Objectives of the commitment
NOWMOB aims to boost the capacity of EU wood-based material related sectors toward stronger economy and industry in the context of bio-economy. Accurate map of forest resources and wood availability will be elaborated on different wood species. Enhanced sustainable supply of raw materials to forest-based industries is secured through digitalization and cleantech, increasing forest production and management, matching different needs of land management, encouraging forest owners to business, improving business environment and skills of wood procurement companies and allocating wood efficiently to different wood users and mills. This leads to more thriving economy, forest-based sector, job opportunities and revenues, and commonly accepted land use in Europe. NOWMOB defines and pilots novel solutions, actions and proposals for increasing wood mobilisation, in the sense of Triple Helix.
Description of the activities
The SRA of the European forest-based sector address with its Strategic Theme 2: Responsible management of forest resources, the sub-themes multi-purpose management of forests; forest ecology and ecosystem services; enhanced biomass production; secured wood supply; forest operations and logistics; resource efficiency. Manifold business models, incentive schemas developed and RTDI projects in order to enhance the supply and utilisation of wood. The majority of these projects are funded on national or regional level.
A new comprehensive and well balanced approach is needed to secure raw material supply for growing needs of different users of wood-based raw materials in Europe. Supply and demand of specific wood species, such as hardwoods (like oaks and cherries), calls for attention. Large industrial investments in many European countries lead to the need of more wood. Various by-products of sawmill and wood working industries are also growing in supply. Mobilizing the existing forest resources widely considering the different forms of forest ownership and land management and subsequent material uses will enhance the opportunities of boosting the use of wood product and building a green society.
NOWMOB is elaborated by a strong European Research community, industrial network and public decision makers aiming at carrying out jointly major RTDI activities: Analysing, studying existing best practices and technologies for mobilising forest resources taking existing EU and Member State policies and legislations on this principle into consideration and piloting the proposed models on corporate and division levels. Holistic, dynamic, simplified tools can deliver recommendations and guidelines for policy-makers and value chain stakeholders and will allow them to analyse in parallel demand scenarios and feasible supply chains based on forests.
Triple helix discussion, planning, scenario and policy making platforms for enhanced wood mobilisation and innovative utilisation. Adapting the developed solutions on a national level while taking regional differences into consideration. Reducing and eliminating resource mobilisation bottlenecks while satisfying the needs of both woody biomass suppliers and users. Developing and testing flexible novel industrial digitalization and IT tools for sustainable forestry technologies and management practices with respect to climate change, industry needs and multi-functional societal demands in all European countries. Technology development, sustainable infrastructure and improvements in logging conditions, terrain trafficability and resistance to seasonality, including adapted working methods. Business models of SMEs, respective equipment and trained work forces, improvements in basic education and attraction of young generations.
Structures and improvements of private forest ownership toward more profitable supply units. Matching wood extraction potential and land-use planning to ensure adequate local log supplies, reducing the needs of log import and supporting the renaissance of pulp industries, increasing saw and plywood milling and, as a result, building and living with wood, as well as start-up of large-scale biorefineries. Strategic assessment and implementation of European hardwoods and softwoods , profitable allocation in product and service palette. Forest management, tree breeding, species selection and logging operations vs. forest dynamics, forest health and futureâs available biomass stock. A variety of multi-criteria analysis is needed.
Target: 3-4 proposals for new H2020 projects.
Description of the expected impacts
Responding to Action areas I.3, I.4 and II.10 of the EIP/SIP on Raw Materials, the present integrative and cross-disciplinary research and innovation activities study the best practises and innovative solutions to face the increasing demand for biomass for existing and future value added processes. The industry driven research and innovation work secures a direct exploitation and piloting the RTDI results into forestry and forest-based industries as part of the bio-economy society. Novel integrated resource efficient and safe-to-environment models and organisation innovations emphasize an advanced European mobilisation of forest-biomass enabling to add value from resources via consumer and industry products, hence creating new job opportunities, higher revenues and better environmental competence.
The ongoing and planned initiatives on EU member states level will be integrated to create a European knowledge-base for facilitating the communication within the forestry chain, and with the society in particular. The active involvement of small and medium enterprises in the European forest-based sector enhances innovations while strengthening the competitiveness. The RTDI based holistic models and concepts along the value added forestry-wood chain improves the knowledge-base in Europe that will allow selecting and allocating the appropriate raw material for each end use. Forest resource is seen as a bulk commodity, while in reality it represents a inhomogeneous biological material with quality and property attributes depending on geographical origin, growing conditions, etc. Tailor made wood procurement concepts as well as product strategies have to be connected to these conditions for securing best economic and environmental performance of the forest-based sector.
Coordinating organisation & role
Name of the coordinating organisation: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)Country: FinlandEntity profile: Governmental/public bodyRole within the commitment:
Luke is the coordinator of the RMC (ref. ECAMOB TF1 Wood mobilization, 2014-), state research institute and major European player in the RTDI area: Wood-based value chains, biomass management, raw materials supplies, suppliers, processing and markets. Wood procurement and allocation, forest ownership, land management. Wood industries (sme & large) and sidestreams, biorefining. Triple helix platforms: EU, national, regional fora and RTDI networks.
Other partners
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.
Name of the organisation: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V. Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Fraunhofer will lead the CFRP and GFRP recycling research.
Fraunhofer will perform corrosion tests on the developed materials.
Fraunhofer will work with CIDAUT on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project. Fraunhofer is the Quality Manager of the Consortium and will oversee deliverables and general reporting are produced with the best possible quality following agreed review standards.
Fundacion Cidaut
Name of the organisation: Fundacion Cidaut Country: Spain Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: CIDAUT will lead the research activities on materials recycling and compounding, implementing lab scale demonstrators of each process at its premises and, later, supporting end-users upscale the processes.
CIDAUT will perform mechanical tests, microstructural analyses, injection moulding capability studies on the developed materails, and will work with Fraunhofer on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project.
RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV)
Name of the organisation: RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV) Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: RWTH will implement the novel 3D Generative Preforming process (3D Fibre Spraying) that enables to create high-value long fibre-reinforced 3D preforms for thermoplastic and thermoset composites at low process costs (different kinds of yarn as a raw material, low tooling costs due to low cavity pressures). This cost effective technology allows to align the sprayed fibres in order to produce high-performance, engineered anisotropic products.
Universita' di Cagliari
Name of the organisation: Universita' di Cagliari Country: Italy Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: University of Cagliari is one of the leading European organization in the resin design and coupling with thermoplastic and thermose materials. University of Cagliari will support in the definition of the composite materials, both from CFRP/GFRP, ABS and Rare Earth composite material.
Relight
Name of the organisation: Relight Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: RELIGHT will work with ITRB to provide the research partners with residues for the recycled ABS supply and the REE recovery processes, including their HydroWEEE process as part of the processes to be studied and analyzed.
Piaggio Aerospace
Name of the organisation: Piaggio Aerospace Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - large company
Role within the commitment: Piaggio Aerospace is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Piaggio will assist in the compounds selection, provide Fraunhofer with specific corrosion requirements on business jet size aircraft, and will assess that the developed materials performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.
Blackshape Aircrafts
Name of the organisation: Blackshape Aircrafts Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: Blackshape Aircrafts is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Blackshape will support to fulfill the requirements of the aeronautics industry on ultra light jet, light jet and trainer for Syllabus, and will assess that the developed alloys performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.
KU Leuven
Name of the organisation: KU Leuven Country: Belgium Entity profile: Academia
Role within the commitment: KUL will collaborate on the balance problem studies and will lead the rare earth recovery research with the solvometallurgical and ionometallurgical processes.
KUL will also contribute to the final compounding selection.
KUL is the Dissemination Manager of the project, promoting that all partners are active on the project Dissemination.
FIDAMC
Name of the organisation: FIDAMC Country: Spain Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: FIDAMC is going to lead the Work Package on Compression Moulding with CFRP-enhanced materials. As part of the AIRBUS Group, FIDAMC will also be able to provide the input material.
FIDAMC successfully developed a 3D Printer of own design to serve the Aerospace Industry and will be supporting Smart Lab 3D Industries in its 3D printer design.
COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER
Name of the organisation: COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER Country: Canada Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Composite Innovation Center is one of the world leading organization in the field of Composite materials, both from carbon fiber and vegetal-based fibers.
Composite Innovation center has successfully implemented, at lab-scale, recycling processes for CFRP and GFRP.
Existing EU Contribution: Yes
Period to implement the commitment: from 01-06-2016 to 31-05-2022