RealNano is an ambitious project funded by Horizon2020 EU’s new research and innovation programme, that will play a major role in the Digital Transformation of the EU industries since it will increase the intelligence of manufacturing processes for of Organic Electronics (OEs) and other industrial applications by demonstrating a yield improvement up to 90%, in combination to above 30% reduction on wastes and resources for nanomaterials upscaling. The project’s innovations will boost the reliability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of OE manufacturing processes, to develop nanomaterials, devices and products with a return of investment less than 5 years.

The OEs market continues to grow rapidly and revolutionizes many industrial applications in Green Energy, Lighting, Smart Buildings, Smart Cities, Lighting, Automotive etc, through OPVs, OLEDs, Printed Biosensors, Flexible Batteries leading to a Digital, Green Deal and Circular Economy. Nevertheless, the current OEs industrial manufacturing processes cannot meet the increased commercialization demands on manufacturing speed, materials quality, reliability, efficiency and stability as well as to reduce the amount of waste produced during manufacturing processes. It is due to the lack of robust nanoscale analytical tools that could offer quality control and a cost-effectives manufacturing methods, accelerating the entrance of advanced products in the market.

The RealNano scope’s is to solve the above problems offering many advantages to the Digital industry! The project will develop novel and fast real-time nano-characterization materials tools & methodologies based on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, Raman Spectroscopy, Imaging Photoluminescence and Laser Beam Induced Current Mapping that will be integrated to in-line R2R (Roll-to-Roll) Printing and OVPD (Organic Vapor Phase Deposition) Pilot-to-Production Lines (PPLs) for characterization of Organic & Printed Electronics nano- materials, layers, devices, process and products during their manufacturing for improvement of quality and reliability of the final products. Lastly, RealNano will transfer the results to the industry by Open Innovation (Dissemination, Training, Networking and Clustering) and Management to inform the stakeholders how to contribute and be benefited by the project’s innovations.

The Consortium with 10 partner organizations is led by the Nanotechnology Lab LTFN of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) and is well-balanced in terms of involvement of industrial and SME partners: Organic Electronics Technologies P.C. (Greece), SEMILAB (Hungary), Granta Design (UK), Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH (Germany), Centro Ricerche Fiat SCPA (Italy), Hellenic Organic & Printed Electronics Association (Greece), APEVA (Germany), InfinityPV (Denmark), BL NanoBioMed (Greece). The project has a duration of 36 months (1 March 2020 – 28 February 2023) and is funded 100% from the EU with a total budget of 4.9 Million Euros.

Call: H2020-DT-NMBP-08-2019
Type of action: Research and Innovation action (RIA)
Acronym: RealNano
Title: In-line and Real-time Nano-characterization technologies for the high yield manufacturing of Flexible Organic Electronics
Duration: 36 months (1 March 2020 – 28 February 2023)

Published articles in Greek:
Real Nano: Από το ΑΠΘ ο συντονισμός του έργου που αναμένεται να αλλάξει μια βιομηχανία δεκάδων δισ. ευρώ (23/12/20 www.startupper.gr)
Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ο συντονισμός του Real Nano (22/12/20 www.city365.gr)
[Η Ναυτεμπορική]: Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ο συντονισμός του Real Nano (21/12/20 www.multi-news.gr)
Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ο συντονισμός του Real Nano (21/12/20 www.mforotexniki.gr)
Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ο συντονισμός του Real Nano (21/12/20 www.sepe.gr)
Ο συντονισμός του κοινοτικού ερευνητικού έργου «Real Nano», από τη Θεσσαλονίκη (21/12/20 www.energyup.gr)
Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ο συντονισμός του Real Nano (21/12/20 www.naftemporiki.gr)
Real Nano: Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ξεκινά το ερευνητικό έργο που θα παίξει σημαντικό ρόλο σε μια βιομηχανία δεκάδων δισ. ευρώ (21/12/20 www.newsbeast.gr)
Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ο συντονισμός του κοινοτικού ερευνητικού έργου Real Nano (21/12/20 www.analitis.gr)
Από τη Θεσσαλονίκη ο συντονισμός του κοινοτικού ερευνητικού έργου Real Nano (21/12/20 www.amna.gr)
REAL NANO: Το φιλόδοξο εργαλείο της Ψηφιακής Βιομηχανίας των Οργανικών Ηλεκτρονικών (20/12/20 www.voreini.gr)

The 6M Consortium meeting of the RealNano Horizon 2020 Project took place on 12-13.10.2020, in the framework of “10th Conference & Exhibition on Flexible & Printed Electronics Industry”. During this meeting, in which all project partners participated either Live or Virtual, the progress of the planned activities during the last semester as well as the next steps were presented.

The 34M Technical meeting of the Cornet Horizon 2020 Project took place on 13.10.2020, in the framework of “10th Conference & Exhibition on Flexible & Printed Electronics Industry”. During this meeting, the partners participated either Live or Virtual discussing the overall project progress and the next steps until the end of the project.

On 21st of October 2020, Amires and Fraunhofer-FEP, in cooperation with the Technology Centre CAS, are organizing a digital workshop on Applications and Industrialisation of Functional Polymer Films, Paper and Membranes in the frame of FlexFunction2Sustian Project.

For more information:
www.flexfunction2sustain.eu/flexfunction2sustain-workshop

The 30M Consortium meeting of the European CORNET program took place on 05.07.2020, in the framework of NANOTEXNOLOGY 2020. During this meeting, in which all project partners participated either Live or Virtual, the progress of the planned activities during the last semester but also the overall progress of the project as well as the next steps until the end of the project were presented.

For more information about the Project: www.cornet-project.eu

For more information about Cornet Press Release: https://bit.ly/32XY2Zh

Presentation & Promotion of the REALNANO and CORNET projects as well as the CORNET OIE Platform took place in the frame of 13th International Symposium on Flexible Organic Electronics during NANOTEXNOLOGY 2020 multi event! Moreover, at NANOTEXNOLOGY 2020 Business Forum, REALNANO’s and CORNET's objectives were introduced by HOPE-A.

For more information about RealNano Project: www.realnano-project.eu

For more information about Cornet Project: www.cornet-project.eu

For more information about Cornet OIE Platform: www.cornet-project.eu/oie

Let’s rethink plastic!

FlexFunction2Sustain – Open Innovation Test Bed launched on 1st April to boost innovations for sustainable plastic and paper products to reach the market faster.

On April 1st, the EU-funded initiative FlexFunction2Sustain was launched. The project, financed by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, will support Plastics and Paper Processing Industry in overcoming environmental challenges while entering the digital age. 19 European partners unify their competencies, practical and business development expertise and technical infrastructure to provide a wide access to innovative solutions through a sustainable open innovation ecosystem. This Open Innovation Test Bed for nano-functionalized plastic and paper surfaces and membranes will support innovative SMEs and industries by drastically reducing the time-to-market for novel concepts, ideas and products.

Nano-functionalisation for smart and sustainable plastic surfaces

Plastic and paper based materials are used in a wide range of daily life products. Applications represent well established multi-billion Euro markets (e. g. food and pharma packaging, furniture surfaces, membrane-based filter systems, medical products etc.). New business opportunities will arise from replacing glass and metal by nano-functionalized plastic or paper surfaces in many products. That allows the reduction in weight and cost and gains in mechanical flexibility together with additional properties. Such properties include e. g. the blocking of water and oxygen permeation, surface conductivity, antimicrobial and anti-viral properties or chemical and corrosion resistance. State-of-the-art solutions often rely on composite or multi-layer materials. Such composites, however, have a major drawback with respect to their environmental footprint: they are neither fully recyclable nor compostable/degradable. Further, most plastic products are synthesized from mineral oil instead of renewable resources.

Many innovations come from the urgent need to reduce plastic waste in the world addressing novel polymer formulations (bio-based, bio-degradable) and novel product designs. However, high access barriers to pre-commercial material development, testing and certification facilities and pilot-production capabilities in Europe prevent StartUps, SMEs and Industries from commercially exploiting novel ideas in nanotechnology and advanced materials. Investors, although willing to support innovative solutions, lack the technical knowledge and the institutional capabilities for evaluating new ideas, products and business models of StartUps.

FlexFunction2Sustain – who is behind it and how does it work?

The EU-funded initiative FlexFunction2Sustain aims at overcoming these limitations (often referred to as “Valley of Death” between research and industry) by creating an Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) for nano-functionalisation technologies that enable sustainable and smart plastics and paper based products. The OITB will provide users an easy access to holistic innovation boosting services through a single entry point. The OITB will support its customers in material and product design, in process and product development, in product verification and certification, with pilot and small series production services and with accessing new markets and business opportunities. Integrating all these services to a complete, all-round offer will substantially reduce the time and cost to progress through the innovation chain from an idea to a successful product.

FlexFunction2Sustain uniquely interconnects renowned Universities, Applied Research Organisations, and Companies offering pilot production services with Business Development, Networking and Intellectual Property Experts to support customers in any stage of the innovation chain. The consortium was assembled to improve competitiveness of Europe in the field of nano-functionalized materials, and to increase market share of European industries in the value chain of sustainable and smart plastic and paper related products.

FlexFunction2Sustain member facilities cover all major nano-functionalisation techniques available for plastic and paper surfaces. This includes a large portfolio of techniques for atmospheric pressure and vacuum thin film coating; micro- and nano-structuring of surfaces; printed electronics processing; and lamination and product integration. Pilot-scale facilities for testing novel polymer formulations and for verifying recyclability and bio-degradability of innovative products complete the offer. Finally, application verification and pre-certification test facilities for food and non-food packaging and anti-microbial and antiviral applications will accelerate market penetration of novel products in sensitive use scenarios.

FlexFunction2Sustain will align the technical facilities according to the needs of six industrial use cases, including i.e.:

• recyclable and marine degradable food and cosmetic packaging,
• selective water filter membranes,
• innovative and smart plastic surfaces in automotive and
• bio-degradable security and fraud protection labels.

Project coordinator Dr. John Fahlteich, Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, explains the unique potential of the ecosystem: "The strength of the FlexFunction2Sustain OITB is the unique cooperation between the research, technology and business development partners to set-up a combined offer of complementary services for boosting innovation. Customers will be able to gain access to a pan European innovation network through a single entry point without the need to speak multiple languages or to understand the law in multiple countries. This model allows the most appropriate technology selection and shaping among whole technological portfolio available in the EU. Users can expect optimum cost, time-to-market, reliability and performance."

Holistic services from a Single Entry Point in the whole European Market

The services of the OITB will be made available to the industry though a novel “single entry point” company that will be created before Summer 2021. The company will act as general contractor for the customer managing all services and actions of the OITB for highest service quality and efficiency. Through this company, the customer will gain access to services from partners in more than 10 different EU countries in either its native language or English. The single entry point will eliminate the need to negotiate multiple service contracts in different countries and to organize material transfers and information exchange between different suppliers. Strategic partnerships with regional agents will ensure access in the whole European Market.

To accelerate the uptake of the OITB services, FlexFunction2Sustain will launch two competitive calls for up to 20 pre-commercial SME-targeted pilot cases. The first call will open in January 2022 and will invite SMEs to submit innovation project proposals to FlexFunction2Sustain. The best rated projects will receive discounted services from the OITB.

The FlexFunction2Sustain ecosystem will support innovative SMEs and industries by providing an expert support from an early development stage to the optimised transformation of prototypes into valuable and innovative products. The members of the consortium are convinced that only the complex response of this nature will provide the necessary service portfolio to create sustainable new products and business cases in the European Union.

About FlexFunction2Sustain

The project FlexFunction2Sustain has started on 1st April 2020 and will run 48 months. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 862156.

FlexFunction2Sustain consortium consists of 19 European partners, including research organizations, universities and private companies: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer Institute FEP, IAP und IVV), JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Aristotle University Thessaloniki, Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH, AMCOR Group GmbH, Gesellschaft für Mittelstandsförderung mbH, Organic Electronics Technologies P.C., 24IP Law Group France Sarl., BL Nanobiomed P.C., IPC Centre Technique Industriel de la Plasturgie et des Composites, INL, Hellenic Organic and Printed Electronics Association HOPE-A, I3Membrane GmbH, HUECK FOLIEN GmbH, Centro Ricerche Fiat S.c.p.A., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, SONAE MC – Serviços Partilhados S.A., Capri Sun GmbH, AMIRES s.r.o.

The project coordinator is the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, Dresden, Germany.

More information about the project can be found at www.flexfunction2sustain.eu (full version available in June 2020).

In 2015, packaging materials contributed 141 million tons to the global plastic waste generation. FlexFunction2Sustain will promote technologies and innovations to replace state-of-the-art packaging by sustainable solutions for a substantial reduction of plastic waste in the world.

© Fraunhofer FEP, Photographer: Jan Hosan

Picture in printable resolution: www.fep.fraunhofer.de/press

About the CORNET H2020 project

Main priority of the Horizon 2020 CORNET project is to establish an Open Innovation Environment (OIE) scheme to coordinate the current efforts in the triangle of manufacturing, modelling and experimentation of Organic/Large Area Electronic (OLAE), with the scope to achieve widespread adoption of relevant protocols and standards and faster market uptake of innovations.

About the CORNET OIE Platform

The CORNET OIE Platform is an interactive web-based, well-organized and friendly environment that interconnects entities from the academic, research, industrial and business communities interested in the triangle of Manufacturing, Modeling and Experimentation of the Organic/Large Area Electronics (OLAE) and their commercialization.

Via the CORNET OIE Platform, the users are able to communicate with each other to solve common problems in the OLAE field, map the competences and infrastructure of their organization and notify the community about their current activities!

Grab the chance to engage with already existing and newly formed clusters, industrial and academic research entities, standardization bodies and other OIE schemes by registering to the CORNET OIΕ Platform!

Key Features of the CORNET OIE Platform

The CORNET OIE Platform composes an Innovation Hub which incorporates:

• A Communication Platform for Networking & Clustering purposes
• Competence and Activities Catalogues of the registered Organizations
• Infrastructure Lists of the registered Organization, Companies etc.
• Mobility and Training opportunities

Why Join the CORNET OIE Platform community?

By participating in the CORNET OIE Platform you can:

• Explore the OLAE Community: Get in contact with experts and key players, explore all the new trends and hot topics, seek for new ideas and gain access to state-of-the-art solutions for you.
• Be easily Tracked: Sign-up and fill in your organization’s competences, activities & interests and get easily traceable to related parties looking for collaborations, partnerships, suppliers, etc.
• Make yourself visible: Submit your questions, ideas, clarifications, suggestions or arguments in the specially designed discussion board. Post the topic you want to discuss and experience the unique interaction with other users!
• Communicate: Connect with the rest of the registered users and send a direct message or an email. So easy and straightforward!
• Network: Widen your network, create synergies and contacts with stakeholders, combine different specialties and establish new collaborations!
• Be trained: Increase your innovation capacity, exchange information and skills!

You can join by clicking here.

 For your assistance click on the following step-by-step registration guide:

The CORNET Month 18 Consortium meeting was successfully held in Porto Palace Hotel at Thessaloniki, Greece on 28-29 June 2019.