Case studies

Backed by Eureka, a Spanish paper and packaging company and a large Austrian company developed a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly solution to meet growing demand for white-grade top-coated paper. 

With demand for recycled paper materials outstripping supply, the quality was suffering. Specifically, Saica had to find a cost-effective solution to produce higher-grade corrugated cases and testliners on which essential information could be printed. They also needed to avoid relying on bleaching to get that familiar white “quality” look. 

After intensive R&D, Saica introduced its pioneering “Infinite” line of corrugated containerboard. Made from 100% recycled fibre, it offers higher brightness, whiteness and colour intensity and better print quality. It is thus ideal for modern packaging that needs to be both durable and appealing, with colourful printed graphics and texts that are easy to read. 

Project funded by: CDTI (Germany), FFG (Austria)

Through pioneering algorithmic analysis, a consortium of Dutch and Danish SMEs and a university developed software that uses AI to detect the signs and progression of dementia in a patient’s MRI scans.

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is shrinkage of brain tissue, especially around the hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with the consolidation of short- and long-term memory. Understanding how the volume of the hippocampus changes as the disease advances could help with detection and prognosis.

However, each hospital has different MRI scanners, imaging processes and software. The consortium developed software that would work in all settings and still produce accurate results. Moreover, the AI system was trained to ensure an accuracy that’s comparable to human beings.

Project funded by: Innovation Fund (Denmark), RVO (The Netherlands)

This project led to the development of new imaging procedures, supporting devices and an integrated architecture covering all the procedural steps (from diagnosis to post-operation follow-up and decision-support) for image-guided interventions in cardiology, oncology and orthopaedics.

Operating theatres and hospital rooms for minimally-invasive, image-guided surgery are often crammed with equipment from different manufacturers. Medical staff frequently struggle to keep up with all the different training and protocols necessary.

The newly developed integrated systems save time and help staff to concentrate on the task at hand. For example, staff no longer have to continually re-enter patient names and monitor multiple displays via different user interfaces.

An international partnership developed a system that captures and reroutes energy from car exhaust gases back to the vehicle, cutting fuel use by 5-10%. Current petrol or diesel cars use electricity produced by an alternator to power systems such as air conditioning, entertainment and door locks. This inefficient process requires a three-way conversion of chemical energy (the fuel) into mechanical energy (the alternator) and then into electric energy. Czech, Slovenian and UK partners in the VEMS project channelled unused “waste” energy contained in combustion engine exhaust fumes directly back to the alternator, producing additional electricity to boost vehicle power when needed.

The VEMS system, which was tested in a Skoda Fabia 1.0 TSI, is remarkably simple in its design, being partly based on existing technologies. It is intended for use in passenger cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles, and is already being used in race cars.

Project funded by Czech Republic Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Slovenian Ministry of Economic development and technology, and Innovate UK

The project consortium of UK and Norwegian large companies and a UK SME delivered a series of promising results and innovations that look set to increase investor confidence in tidal turbine systems among utilities providers, project developers and financial institutions.

Tidal energy is considered a promising renewable energy technology. However, it faces deployment and financial challenges. Reliability of turbines is particularly crucial, as they need to perform for long periods without intervention.
Using a purpose-built onshore tidal turbine test rig, the project partners developed and proved a series of innovations designed to improve the performance and reliability of a turbine. These included improvements to the cooling system, the introduction of comprehensive condition monitoring equipment, and the introduction of redundancy in the electrical and control systems.

Project funded by: Innovate UK, Research Council Norway

A transatlantic collaboration between Canadian and French companies has resulted in an innovative search engine that responds to shapes rather than text. 10-15% of parts used by designers and manufacturers are duplicates or close duplicates and “new” parts are unnecessarily created because of the time it takes to search in a CAD portal. 3DPartFinder helps designers and manufacturers search for parts, reducing costs and accelerating production. To search, input a model and the search engine displays more than 100 million unique results in 3D in under seven seconds. The application is implemented in a CAD portal for users around the world.

Eureka brought complementary skills together, giving the partners a competitive advantage that resulted in multi-million euro benefits. The project partners are developing an interface for the search engine to work with any component manufacturer, CAD portal or database, and they hope to extend the search engine’s capabilities in other fields.

Funded by Bpifrance and the National Research Council

The Blockchain PISC project involved close collaboration between Swiss and Canadian SMEs. They coordinated their research efforts, exchanged development experiences and opened access to their respective products and services in new global markets. The new technologies developed have since seen commercial success. 

Ensuring that privacy, identity, security and compliance (PISC) issues in new digital currencies (such as Bitcoin) are fully compatible with global financial systems is key to the integration and expansion of these new forms of financial asset. This Eureka project developed an intelligent software that can analyse big data on blockchain markets to ensure the correct identification of customers and end-users. At the same time, it enables the private nature of transactions to be preserved. 

Project funded by: CNRC-NRC (Canada), SERI (Switzerland) 

A data-driven platform created by a collaboration of a French startup and French and German universities has increased the speed and accuracy of repairs and maintenance of low-carbon energy technologies like wind turbines. These technologies are increasingly complex and the knowledge to service and repair it highly sophisticated (70% of technicians first try an unsuccessful approach), hiking up the costs of maintenance.

Know.Right.Now is an algorithm-powered personalised knowledge tool that uses “case-based reasoning (CBS)”, presenting solutions for a repair adapted from previously successful methods. This accumulated knowledge is offered to technicians dynamically, which results in faster and more accurate diagnoses and reduces the downtime of the equipment and cost of repairs.

With its prestige enhanced by EUROGIA, the tech is now being used by industry giants including Airbus, ABB, Repower and Bosch Thermotechnik, and Kiolis has grown from a startup into a credible market player.

Project funded by Bpifrance and BMBF