WP0. Preparation

Leader: LP. LEARTIKER; Participants: ALL

Build up of the partnership by Leartiker following criteria based on expertise in the following fields:

•Technology experts: development and use of 3D printing equipment (University of Vigo), digitalisation and software of 3D technology (University La Rochelle) and development of new polymer materials (Leartiker);

•Circular Economy and Plastic Waste removal: Azaro Foundation specialised on Circular/Blue Economy models, HALPIN-Cork Institute of Technology, University of Plymouth and IP Leiria.

•Mobilisation of maritime industries, clusters and port authorities: Azaro Foundation in Ondarroa port in Spain, University of Vigo on Vigo port, Agglomeration La Rochelle in La Rochelle Port, IP Leiria in Peniche port, University of Plymouth in Plymouth and HALPIN-CIT in Cork.

-Leartiker had previous cooperation experience with University of Vigo and University La Rochelle. Leartiker and Azaro Foundation are both part of the innovation and entrepreneurship support ecosystem of Lea Artibai region in Basque Country.

-Leartiker subcontracted the external service of a consultancy company expert in the preparation of European Territorial Cooperation projects for the preparation of the proposal. This company under the guidance of Leartiker prepared a project outline and invited potential partners with referred profiles until the coimpletion of the partnership.

-Participation on the launch event of the 1st Call of the Atlantic Area Programme in Madrid in 2016 and the 2nd Call event in Porto via live stream.

-Leartiker with the support of the external expert coordinated the efforts of partners on the defintion of the Work Plan and budget.

-The external expert coordinated the delivery by partners of the administrative documents demanded by the Call. -The external expert was in charge of the final drafting of the proposal and uploading the proposal and administrative documents to the platform.

WP1. Coordination

Leader: LP. LEARTIKER; Participants: ALL

Leartiker is responsible for the overall management and coordination of the project. Leartiker will rely on the support of an external expert for the General Coordination, a company with experience on the management and coordination of European Territorial Cooperation projects subcontracted following public procurement rules at the start of the project. 2 main governance bodies will be set up at Kick-Off Meeting: Steering Committee, responsible of the overall project results and subsidy commitments and Technical Committee, focusing on the coordination of technical WPs.

Composition of the Committee and rules of procedure will be included on Project Implementation Guide, delivered by Leartiker and the General Coordination support, with all running procedures of these bodies and the reporting circuit of the project.

COORDINATION & COMMUNICATION A total of 7 Project Meetings are planned: – KoM: Markina-Xemein, ES (M1). – PM2: Plymouth, UK (M6). – PM3: Marinha Grande/ Peniche, PT (M12). – PM4: Cork, IE (M20). – PM5: La Rochelle, FR (M26). – PM6: Vigo, ES (M32). – PM7: Markina-Xemein, ES (M36). Besides these meetings, General Coordination support will deliver each 15 days Project Updates via email, with review of work plan progress. Skype meetings will also take place at demand.

REPORTING & FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: All partners will subcontract First Level Controllers, who will verify the expenses claims in 6 Months Sub-Reports. Leartiker will compile the information and expenses into Progress Reports delivered to Technical Secretariat. Upon clarification and approval by the Programme, Leartiker will get the ERDF contribution to be distributed to partners. Leartiker with General Coordination support will monitor the budget implementation after each Report.

MONITORING: Leartiker with the support of the external General Coordination support will deliver a Monitoring Plan, comprising: – Planning system: Each 6 months a Work Plan will be agreed following each Project Meeting.

Risk management: A risk analysis conducted at the start of the project monitored on a 6 month basis. – Quality Control: A characterization of outputs will be conducted with quality criteria at the start of the project and a planing for their monitoring through the project by different means, mainly quality surveys to key stakeholders, as end-users. Each 6 Months Leartiker will develop Monitoring Reports to Steering Committee. 

WP2. Communication

Leader: P7. IPLeiria; Participants: ALL

A Communication Strategy will be deployed by IPLeiria at the start of the project. The strategy sets up communication goals closely linked to the project main goals: – COMMUNICATE the project goal, expected results, contribution to Circular Economy and Clean Seas, role of Atlantic Area Programme, etc to target groups and general society. – DISSEMINATE the project progress to target groups, discerning between technical, business and policy oriented outputs and targets. – ENGAGE target groups in the 6 Nodes for the actions planned in WP5 and WP6. – EXPLOIT and CAPITALIZE project results, aiming at the business/industry, research and policy-making groups in WP3.

Target Groups of the project are clearly defined, and will be further analysed following a Stakeholders Analysis: Maritime industries and clusters; Research and industry on new materials and 3D printing; Port authorities and agents engaged on ocean waste removal; Public authorities and policy-makers engaged in smart specialization and entrepreneurship support. Multiplicators will also be identified: nation wide networks and associations allowing to multiply outreach. Once target groups and messages are defined, a mix of communication channels and tools will be put in place (website, social media, brochure, etc) and communication activities and events for project communication held: 2 international events and 6 national ones planned. Participation of partners at non-project events is also planned.

WP3. Capitalization

Leader: LP. LEARTIKER; Participants: ALL

Capitalization Strategy will be defined in the Communicaton Strategy (WP2), whose implementation will be indirectly supported by the tools and activities of WP2. Under WP3  specific activities are planned for the capitalization and exploitation of the following project results:

SCIENTIFIC RESULTS AIMED AT RESEARCH COMMUNITY – Results from research stage in WP6 by Leartiker, UVIGO and ULR will be disseminated through scientific publications (articles/posters) in journals and scientific events. At least 3 such publications/participations expected.

TECHNICAL RESULTS AIMED AT INDUSTRY

– Assessment and valuation of any protectable Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) arising from WP6 by Leartiker, UVIGO and ULR. – Elaboration of a Market Study in the research results and development of a Business Plan.

– Development of a “Technology & Materials Catalogue” brochure with the exploitable results of WP6.

 – Holding of 6 Technology Transfer Workshops (1 by node) with industry, clusters and entrepreneurs by end Year 3.

STRATEGY ORIENTED RESULTS AIMED AT POLICY-MAKERS

– Elaboration of 6 Policy Briefs with results at regional level of Diagnosis (WP4) Portfolio of Business Cases (WP5) and Pilots (WP6) and recommendations on how to integrate such results into regional S3 and on research and environment support policies.

– Holding of 6 Strategy Workshops (1 by node), by end Year 3 with policy-makers and managers of S3, in order to transfer Policy Briefs with recommendations.

Multiplicator agents are identified and engaged in the Communication Strategy (WP2) in order to disseminate project outputs beyond project: – Related Atlantic Area projects: OceanWise, KET Maritime, Clean Atlantic.

– Other EU funded projects: LIFE+-Lema in Basque Country, R&I projects funded by H2020 like CLAIM.

– Regional/national maritime clusters/associations: Forum Oceano in Portugal, Maritime UK, Cluster Maritime Français, Foro Maritimo in Spain, etc. It should be noted that partners do already take part on these fora. Multiplicators will be engaged since the start of the project and communication links established early on about goals and methods that could be shared, being invited to the regional/national dissemination and technical events. Moreover, on relation to other projects funded by the Atlantic Area Programme, a Thematic Work Group of projects linked to Circular Economy, Ocean Plastic Waste monitoring and removal and advanced manufacturing technologies will be promoted by CircularSeas and annual meetings organised (presential or by Skype) in order to share working methods and results and co-organise, if possible, joint dissemination events. Dissemination of Policy Briefs at strategy level will take place with S3 and innovation support authorities, with whom partners also have strong links like Leartiker and Azaro with Basque Government S3 Work Group on Advanced Manufacturing and IPLeiria on National Strategy on Advanced Manufacturing.
 

WP4: Diagnosis on Circular Plastic For Maritime Industries

Leader: P3. AZARO; Participants: ALL

The aim of this WP is to set up the scene of the project, by delivering a Diagnosis on:

 – Mapping and characterization of Ocean Plastic Waste removed in the 6 Nodes: Ondarroa (ES), Vigo (ES), La Rochelle (FR), Cork (IE), Plymouth (UK), Peniche (PT). All partners take samples, Leartiker conducts analyses of properties.

 – Mapping and benchmarking of ocean removal practices in 6 Nodes.

– Assessment of plastic use as a raw material on the supply chain of 3 target maritime industries in 6 nodes, by UoP: + Fishing, auxiliary fishing and aquaculture. + Shipyards and port management. + Nautical sports (surf, sailing, diving).

This diagnosis will be carried out at the 6 nodes under the coordination of Azaro, who will produce the 6 Diagnosis Reports. In parallel, 2 cross-cutting diagnosis activities will be carried out:

– Benchmarking of plastic waste removal models within and beyond Atlantic by Azaro (links with OceanWise).

 – 3DP tech (material extrusion and jetting tech) equipment and materials trends that might impact on target parts (bio-oil based components, 4D capabilities), by ULR-UVIGO.

Considering the Diagnosis results, Leartiker will identify potential auxiliary parts of target maritime industies that can be developed with recycled plastic and biodegradable/renewable polymers, considering the sector requirements. Finally, Azaro will consolidate all results into a “Diagnosis Report on Circular Plastic for Maritime Industries in Atlantic Area”.

WP5: Definition of Business Cases For New Green Products Manufactured by 3DP

Leader: P5. CIT; Participants: ALL

The aim of the WP is to disseminate the opportunities identified in the previous WP with target Maritime Industries and R& I ecosystem at each of the 6 Nodes in order to contrast them and come up with:

•Specific parts/components demanded by Node maritime industries that can turned into greener products thanks to its manufacturing with recycled plastic and renewable/ biodegradable polymers using 3DP tech.

•New business model and cases that might come up for the ocean waste recollection and the delivery of 3DP services.

•Challenges, needs and problems that might be faced for the manufacturing of target parts following the sea and port conditions: movement of printing equipments, corrosion of equipment due to salinity, unreliable electric supply, polymer functionalities, internet connections reliability, part blueprint complexity, etc.

The final goal of the WP is to identity at each of the 6 Nodes, specific Business Cases for the manufacturing of green products for target maritime industries through the means of 3DP tech and recycled plastic waste and renewable/biodegradable polymers.

To that end a participatory process will be carried out, engaging in the 6 Nodes, multi-actor Work Groups with maritime industries, authorities, and R& I and Entrepreneurship support services, for the definition of Busines Cases. This process will result into 6 Business Cases Reports, consolidated by HALPIN-CIT into one, following a transnational event, that will inform in turn WP6.

WP6: Development And Pillot Test of New Green Products Manufactured by 3DP

Leader: LP. LEARTIKER; Participants: ALL

The goal of this WP is to demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental viability of the manufacturing of new green products, by the combination of 3DP tech and the use of recycled plastic waste and biodegradable, renewable and high performance polymers.

The approach will be:

•To develop improvements in the fields of HARDWARE, SOFTWARE and MATERIALS involved in 3DP.

•To Pilot Test and produce target green products in the 6 Nodes to demonstrate viability.

Leartiker will coordinate the Terms of Reference for the development stage, to be conducted by 3 partners:

•Leartiker will carry out the MATERIALS research: Improvement of plastic formulations with recycled plastics, definition of separation and cleaning plastic waste for production of pellets, production of biodegradable and high performance plastics.

•UVIGO will select the HARDWARE, the commercial printer most suitable for its use in maritime environments and develop improvements to overcome instability, corrosion and electric fails.

•ULR will focus on SOFTWARE, proposing an easy to use interface between user and printer and method to turn target parts into digital blueprints for printing.

In the Pilot Testing stage, the 6 Nodes will be involved. Work Groups (WP5) will select a Business Case by Node, where the performance of the integrated system will be tested and evaluated. Capitalization and transfer of resulting 3DP system and business cases will take place in WP3.