Innovation services

Trieste, 20 December 2022 – The research programme REFIBER, developed by Area Science Park and Innovando srl landed in Paris, as part of efforts to establish a national recycling chain for fibreglass boat hulls. The meeting took place at the recent Paris Boat Show, one of the most important events in the sector, seeing some 150,000 visitors and 650 exhibitors in attendance. “We met with representatives of the ‘Association pour la Plaisance Eco-Responsable (APER)’, the French consortium for collecting and dismantling pleasure boats and watercrafts, which today represents European best practice in the sector,” said Marcello Guaiana,president of the Temporary Association of Scope implementing the REFIBER programme. Our goal is to find the convergence between our research initiative and APER’s operations, to jointly evaluate innovative technologies for recycling materials from dismantling, and solutions for replacing critical materials to improve the sustainability of these vessels.” How to decommission and manage the disposal of end-of-life pleasure crafts is a major environmental, and socio-economic, issue. To date, there is still no structured collection model in Italy to correctly manage 10-24 m boats at the end of their life. So much so that, over the last ten years, only a very small percentage of the approximately 10,000 vessels removed from the official registers have been properly managed. The aim of REFIBER is to create a hub to concentrate and exploit the flows of materials left after a boat has been decommissioned. One of these materials is fibreglass, a multi-layered material made up of plastic and glass, which accounts for the largest proportion at 60% by weight and is the most difficult to process. One management model being analysed as part of the programme is the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model, already well established in other fields. This model involves both the manufacturers and distributors from within the sector. “We want to contribute, in a coordinated way, to a harmonised development of European sector standards,” said Ivana Lazarevic, deputy director general of APER. “By working together, it will be easier to establish and share communication and awareness-raising activities with national and international stakeholders.” At this stage, the focus of the REFIBER programme is pleasure boats, but the system may be opened up to include vessels under 10 metres in the future. Francesco Di Pierro and Cveta Majtanovic of Innovando both hope that, “better mutual communication can speed up implementation of the REFIBER programme, building on APER’s many years of experience with private operators and public institutions, and sharing more good operating practices”. “In the medium term,” concluded Matilde Cecchi of Area Science Park, “we will be able to assess the optimum conditions for promoting and implementing collaborative initiatives and research projects aimed at experimenting with new technologies, to make the nautical sector more sustainable”.

The Mediterranean region warms 20% faster than other regions in the world and local authorities are at the forefront of the actions for adapting to and mitigating the multiple impacts of climate change. To this end the Urban Transports Community*, an Interreg MED Programme initiative, promotes sustainable urban mobility planning in the Euro-Mediterranean region as an effective tool to reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of life of the population and the environment. The Community has gathered together almost 200 organisations (public authorities, associations, mobility planners, universities and international organisations, amongst others) from 12 Euro-Mediterranean countries. In support of local authorities it has elaborated and published a selection of tools and solutions with the highest replicability potential. As part of the project, the Area Science Park experts have developed several reports which constitute reference guides and a scientific basis for policy makers and urban planners to develop the planning of mobility and related infrastructures. Urban mobility Adaptation to Climate Change is the topic of the latest policy brief presented on December 14th 2022 during the online event “Mediterranean cities and climate change: making the urban transport sector more resilient and less impactful”. The policy brief describes the main impacts of climate change on urban mobility, with the aim of raising awareness among policy makers, suggesting possible solutions to minimize its effects and make the mobility system more resilient to climate change. Transport infrastructures will be exposed, in the next decades, to an increasing number of new challenges from climate impacts. Panning today for the construction of new and the management of existing infrastructures will require the consideration of new environmental, climatic and socio-economic parameters and conditions with respect to those used in the past. During the project Area Science Park drafted two other technical reports. The first one focused on the analysis of technological trends relating to electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and the second one on the spread of automated vehicles in the cities. The reports are available here: https://urban-transports.interreg-med.eu/policy-briefs/ *The Urban Transports Community is featured by a project led by MedCities (Barcelona, Spain), in partnership with UNIMED Mediterranean Universities Union (Rome, Italy), Area Science Park (Trieste, Italy), CODATU (Lyon, France), CIVINET CY-EL (Cyprus-Greece), POLIS, Cities and Regions for transport innovation (Brussels, Belgium), and Durres Municipality (Durres, Albania).

Five start-ups from Friuli Venezia Giulia are getting ready to travel to Dubai for the North Star trade fair starting on 10 October. The event represents a unique opportunity for innovative start-ups and SMEs to showcase their work and boost visibility, as well as to engage in international networking. Tech companies taking to this prestigious stage will be able to present their products and services, and connect with investors and buyers. Some 100,000+ visitors are expected to attend. The five companies representing Friuli Venezia Giulia made successful bids in the “Call for High Innovative Sustainable Solutions in FVG Region” organised by UNIDO ITPO Italy and Friuli Venezia Giulia’s Regional Authorities, for which Area Science Park provided technical support. In order to ensure they present themselves in the best light, they will need to capitalise on the exclusive coaching opportunity organised by Area Science Park’s Business Generation group on 12 and 13 September, at its Padriciano campus. There will be a wide range of both theoretical and practical training sessions on offer with experts from Area Science Park: from defining a value proposition to managing legal relations, from putting together a pitch and video pitch training to how to interact with journalists, as well as sessions on managing public relations. Attendees will come away having learnt tips and tricks to attract the attention of media and investors and generate growth and business opportunities. Read on to find out more about the five start-ups representing Friuli Venezia Giulia in the United Arab Emirates. AINDO is a SISSA start-up founded in 2018 in Trieste, as part of the Innovation Factory incubator, currently based at Area Science Park. Its mission is to help the world embrace the power of artificial intelligence. In 2019, it began developing a Synthetic Data Platform which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and techniques to optimise business operations. Find out more: Aindo AI – Your AI partner NORTHERN LIGHT is an innovative start-up researching and developing recyclable composites, to address end-of-life issues associated with glass-fibre composites. The company was founded in December 2019 and launched a project that led to the creation of “ecoracer”, the world’s first recyclable, flax-fibre boat. Find out more: Northern Light Composites – Sustainable Composites NUWA TECHNOLOGIES is an innovative start-up created as part of the Innovation Factory incubator and is based at Pordenone’s tech hub. It develops innovative solutions and cloud services for the music industry. Its mission is to bring together artists and professionals from the music industry, providing them with essential tools for managing the online aspect of their work, creating a single virtual environment to meet all their needs. Find out more: Nuwa Technologies | Digital solutions for the Music Industry PICOSATS is an innovative company founded in 2014 as a spin-off of the University of Trieste. Again, it was formed within the Innovation Factory incubator and is based at Area Science Park. PICOSATS aims to make access to space faster and cheaper. It aspires to creating an interconnected world in which people can use space resources to improve society in a sustainable way. Find out more: CubeSats and small satellites: Space Technologies Solutions Picosats VISIONQUB.IT is a company made up of a multidisciplinary team of researchers and entrepreneurs, whose mission is to develop state-of-the-art systems and services for the dental and medical sector. It uses robotics and artificial intelligence to create customised solutions to suit customer needs. Find out more: VisionQub.it

Digital Innovation Hub IP4FVG’s Internet of Things (IoT) lab is based in Amaro (Udine), on the Carnia Industrial Park. The lab is home to hardware and software tools and tech including automated systems for visual product control, and sensors and data-transmission technologies for production monitoring and predictive maintenance. These are examples of “Industry 4.0” technologies, which can be used for digital transformation in business, made available to entrepreneurs, technicians and professionals, as well as university students and high-school pupils. The IoT living lab – one of four set up in the region by IP4FVG, each with a different specialisation – is the centre of activity for IP4FVG’s base in Amaro. The hub was set up in September 2018 with the founding of the “Associazione Temporanea di Scopo” [Temporary Purpose Association], which included the Carnia Industrial Park (coordinator and lead partner), Eurotech S.p.A., InAsset Srl now Retelit Group, the Regional Cluster for ICT – DITEDI, Friuli Innovazione and Area Science Park. In February 2021, they were joined by Confindustria Udine (already lead partner at Udine’s Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence IP4FVG hub). The lab in Amaro, presented today, expands the overall offer of 4.0 technologies available to entrepreneurs in the region. It has recently been added to with innovative solutions, thanks to collaborations with local universities and businesses in both the ICT and manufacturing sectors, including Gortani, Akuis, FAM, Fill in the Blanks, Video Systems, Fec Italia, and Progetto Nachste. A new site was needed to accommodate the equipment for the expanded living lab facilities and be more accessible to visitors. This is how the decision was made to set up the lab at the entrance to Amaro’s Technology Park. Having the living lab on the Carnia Industrial Park is also a way of facilitating new digitisation projects for local businesses. The aim over the coming months is to increase take-up among companies of the IP4FVG living lab facilities and to increase the number of ‘use cases’, thanks to the support already shown by numerous manufacturing companies, and collaboration with university labs. Caterina Petrillo, President of Area Science Park, commented “IP4FVG is a model that successfully implements forms of collaboration between companies, public institutions and the world of research.  Through the network of four regional hubs, IP4FVG is able to create an effective dialogue between the private and public sectors, driving the study of solutions that facilitate innovation processes in different business areas. Thanks to this opportunity to experiment with the latest technologies at the labs and work with experienced technologists, we can optimise resources and speed up the digital transformation of processes. At the IP4FVG hubs based across the region in Amaro, Trieste, Udine and San Vito al Tagliamento, the living labs showcasing innovative solutions offer companies the chance to test technology before investing in it. The site in Amaro is the ideal place to develop ‘smart mountain’ technologies that have a social and economic impact on the local area, as well as a direct return for businesses.” IP4FVG is Friuli Venezia Giulia’s Digital Innovation Hub, coordinated by the national research institution Area Science Park. The hub was set up to support the digital transformation of local enterprises. It is a strategic project within the Argo System, an initiative supported by the Italian Ministries of University and Research (MUR) and Economic Development (MISE), as well as the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Thanks to IP4FVG, four 4.0 living technology labs have been set up in the region (in Amaro, San Vito al Tagliamento, Udine and Trieste), open to companies that want to learn about and test some of the most innovative technological solutions before applying them in house.

As part of the programme of initiatives organised within the Enterprise Europe Network, Area Science Park welcomed a delegation of around 50 Austrian companies, accompanied by the Carinthian Chamber of Commerce and Advantage Austria. Companies working in the fields of energy efficiency, software development, new materials, logistics and transport, and infrastructure projects expressed interest in finding out more about Area Science Park as a driving force promoting development in the local area and beyond. Representatives from other companies based at the Park, including Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Tellus and Esteco were also in attendance. They presented their cutting-edge solutions, showcasing expertise in areas such as digitalisation and sustainable development and offering a taste of the research and innovation talent on site.   The fact that representatives from the Carinthian local government were also part of the delegation may lead to new opportunities to cooperate with Austria’s Carinthia region.       https://www.areasciencepark.it/wp-content/uploads/2022051703272307565.mp4