The understanding and the reliable prediction of material degradation, crack initiation and propagation is of vital importance in engineering. It allows the evaluation of product lifecycle and the criticality of exceptional loads. Also, it enables maintenance optimization in a wide range of industries (automotive, aircraft, nuclear…). Thanks to the ERC “XLS” grant, a new approach coined TLS (“Thick Level Set”) was developed to simulate crack propagation from sane material to critical rupture. The main advantage of this approach is that it takes into account both crack initiation and crack propagation without mesh size or mesh orientation dependency. This combination is not currently available in the industry. The TLS software sources (coined TTK for TLS Tool Kit) has been produced mostly during the ERC project. They were recently registered in the software protection agency. The POC goal is to transform the TTK software to industry usable software and to reach a win-win agreement with a well-established service company who will perform paid studies.

Increasing the part of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in modern power grids is of critical importance for the transformation of the global energy system. However, stability and participation to ancillary services issues related to RES limit their use. Indeed, the RES grid integration faces major limitations when high RE penetration is expected. A solution to overcome this is to increase the share of so-called dispatchable RES, i.e., the ones which have a natural storage capacity. The main objective in the POSYTYF project is to group several RES into a systemic object called Virtual Power Plant (VPP). VPP is a way to aggregate RES sources to form a portfolio of dispatchable/non-dispatchable RES able to optimally internally redispatch resources in case of meteorological and system variations in order to provide sufficient flexibility, reliable power output and grid services. The POSYTYF project will provide TSOs, DSOs and generators with knowledge, models and tools for synthesis of VPP controls both for local (production) and grid (ancillary services) objectives. New analysis (stability assessement) and control (centralized vs decentralized concepts) methods will be particularly proposed. Solutions will be immediately implementable in the actual grid and regulatory situation. Realistic (large-scale grids and concrete RES technologies) cases will be treated and full validations – both in simulation and hardware in the loop along with the codes for regulator’s implementation will be made available. Proposals for some main problems like stability will be formulated for next generation grids of massive RES penetration and low inertia systems. The interdisciplinary and ambitious POSYTYF project brings together 10 partners from 4 EU countries. They will bring the VPP technology from TRL 3-4 to TRL 4-5 by evaluating new stability issues, proposing new control algorithms.

Integrating activities planned under MaRINET 2 build upon the achievements of the advanced community created in MaRINET FP7. MaRINET 2 will ensure the continued integration and enhancement of all leading European research infrastructure and facilities specialising in research, development and testing of offshore renewable energy systems including electrical sub systems and grid integration through a range of TRLs (1-7). MaRINET FP7 proved the added value of uniting these facilities, and substantially improving their capability as a community of practice to deliver consistent testing services ensuring, quantifiable, stepwise innovation and progress in the development of devices and key components, and identifying critical areas for further technical investigation and enhancement. Whilst activities proposed under MaRINET 2 will follow the same formula, balancing networking/ joint research/ and transnational access, the consortium and scope of work is expanded to include xx partners in xx countries with xx facilities. The e-infrastructure programme fills a strategic gap. Taking stock of existing capacities for data management/sharing; it addresses user requirements and demonstrates the operation of a new system based on standards and tools adapted from the SeaDataNet infrastructure. The European Commission and member states recognise offshore renewable energy as an important source of clean energy that can: generate economic growth and employment; increase energy security; and boost competitiveness and technological innovation. The realisation of this potential depends on the accelerated development, deployment and grid integration of reliable, efficient technologies for harvesting offshore renewable energy, which in turn requires robust and exhaustive testing in dedicated facilities operated by practitioners with specialised expertise. MaRINET 2 provides this ecosystem, and is pre-eminently suited to fostering the next generation of offshore renewable energy devices.

The European manufacturing industry faces new challenges, which are currently not addressed by today’s products and systems. Most of the products are still in essence ‘simple’ in nature, with no capability for adapting to the consumers’ needs and no integrated methods exist for the holistic acquisition and processing of feedback information emanating from product-services. ICP4Life proposes an integrated, collaborative platform for the design, development and support of product-service systems for SMEs, equipment manufacturers and energy suppliers in order to maximize the impact in the European industry. The proposed platform comprises of three main components. The first component demonstrates a collaborative web-based application for the creation and management of products and services by engineers and designers of multiple disciplines. The second component is a Product-Service configuration tool for customers, enabling the easy and intuitive formation of Products and Services. The same component will be used for managing product related data pertaining to the manufacturer, supplier and the customer. The third component will support the efficient, adaptive and responsive planning and decision making phases, for managing the dynamic operation of the plants and the supply chain. All the components will be compatible with open standards, such as AutomationML, in order to make the most out of and accelerate the adoption by the European industry. The ICP4Life project will address the current needs of today’s manufacturers, providing faster design of modular equipment and components, the seamless collaboration of engineers across a wider network of companies as well as within a single company with disperse engineering offices and production sites and the reuse of knowledge regarding both products and processes for new projects or the configuration of existing lines. The ICP4Life consortium consists of highly skilled organizations to ensure the success of this project.

SIMUTOOL will develop a simulation platform for the manufacturing of composites through microwave MW heating. The simulation will include the electromagnetic field coupled with heat transfer mechanisms that take place during the production process. It will also include the process control loop which will enable the optimum design of the manufacturing process One of the major outputs of the simulation platform will be the successful design of a ceramic matrix composite tool with a MW absorbing layer in order to maximise the energy saving potential of the MW heating process. The project addresses the manufacturing issues of MW heating of composites which stem from the lack of understanding of the basic physics of the process (the most important item being how carbon fibers interact with the microwave field). The project will increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the MW heating of composites process to 6-7 -