512150).

• The AceForm4.0 Final Conference took place on 28 August 2018 in Liverpool during the 7th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress. AceForm4.0 presented its main results, especially the Common Vision and Roadmap, which has been developed over the last two years. The event was free of charge. Programme and talks by AceForm4.0 consortium members (all slides are available on the project website in the members area).

• Developed Draft Call text for incorporation in future Horizon 2020 call for proposals:
o Promoting alternatives to problematic chemicals used in formulated products
o Industry 4.0 for Radical Formulated Product Design
o Value Chain Digitalisation for Complex Formulated Products: From Concept to Market
o Zero-defect production in the field of formulated products
o De-risking shift of Formulation Industries to Circular Economy through the use of tools to model the impact in case studies
o Development and/or reformulation of products to enhance sustainability and help drive Europe towards a Circular Economy.

• Led by DECHEMA the consortium established a Dissemination and Communication Strategy at the onset of the project comprising of four key components as outlined in the diagram below. This has been outlined in Deliverable D5.2 “Communication and Dissemination Activities Report 1”. As part of the communication strategy the consortium has established and will maintain the AceForm4.0 project website. Stakeholders from industry, research and government who have an interest in Formulate

Final results

The initial impact of the AceForm4.0 project will result from the Knowledge Exchange Workshops and activities in WP4. These have resulted to date in supporting and helping to stimulate 11 number of collaborative RDI Formulated Products initiatives, connecting industrial stakeholders with research bases. Via the industrial utilisation and adoption of new knowledge, processes, products and services, each of these initiatives holds the potential to yield subsequent economic and societal impact as the initiatives progress. Further and deeper impact will be realised via the Roadmap and its associated Implementation Plan. This essentially forms a European Strategic Research Agenda for Formulated Products in context of Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy. The Roadmap and its associated Implementation Plan provide a validated Common Vision, identified cross-cutting drivers, trends and shared challenges/opportunities and a Roadmap to 2030 with recommendations to policy makers, academia and industrial stakeholders focused on key thematic areas to target investment, research and innovation activities. The adoption of the Roadmap will strengthen Europe’s leadership in the innovation and development of sustainable formulated products that deliver radical effects and high performance, whilst helping to drive Europe towards a Circular Economy. In developing the Roadmap, consideration has also been given to the need for transforming supply chains from a linear model to a circular model by optimising use of renewable and bio-degradable ingredients, improving resource/energy efficiency, enabling reuse/recycle of materials and better waste management. The Common Vision for 2030 along with cross-cutting drivers, trends and shared challenges/opportunities have been outlined below along with a new innovation value chain structure and collaborative RDI Formulated Products initiatives. The consortium has established a Business Continuity Plan to drive the realisation and implementation of the Roadmap and hence subsequent impact.


 

Website & more info

More info: http://formulation-network.eu/.