Innovation Eco-system to Accelerate the Industrial Uptake of Advanced Surface Nano-Technologies
Key Enabling Technologies (KET´s) deployment will be the driving force for a significant part of the goods and services that will be available in the market in the next decade. Amongst KET´s, nano-enabled surfaces and membranes must be highlighted due to their huge potential to offer material solutions to address Sustainable Development Goals resulting in positive and sound impacts for the society and key industrial sectors. The NewSkin project aims to create an Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB), a new legal entity which will provide the European Innovation Ecosystem with the necessary technologies, resources and services to uptake a set of game changing, efficient and cost- effective innovative processes to manufacture nano-enabled industrial and consumer products as well as the necessary testing capabilities to demonstrate nano-enhanced goods features.
The Consortium is coordinated by ECCS.
The NewSkin innovative manufacturing up-scaling and testing facilities will provide the Innovation Ecosystem the necessary tools to create and validate to TRL7 and higher(system prototype demonstration in operational environment) new technologies to meet the challenges of key European Industries such as Steel , Ceramics, Transport, Water Treatment and the General industry.
During the first two years of project, the NewSkin Consortium will work in the creation of the OITB structure, the Innovation Ecosystem engagement, the upgrade of the testing and pilot plant facilities and the generation of value proposition for the target industries. Once the OITB structure is created and the value proposition validated by the implementation of 4 Show cases by month 24, the OITB will start the services provision according to the defined value proposition. For two years NewSkin services will be available under payment scheme and on free basis in 4 competitive calls that will be evaluated on six months basis. After the conclusion of the forth call, the OITB will act as a self-sustainable entity that generates revenues open access services and fair pricing conditions.
Fig 1. NewSkin OITB Partners and Innovation Ecosystem Interaction.
NewSkin nano-enabled surfaces and membranes technological portfolio includes:
Moreover, the validation and testing facilities to demonstrate the outstanding performance of the manufactured components in real environments and applications. In addition, NewSkin Consortium will also provide the route to market services during the final commercialization stage including corporate funding, supply chain management and access to market support.
Services to be provided and key target industries:
Construction
Industrial components
Water treatments
Transport
Renewable energy
Prosthesis
Packaging
Optics and electronics
Commercialisation of nano-enabled industry and consumer products with new functionalities
Design of solutions
Technology Transfer
High Performance
Added Value
Advanced Features
Prototyping
Enhanced/
Continuous/
Mass Production Processes
Performance Evaluation
Replicating highly demanding end use conditions
Benefits quantification
LCA Approach
Economic
Social
Environmental
Regulatory
Industrial uptake and route to market
Value chains
Funding
Networking
Regulatory issues
Nano-safety and security
Commercialisation of nano-enabled products
New functionalities in:
Construction
Industrial components
Water treatments
Transport
Renewable energy
Prosthesis
Packaging
Optics and electronics
Fig 2. NewSkin validation product cycle including services provided.
Some examples of the NewSkin products are:
- Highly durable (+25 yrs) fire resistant fouling corrosion, wear and fatigue resistant coatings for steel, composites and ceramic components protection in immersed, off-shore, oil&gas and harsh conditions,
- Anti-ice coatings for wind energy in cold climates,
- Soil resistant coatings for photo-voltaic energy.
- High durable release coatings for moulding, stamping and roll to roll processes.
- Graphene mono-atomic water treatment membranes for UF, NF and R.O
- Textured and functionalized anti-fouling water treatment membranes.
- Low friction, wear, corrosion and cavitation resistant textured and coated seals, gears, shafts, pistons, propellers and others for engines, pumps, compressors actuators and other moving and reciprocating devices.
- High wear and corrosion resistant tooling and machining components,
- Textured and coated propellers and nozzles for low friction, anti-fouling and improved hydrodynamics,
- Textured and coated molds and cylinders for roll to roll and texturing during molding processes,
- Textured and coated molded components such as headlights, sensors and others.
- Anti-microbial, wear resistant bio-compatible prosthesis,
- IR lenses,
- Anti-reflective lenses,
- Super-hydrophobic, improved wear and oleo-phobic tiles and bricks,
- High thermal resistance reactor nozzles,
- Transparent conductive layers for electrical components,
- Aesthetical and functional coatings for luxury sector,
- Anti-microbial surgical tools.
- Anti-microbial laser textured aluminum and steel foils for pharma and food packaging,
- Electro-chromic films for highly efficient windows,
- Conductive photocatalysis,
- Anti-soiling, conductive, photocatalytic and heat reflective steel and aluminum foils for facade panels
- Conductive, UV, anti-microbial, barrier and photocatalytic nano-surfaces on packaging for smart packaging, packaging weight reduction, food increased life shell and to overcome the features gap between bio (renewable, compostable and biodegradable) and standard packaging.