//CLOSED // Text of the 1st Assessment Voucher open call 2021 edition

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We are looking for manufacturing SMEs and midcaps (i.e. companies with up to 3.000 employees) that want to improve their competitiveness by implementing Digital Twinning Technology. Our service, encapsulating assessment & guidance from certified Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH), will help them in overcoming that challenge.

Selected SMEs and midcaps will receive a detailed analysis of their situation and 3 different “recipes” from a certified DIH they choose to work with, containing the list of different technologies fitting the use case and details of an integrator willing to implement them. Both the report and the recipe are of value to the manufacturing company on their own – providing both the external, expert insights as well as a custom-tailored, ready to implement solution. Moreover, a beneficiary can use them to apply for support within the second instrument of Change2Twin – the Deployment Voucher.

Who can apply?
Manufacturing SME’s and midcaps from the EU and associated countries. Bottom-up projects should address the development and implementation of technology and systems applicable to digital twins for manufacturing with a special focus on digital twins related to additive manufacturing and IoT.

Even though you will not be asked to provide a concrete plan for implementation at this stage, the final goal of your use case must be the development and implementation of technology and systems applicable to digital twins for manufacturing.

Next call for proposals will open in 2022.

Who can apply? 

The project is aimed at manufacturing SMEs and mid-caps that are in search of finding solutions to digitise their processes and are established in the EU or other eligible countries. However, the ideal use case should be the use of digital twin technology for one or several of the following purposes: 

  • Virtual Design: Model-based system engineering, including analysis and design, ensuring that requirements are met and providing for seamless integration, test, verification and validation. 
  • Customer Engagement: Interactive display of the system and its capabilities, for customers to understand how it meets their needs and how they will use it. 
  • Commissioning: Checking the on-site implementation of a system against its design as captured in the digital twin to detect commissioning faults or anomalies. 
  • Feedback to Engineering: Capturing usage characteristics with the digital twin to inform engineering of needs to change designs, or for future designs, or of operational risks. 
  • Monitoring: Monitoring of a system’s operation by the digital twin that is then able to, e.g., detect anomalies, performance degradation, etc. 
  • Optimization & Best Quality: Process control with the digital twin to optimize a systems operation for best performance and efficiency. 
  • Scheduling: Organization of workflows based on actual data and insights provided by the digital twin. 
  • Diagnosis: Investigation of the cause or nature of a fault condition, situation, or problem in the physical system by reasoning on live data within the digital twin. 
  • Preventive Maintenance: Maintenance and service of a physical system that lessens the likelihood of failures based on the observed and inferred system state as visible in the digital twin. 
  • Smart Logistics: Logistic processes that adapt to live data of needs and options as visible in the digital twin. 
  • Smart Systems: Systems that adapt to their dynamic environment, state, or tasks and potentially learn how to do that best. The digital twin is then a core part of the system’s control. 

When can you apply?
The first open call was launched on 28 January 2021 (closed on 29 March 2021) and the second open call is scheduled to open in June 2022. Join our community and follow us on LinkedIn for updates on these dates.

What’s in it for SMEs?
You will get a lump sum of up to 10.000 € to use with a certified DIH of your choice in order to get a detailed assessment of your current situation and 3 different “recipes” for implementation selecting the best components and providers.

What are the next steps:

For the time the call is open, applicants can access a dedicated Help Desk at FundingBox Spaces Platforms, an easy Guide for Applicants and a Frequently Asked Questions document created ad hoc. A supporting webinar, organised by the project partnership will take place to assist the interested SMEs and mid-caps to make the best out of their application.  

Still have questions?
If you still have doubts, go to the Change2Twin Help Desk Community or contact opencalls@change2twin.eu