The 3DOP project is a test case for European innovation funding. SMEs are in the driver’s seat; they directly drive the innovations. At the same time, the activities carried out by the consortium partners fit well within strategic lines that have been set out, in the respective regional strategies, and for the European industry as a whole. This approach puts an end to fragmentation in the AM innovation landscape and ensures the critical mass needed to make an impact.
European SMEs are still not fully embracing 3D printing. Jean-François Romainville, Senior Expert at IDEA Consult, sees several reasons for this. On the one hand, there are technical reasons, such as quality control. In this area, there is a lack of specific standards for some industries. Quality control in the AM process itself can also be improved, for example by making more use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). What on the other hand also plays a role, according to him, is the fact that you often only make the most of the benefits of 3D printing if you change the design. This might require substantial investments. “Additive manufacturing can be disruptive, but to reap the benefits, you have to make significant investments. We think that is a barrier for SMEs. And adequate support to test before invest must be put in place.”
There is a real need for synergy, so that there is a critical mass and a mutual connection
Combating fragmentation
IDEA Consult is one of the architects of the European 3DOP project. As Senior Expert Industrial Policy, Jean-François Romainville is mainly focussing on Advanced Manufacturing Technology (including 3D Printing) within the field of Innovation, Competitiveness and Sustainability. In this domain, IDEA Consult has set out various service lines. Based on analytical research, they advise governments at all levels, from the European Commission to municipalities and (inter)regional partnerships. IDEA Consult also deploys projects for them. More than a decade ago, IDEA Consult analysed the opportunities offered by 3D printing for the EU’s Directorate-General for Growth. Back then, Jean-François Romainville supported the Vanguard Initiative (VI) 3DP Pilot, as network manager. This initiative connects 27 regional ecosystems with more than 350 organizations in the AM value chain. “The landscape was very fragmented. Many organizations did many different things. There is a real need for synergy, so that there is a critical mass and a mutual connection,” says Romainville. Through their activities, IDEA Consult experienced and reported on challenges, and opportunities, related to interregional innovation investments in the EU. Among others, this has led to a new interregional funding instrument being launched by the European Commission: Interregional Innovation Investments (I3).
Bottom-up approach
3DOP is one of the first projects funded by the I3 program. In Europe, this model stands for a new approach to stimulating innovation. Jean-François Romainville: “We developed 3DOP as a bottom-up project, with the aim of directly addressing the needs of the industry, with solutions at a high TRL level: level 6 and above. It is very important that SMEs are in the driver’s seat. This allows us to develop solutions and processes and roll out services in the short term.” What makes I3 and 3DOP unique, in his view, is the combination of this bottom-up innovation approach with a strategic and ‘territorial’ dimension, so that it becomes part of a holistic approach in a specific domain or region. “This is how we believe to connect, operate and activate innovation in strategically important domains,” he says. For example, reducing the costs for 3D metal printing, or improving automation in the AM process; or embedded electronics. “These are strategic priorities that are also part of the smart specialization strategies (S3) of the regions involved in the project. With this approach, we concentrate innovations in a certain domain or on a certain subject.”
IDEA Consult, together with Sirris and Brainport Development, coordinates the 3DOP project and mainly provides support in the field of identifying and arranging support to implement the bottom-up, while strategic approach. “We generate new ideas and try to link them to funding sources for when the 3DOP project comes to an end,” explains Jean-François Romainville. This should prevent fragmentation from occurring after the project has ended. In line with the holistic approach, he tries to integrate the initiatives that come about in the project as much as possible into the Vanguard Initiative 3DP Pilot activities. This should create a better dissimulation of the knowledge gained to SMEs. “With the Vanguard Initiative project, our goal is also to link end users who do not yet use AM to the relevant solutions, also in other technical areas such as AI and robotics.”
Strong multiplier effect
Jean-François Romainville is convinced that this will create a strong multiplier effect. “Through the public funds that were made available for this project, we are activating substantial private funds. The public funds act as a lever. This is attracting additional investment, not only in participating companies but also in the areas we focus on.” The exact range of such multiplier effects should become visible in the last months of the 3DOP project. But the first signs are already positive. A number of solutions developed and tested by the partners in the project have already been sold commercially. “So companies are already investing in the new solutions.” To be able to follow this properly, an internal tracking tool is tracing the investments resulting from the project. Jean-François Romainville: “We want to measure how far we were able to unlock private investments.”
Through the public funds that were made available for this project, we are activating substantial private funds
Broadening the network
The coming months will be important for the 3DOP project. With the Open Call launched at the end of 2024, other SMEs in Europe will have the opportunity to work directly with one of the consortium partners. They can test the innovations developed in the project for their own product or market. “Test before you invest,” says the Senior Expert of IDEA Consult. Companies can test whether the ROI is so high that it justifies the necessary investments, such as a new design. With such a bottom-up approach, driven by concrete questions from the industry, European SMEs must become more aware of the possibilities of 3D printing. Not only in terms of sustainability but also when it comes to absorbing supply chain interruptions, which have been a theme in the industry more than ever in recent years. Jean-François Romainville: “In a world where supply chains can be abruptly disrupted, the agility that 3D printing offers to the manufacturing industry can be a solution.”
