The High Value Manufacturing Catapult

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult is the catalyst for the future growth and success of advanced manufacturing in the UK. Our 7 Technology and Innovation centres work with companies of all sizes to bridge the gap in – and accelerate the activity between – technology concept and commercialisation. Our centres offer access to leading edge equipment, expertise and an environment of company collaboration. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

The AMRC's Factory 2050

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre is part of the AMRC Group, a cluster of world-class centres for industry-focused research and development of technologies used in high-value manufacturing sectors.

The group has specialist expertise in machining, casting, welding, powder metallurgy, composites, designing for manufacturing, testing and training.

It has a global reputation for helping companies overcome manufacturing problems and has become a model for collaborative research involving universities, academics and industry, worldwide.

The AMRC has always developed technologies for a large range of companies and by selecting emerging technologies from University spin out organizations we often link the SME's to the global companies.
The UK has always specialized in the bespoke or niche markets and the AMRC has deliberately targeted this traditional manufacturing sector to enhance their product quality and the technologies deployed without removing the artisan element from the product. In Sheffield, there is an emerging Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, with the AMRC as its nucleus institution. Rolls-Royce, McLaren, and Boeing are just three of the global brands who are investing in production in this nascent innovation district. Smaller, dynamic innovators, like Performance Engineered Solutions and Iceotope have also set up shop in the region, keen to be close to the capabilities and experience of the AMRC Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

TeraLab: Big Data and AI Platform for Research, Innovation, and Education

France: Île-de-France

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

TeraLab is an AI and big data platform for education, research, and innovation, a fully owned subsidiary of IMT, a leading French engineering school.

TeraLab was launched as a winner project of the 2012 big data call of the French Investment for the Future scheme (5.6 million euros).  TeraLab has been operational since 2014 and has conducted over 60 projects in a variety of fields, with a focus on industry, healthcare, and cybersecurity.

TeraLab is a non-profit with hybrid funding, coming both from competitve projects (regional, national, and European) and private clients (SMEs or larger companies).

Its mission is to accelerate data-driven innovation of companies and institutions, as well as by providing infrastructure, architecture, tools, access to data, and an ecosystem of talent, research, and training.

TeraLab expertise lies in data sharing and AI tools via its own data infrastructure, and technology transfer via IMT research labs. TeraLab has developed infrastructure that allows sharing and experimenting with data in secure, neutral, and trusted environment. This infrastructure comprises technical, legal, and human elements, can be installed with different levels of security, depending on the project needs, and is well suited for sensitive data such as healthcare data. Technological factor includes types of infrastructure, user access control, data encryption and anonymization methods, cybersecurity, and technical support. Legal factor includes legal framework adapted for each project. Human factor includes procedures to access and manipulate data before, during, and after the project for data sponsors, owners, and data scientists.

Services provided include ecosystem building (community building, strategy development, ecosystem management); business (identification of opportunities, access to skills and training, via IMT labs and training efforts, such as MOOCs, summer and winter schools, and the Franco-German Academy for the Industry of the Future); and technology services (data infrastructure, support to innovation and R&D, POCs, testing and validation).

TeraLab has strong links on regional, national, and European level. Regionally, in Greater Paris region, TeraLab has strong relations with regional clusters (Cap Digital, Systematic, Medicen), which play an important part in our ecosystem to access startups and SMEs. Nationally, we are partners with the Hub France IA, and are involved in projects in Brittany (cybersecurity) and Northern France (industry), among others.

As a DIH, its mission is to accelerate data-driven innovation by providing infrastructure, architecture, tools, access to data sharing facilities, and an ecosystem of talent, research, and training. Examples include regional projects (PackIA), national (contribution to the French AI strategy), bilateral (the French-German Academy for the Industry of the Future, the Joint AI Platform, GAIA-X), and European (AI4EU, Boost 4.0, MIDIH, PULSE, METRICS, ASSISTANT, EUHubs4Data).

TeraLab is one of the 30 European AI DIHs and part of select AI DIH Network. TeraLab holds a BDVA European “Silver i-Space” label, and is the French Hub of IDSA. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

TECNOCAMPUS TECHNOLOGY PARK

Spain: Catalonia

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

TecnoCampus is a technology park  based in a doble strategy: University + Business Park .

TecnoCampus technology park supports Mataró’s industrial fabric. It acts as an incubator for new businesses and hosts companies in the TCM2 and TCM3 buildings, which are both fully occupied.The business Park  is home to several companies and fosters entrepreneurship. In addition, there is also a conference centre(TCM4) for event with a capacity for 350 people.

remarkable figures:

3,556 Daily users of TecnoCampus Park
85 Companies created
641 Companies in growth programs
120 Companies located

Technology Based Incubator
· 16 plug- and-play offices of 23-30-55m2
· Co-working full equipped.
· Accelerator program: business experts + technical experts +
connectors + investors.
· Fund-raising service and club of investors
· Training (business model, social media, finances, coding...)
· Growth strategy and internationalization services. 
· Meeting rooms and coffee room with networking area.

Technology Center:

TecnoCampus has the most important technology center of the region EURECAT, resulting from the integration of Ascamm, Barcelona Media, Barcelona Digital, Cetemmsa and CTM. Eurecat can offer the most important research and development in: smart textile, media and digital technologies, robotics and innovative materials

TecnoCampusuniversity studies .University campus in numbers: 

3.200 Students
8 Postgraduates Studies

220 Teaching & research staff
15 Degrees
TecnoCampus offers official Bachelor and Postgraduate
university studies. The range of academic courses offered
are divided between three university centres affiliated to
the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). The UPF is Spain’s
top university and one of the top 15 in Europe according
to the U-Multirank league table prepared by the EU.

 

10 reasons for betting on TecnoCampus: 

1. Perfectly connected with
Barcelona business ecosystem: Key
companies, Key institutions, Key
people and Key investors
2. A unique model: university
centres and companies sharing
the same location.
3. Entrepreneurial DNA: acceleration
services for start-ups, and
"pre-seed" services for students
with innovative business ideas.
4. Soft landing service for international
companies in our business park
fitted with modern facilities and
state-of-the-art equipment.
5. An unbeatable setting right on
the seafront, excellent transport
connections.
6. Market-oriented and creative
entrepreneurial model.
7. Closely connected with Venture
Capital and Business Angels
Network.
8. Important international network
with the most important European
technology parks offering key
business connections and business
landing opportunities.
9. Synergies between different
Clusters: Health, ICT and textile.
Experts, investors and successful
companies giving support
to new start-ups.
10. Perfect matching between
innovative business and
Mediterranean style of life:
seafront, gastronomy, sports
and good people hand in hand
with talent, funding and key
business connections. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Technology Transfer via Multinational Application Experiments (TETRAMAX)

Germany: North Rhine-Westphalia

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

Started in 2013, the initiative TETRACOM (https://www.tetracom.eu) was designed as a pilot project with a novel and unique vehicle to boost small-scale and highly focused bilateral academia-industry technology transfer in all ICT domains. During its three-year pilot phase, it has strongly demonstrated how to optimally address the gap to bring academic excellence to sound business results. With a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, the pilot financially supported 50 actual transfer experiments throughout Europe and helped to generate a multitude of new jobs, new products and new businesses. Based on its highly recognized success TETRACOM has evolved into TETRAMAX, operating at much larger scale and with even higher ambitions (https://www.tetramax.eu). It is primary aiming to provide the implementation of the European “Smart Anything Everywhere (SAE)” initiative in the domain of customized low energy computing (CLEC) for CPS and the IoT. The initiative builds on three major activity lines: (1) Stimulating, organizing, co-funding, and evaluating different types of cross-border Application Experiments, providing “EU added value” via innovative CLEC technologies to first-time users and broad markets in European ICT-related industries, (2) Building and leveraging a new European CLEC competence center network, offering technology brokerage, one-stop shop assistance and CLEC training to SMEs and mid-caps, and with a clear evolution path towards new regional digital innovation hubs where needed, and (3) Paving the way towards self-sustainability based on pragmatic and customized long-term business plans. The project impact will be measured based on well-defined, goal-oriented performance indicators. The immediate ambition of TETRAMAX within its duration is to support 50+ industry clients and 3rd parties in the entire EU with innovative technologies, leading to an estimated revenue increase of 25 Mio. € based on 50+ new or improved CLEC-based products, 10+ entirely new businesses/SMEs initiated, as well as 30+ new permanent jobs and significant cost and energy savings in product manufacturing. Moreover, in the long term, TETRAMAX will be the trailblazer towards a reinforced, profitable, and sustainable ecosystem infrastructure, providing CLEC competence, services (https://www.tetramax.eu/the-project/​) and a continuous innovation stream at European scale, yet with strong regional presence as preferred by SMEs. Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Technologies for Efficiency Digital Innovation Hub Extremadura (T4E DIH)

Spain: Extremadura

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

The Digital Innovation Hub Technologies for Efficiency (T4E DIH) is a physical and virtual space in which actions and services of the different agents of Extremadura are concentrated for the development and improvement of products and productive and business processes, through the use of technology.
T4E DIH is a networking initiative without formal structure, non-profit in whose germ the Public-Private Foundation Fundecyt Science and Technology Park Extremadura (www.fundecyt-pctex.es). We work directly on the field supporting the Science, Technology and Innovation System of Extremadura with a focus on the new trends and digital strategies that are being developed in Europe. To do so, we offer the following services aimed at the Innovation System, companies present at the Ecosystem and entrepreneurs to help them in the transition towards digitalization. We work very closed with digital competence centers as the Foundation Cenits-Computaex (www.centis.es),  CETA-CIEMAT (https://www.ceta-ciemat.es ) University of Extremadura (https://www.unex.es/) and key players in our region such as the Association of Information and Communication Technologies Companies in Extremadura, (www.AEXTIC.com)

T4E DIH is framed in the Initiative for the Digitization of European Industry (https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/communication-digiti…).

Challenges and services of T4E DIH

The catalogue of services of T4E DIH responds to the following challenges: Efficiency concept  is a key factor for competitiveness in the four areas that shape the technological orientation challenges for Extremadura's DIH: Energy, Ecology (environmental), Equality, Economy. 

Energy Challenge : energy efficiency, as the main source of cost reduction facing the industry, and which also represents an important contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of production and, thereby, reducing its impact on the environment. In the same way, the integration of productive systems with energy generation systems, following circular economy models, is key for the translation of productive projects to countries with low quality of energy supply.

Technological solutions: new sources of energy, monitoring of energy expenditure, power electronics, energy storage, distributed energy models, are some examples of specific technical challenges that are included in this field. Internet of Things (e.g. connected devices, sensors and actuators networks). Robotics and autonomous systems.High Perfortmance Computing (HPC) 

Ecology Challenge (Environmental): the environment is considered by the current economists as the fourth factor of production. Consciousness of the limit in the use of resources supposes a restriction, more and more generalized, to industrial development and that changes the paradigm of productivity, typical of an oil-based economy, by a new paradigm, that of sustainability, owner of a new economic model that looks for renewable sources and that tries to optimize the biological and biotechnological processes for industrial uses. At present, the lack of productivity of biological resources and processes is the main challenge facing science and technology, leading to a progressive process of transition from an economy of fossil sources to a bio-economy.Traceability, the reduction of distribution chains and the reduction of transport needs and, above all, the hybridization between computer and electronic technologies with the life sciences, giving rise to so-called "omics" as enabling technologies Key (KETs, by its abbreviations in English, Key Enabling Technologies) that will probably provide the main disruptive innovations of the next years, are challenges and technological domains that must be present in the offer of services of the Hub.

Technological solutions: Technologies for efficiency in agriculture (high precision farming, drones or UAVs, irrigation systems by telemetry, automatized meteorological stations); technologies for efficiency in livestock etc..

Equality Challenge : the concept of equality, or equity, refers to the social dimension of economic activity, and is a gap that is becoming increasingly large between the North and the South, even within the developed societies, giving rise to some of the most pressing problems, such as migration processes, or demographic imbalances. The development of products for the Base of the Pyramid, that is, for that large percentage of the population that lives on less than two dollars a day, integrated solutions for the socio-economic development of the communities, or the use of technology with a source of rights , and services that improve the quality of life of the population, as well as the improvement of productive processes that facilitate the reconciliation of personal and professional life or skilled work from rural areas, are challenges to which digitization can contribute.

Technological solutions : Platform for responsible production and consumption; technologies for distribution and sales; technologies to improve health; work flexibility, teleworking and e-learning; robotic assistance systems

Economy Challenge : in the sense of "economy class" or "low cost" are tendencies that require efforts of efficiency in the use of resources, or in the redesign of processes so that competitiveness does not depend on the low cost of labour or environmentally unsustainable processes. European industry faces these market trends, and competition from countries with lower quality, environmental or labor standards; one option is to leave these market segments, but without them it will be difficult to converge with 20% of industrial GDP, the reindustrialization of Europe also means making companies that operate in traditional sectors where prices make a difference competitive, without the best alternative being the delocalisation of production and the focus on services, both design and development and marketing, because these activities are also less inclusive in terms of employment than productive activities.

Technological solutions Process reengineering, lean manufacturing, industry 4.0. applied to value chains, the reduction of intermediaries, the robotization of processes, the generation of large economies of scale through industrial symbiosis, competitive intelligence are some of the keys to improving efficiency in business processes that facilitate competitiveness in markets with reduced margins.Industrial robots; automatized warehouses and inventory management systems;digital manufacturing techniques, new manufacturing processes; lean manufacturing, energy saving systems in industry; energy storage systems; hybrid and electric vehicles;new materials; virtual and augmented reality Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Technologies Added

Netherlands: Drenthe

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

The first Shared Smart Factory with a shared backbone for Smart Manufacturing, incubators en services. Next to that Added offers an in house facility for Hogeschool Stenden and educational institutes Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

Technologie-Initiative SmartFactory KL e.V.

Germany: Rhineland-Palatinate

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

The Technologie-Initiative SmartFactory KL e.V., founded in 2005 as a non-profit association, is an Industrie 4.0 network of industrial and research partners who jointly carry out projects regarding the factory of the future. SmartFactoryKL is a manufacturer-independent demonstration and research platform which is unique in the world. Here, innovative information and communications technologies and their application are tested and developed in a realistic, industrial production environment. The technology initiative, supported by the active participation of its members, has already established pragmatic solutions, first products and common standards. SmartFactoryKL intensively cooperates with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Kaiserslautern and was appointed Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Kaiserslautern (SME 4.0 Competence Center) by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in 2016. https://smartfactory.de/en/ Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

TECHNOLOGICKÉ CENTRUM Hradec Králové

Czechia: North-East (Czechia)

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

TECHNOLOGICAL CENTER Hradec Králové supports science, research and business environment in the Kralovehradecky Region.

As a non-profit organization, founded by Statutory City of Hradec Kralove, it offers infrastructure and professional services to start-ups and SME with innovation potential. TC HK use its network of experts to provide SME with tailor-made solutions based on individual needs.

TC HK is fully-functional DIH, as it supports processes leading to development of new products, services and technologies. TC HK is involved in popularization, realization and research activities related to particular areas like virtual and augmented reality, Industry 4.0, SmartCity, Internet of Things or 3D print. 

TC HK provides SMEs, students, graphic designers and all other creative people with access to new digital technologies. Its new project, digiLAB, serves as a coworking space and it provides a wide range of HW and SW tools for creative projects, sound and video editing, virtual and augmented reality projects etc.  

TC HK cooperates with regional and national partners, such as CzechInno, CzechInvest etc. to help SME with their digital transformation and is a part of national and regional activities and initiatives related to new technologies, smart technologies and digitalization.

More info: https://www.tchk.cz/sluzby/inovace/digital-innovation-hub/ Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology

TechMed Innovation Hub

Netherlands: Overijssel

Overview

Mission/Objectives of the cluster organisation

The TechMed Innovation Hub is a non-profit collaboration of partners, coordinated by the TechMed Centre of the University of Twente that stimulates the development and implementation of technology for better healthcare. In order to realize true impact in healthcare and the medtech industry, the TechMed Innovation Hub boosts innovation and digital transformation by; 

connecting different stakeholders in its network and regional ecosystem, 
offering a wide diversity of services, 
stimulating new innovation projects with funds and voucher programs, 
and by offering our extensive experience in Tech Transfer.

The hub offers access to state of the art facilities, supporting activities in education (regular programs and tailor made life-long-learning approaches), research and innovation, and actively facilitates collaboration by organizing network events and facility sharing vouchers. The network of partners includes facilities such as production and testing labs for medical imaging, medical robotics, wearable technologies and translational physiology, experimental hybrid OR’s, simulated ICU’s, a variety of medical training-simulators, a CitizensScience lab to include future users, an eHealth lab where users can “try before you buy” and a broad range of specific technical medical research labs.

The Hub offers specific support to SMEs and larger companies to ‘future proof’ their companies, by means of free consultancy, access to student-employees and internships, funding advice, networking, matchmaking sessions and access to end-users. (future) Entrepreneurs are actively supported by innovation-brokers to discover the trends and technologies that dominate the industry of tomorrow, explore potential innovative opportunities and get started with tools and programs.  Digital technologies.

Sectors
Technology