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WeldGalaxy Announces Second Round of Open Calls

Tue, 16 February, 2021

WeldGalaxy second Open Call will fund and support arc welding innovations!

After the success of the first Open Call launched in 2020 in which 10 innovative arc welding projects were selected, WeldGalaxy opens again the opportunity to get into its unique support programme for arc welding innovators. SMEs and Mid-Cap companies that are developing efficient, cost-effective and innovative arc welding equipment, consumables and processes are invited to apply through an online application form until 29 April 2021.

Arc Welding challenges to overcome

The arc welding industry is now facing significant challenges to remain competitive. Denser regulations (in particular related to Health, Safety and Environmental issues) as well as fewer skilled welders call for more mechanised and automated solutions that offer improved quality and productivity and that take into account the impact on the environment.

This is why the WeldGalaxy Open Call is focused on five main technical challenges that the sector has to overcome and which applicants should refer to:

  • Life cycle analysis (LCA)
  • Innovations to support Health, Safety and Environment
  • Innovations in intelligent and flexible arc welding robotics
  • Innovations to improve arc welding productivity and quality
  • Manufacturing systems and tools that support “plug and produce” manufacturing of welding equipment.

After the first open call that closed in May 2020, 10 innovative arc welding projects have been selected out of 34 submitted applications. The activity range of the pilots’ was impressive and focused mostly on sensors and robotics. All 10 pilots are currently part of the first Support Programme that will end in March 2021.

Second Open Call: Applicants’ profile

Proposals can be submitted by a single applicant or by a consortium of two or more entities. In any case, proposals must include at least one SME or Mid-Cap.

The pilots applying as a consortia may be composed of a combination of the following types of applicants who are registered either in a European Union country, in an Associated country in Horizon 2020 or the United Kingdom:

  • Production equipment suppliers: Manufacturing SMEs or Mid-Caps that provide production equipment, technology and services.
  • Technology suppliers and/or System Integrators: SMEs and Midcaps that can offer additional application(s) or service(s) on top of the WeldGalaxy platform.
  • End-users: SMEs/MidCaps that use welding as a means of joining materials in a fabrication process.

What are the benefits?

For equipment and technology suppliers: the technology will be tested and upgraded by at least one Technology Readiness Level. End-users, on the other hand, will benefit from the implementation of arc welding technology taking into account their specific operational needs.

The selected pilots will take part in an exclusive 6-month WeldGalaxy Support Programme which includes:

  • Up to €100,000 funding per pilot
  • Technical support provided by industry experts from TWI (The Welding Institute)
  • Business Mentoring led by Fundingbox
  • A WeldGalaxy platform account
  • Media exposure
  • Access to private and public funding

Pilots should submit all the information online, through the application form that can be found on the application website: https://weldgalaxy-opencall.fundingbox.com/.

The deadline to apply is 29 April 2021 at 17:00 CEST.

Full assistance is provided to all interested applicants by The WeldGalaxy Open Call team:

About WeldGalaxy:

The WeldGalaxy project, funded under the Horizon 2020 European Union research and innovation funding programme and led by The Welding Institute (TWI), will boost the welding industry by creating an online B2B marketplace that intends to make the European arc welding sector more competitive. It aims to:

  • Increase the visibility of EU manufacturers in front of global users of equipment
  • Support the digitalisation of manufacturing
  • Enhance experimentation and market uptake of off-the-shelf prototypes developed by SMEs in European countries.
  • Boost European competitiveness and market share in welding equipment, consumables and services.

The WeldGalaxy consortium is led by TWI and is made up of 11 partners from 8 countries (United Kingdom, France, Poland, Spain, Israel, Norway, Romania, Sweden). WeldGalaxy gathers a constellation of top players with complementary expertise: Welding technology, engineering knowledge analytics and modelling, web platform and databases, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and open call management.

About the WeldGalaxy platform:

The WeldGalaxy is a B2B online knowledge based platform that connects end-users with arc welding equipment and consumables manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and technology providers.

The platform incorporates a Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) tool which relies on the TWI legacy data to streamline equipment selection process for end-users, and allows “plug and produce” digital manufacturing of the right equipment following the businesses’ requirements.

On the other hand, the platform will connect the European welding industry to a digital single market using Distributed Ledger technology (DLT) to allow updates to be implemented from across the array of users.

For more information on the open call, please contact weldgalaxy.help@fundingbox.com.