H2020 LightMe: An Open Innovation Ecosystem for upscaling production processes of lightweight metal alloys composites

Project ID: 814552

Funded under: DT-NMBP-01-2018 – Open Innovation Test Beds for Lightweight, nano-enabled multifunctional composite materials and components (IA)

LightMe is an Innovation Action (IA) project in the EU’s Framework Programme “Horizon 2020” in NMBP-HUBS-2018 topic: Open Innovation Test Beds for Lightweight, nano-enabled  multifunctional composite materials and components. The project officially launched on 1st of January 2019, having a duration of 48 months. LightMe project targets on the setting up of a self-sustainable open innovation ecosystem for the upscaling of industrial processes concerning lightweight metal alloys (aluminum, magnesium and titanium) composites. The consortium consists of 25 partners from 15 European countries. The partners can be divided in two groups: the partners that form the Ecosystem and the end users that will provide the test cases to be introduced in the pilot lines and to other services provided by the Ecosystem.

It is evident that although the last two decades a high number of research projects has been dedicated in the development of new composite lightweight metals for industrial applications (e.g. according to Scopus, more than 1000 publications concerns this field in the last 5 years), only a very limited number of such cases has been finally commercialized and reached the market end users. There are many reasons that these technologies have not been adopted by the market (e.g. lack of funding for further development and upscaling and the unwillingness of end users to adopt in their processes non-validated and non-standardized technologies) and this phenomenon is usually described as ‘valley of death’. LightMe project aspires to overcome these barriers by offering an open innovation ecosystem, in which technologies that have been developed up to TRL4-5 will be able to be upscaled and validated up to TRL 7.

For more information visit the H2020 website: https://www.lightme-ecosystem.eu/