Events

The next Vanguard Initiative 3D Printing Pilot Business Innovators Meeting (BIM) will take place online on the 9th of April 2024, from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm.

As usual, the event will offer opportunities to any organisations located in the pilot's 30 members regions to pitch expertise and needs in targeted strategic areas, towards generating connections and projects. If you are interested, please refer to the Call for Pitches detailed below.

3DP Business Innovators Meeting Call for Pitches 

Are you interested in making a short (approximately 10 min.) presentation, showcasing expertise/services, leading to new connections and projects potentially generated? If so, express (and describe) here your interest in making a short pitch, and put forward, during our event:

• (Some) expertise/solutions/projects of your organisation, in the field of Advanced Manufacturing, 3DP in particular.
• The type of organisations and/or associated expertise/services you are looking for outside your own organisation (in order to realise strategic ambitions, or a dedicated/specific project).

N.B.: Such call for presentations is open to any organisations (companies (end users or technology providers), facility centres, etc.) willing to either 1) request for specific 3DP printing expertise (e.g. end-users, technology providers in other technology fields willing to team up with 3DP actors) or 2) offer 3DP expertise and looking for users/partners. Please fill in the form asap and by 25th of March 2024. Organisations must be located in one of the 3DP pilot's members regions*.

For this edition, two new features should facilitate the generation of direct opportunities:

Signify pitching session

Among the various pitching sessions that will be organised, one of them will be framed based on specific needs expressed by the world leader in lighting: Signify.

Signify is looking for partners to co-develop and innovate in the scope of mass production of lighting solutions !

Do you have expertise/ideas associated to the challenges expressed below by Signify (world leader in lighting) ? Please contact Jean-François Romainville and contribute to a matchmaking session during the upcoming BIM  !

• Signify can currently mass produce (consumer and professional) lighting via 3D printing, with a global scale (NAM - EU - AU) deployment.
• Their main source of material is polycarbonate, for durability - weight and approbation (lighting related) reasons.
  • Signify is interested in discovering other materials or materials that have a higher recycled content (currently: 55% bio circular or 65% post-industrial in our used filament)
• Taking into account the speed, volume and automation requirements they have for mass production to roughly 800x800x800mm, they would also like to expand this towards 1200 mm
  • Signify is interested in discovering possible innovative solutions to expand mass production towards 1200 mm 

VInnovate Open Call 2024

The VInnovate Open Call 2024 is expected to be launched on the 8th of May and to be closed on 30th of October. VInnovate, the new Vanguard Initiative Funding Mechanism, will provide grants opportunities for interregional demonstration projects. While the Call is not open yet, and while formal confirmations still have to follow, it is already possible to anticipate ahead of the opening of the call.

In particular, for SMEs located in VInnovate 2024 participating regions (see list at the bottom of the page), delivering a pitch on the 09.04.2024 and putting forward a possible interregional project idea (TRL6-8) can potentially be a first step towards elaborating a relevant proposal.

More information will follow very soon regarding VInnovate.

List of VI 3DP Pilot member regions

Aragon, Asturias, Autonomous Province of Trento/Trentino, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Cantabria, Catalonia, East-Netherlands, East and North Finland, Emilia Romagna, Flanders, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Gävleborg, Lombardia, Lower Austria, Lower Saxony, Malopolska, Norte, North Rhine-Westphalia, Orebro, Pays de la Loire, Piemonte, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Slovenia, South Netherlands, Värmland, Wallonia.

Regional participation in VInnovate Open Call 2024 (TBC)

At this point, the following regions are expected to participate in Open Call 2024: East NL, South NL (Brabant), Lower Austria, Lower Saxony, Flanders, Emilia-Romagna, Wallonia, Wales, Galicia, North East Romania.

In addition to this list, the following regions are still investigating the possibility to participate in the Open Call 2024: Baden-Wurttemberg, Norte, Slovenia, Lombardy.

Pitching ‘rules’ - For members and several presentations possible !  

• Organisations can potentially (first come, first served) prepare two presentations (provided that the content of these presentations is different): one for ‘Signify-focused’ session, one for another session.
• Organisations that already presented during one of our previous Business Innovators Meetings can do another presentation. In this case, these organisations should focus on other expertise/needs compared to the ones already presented (specific projects in mind? Specific cooperation opportunities to put forward? Etc.) At the start of the next BIM, we will report/present a brief overview of all presentations made.

Please contact Jean-François Romainville if you have any questions.