EIC Pathfinder Challenge: AEC digitalisation for a new triad of design, fabrication, and materials
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
This Challenge seeks to develop research and early innovations with a breakthrough potential related to design, fabrication and materials for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) value chain enabled by novel algorithms and advanced digitalization. In such a digitalized AEC value chain design, fabrication and materials are symbiotic and mutually dependent and enabling.
The potential of the digitalised, mutually interdependent, mutually reinforcing, intertwined triad of design, fabrication and materials can potentially exceed our wildest imaginations. This Challenge seeks the realisation of disruptive solutions for AEC.
Detailed Call Description
New digital technologies advance the state-of-the-art in areas such computational design, algorithmic design, physics simulation, agent-based modelling, topology optimisation, or parametric design. They can open whole new disruptive pathways of design, with higher degrees of system integration, optimisation, and complexity, if they are coupled with the parallel development of advanced digital fabrication and workflow technologies. Moreover, such digital fabrication technologies can in turn materialise such ever more complex designs, using or reusing known materials, and expectedly introducing more advanced innovative and engineered materials, including new classes of “meta-materials”.
Disruptive solutions for AEC in one or more of the following areas:
- Computational design solutions that advance the state of the art of algorithmically generated design, topology optimisation, agent-based modelling, physical simulation, digital representations such as digital twins and nature inspired design. New algorithmic design solutions may enable breakthroughs in functional integration of complex systems. These solutions may also blur boundaries of nano-scale, micro-scale, meso-scale, and macro-scale, and allow for new developments in meta-materials or bio-mimicry in terms of building structures and patterns.
- Digital fabrication solutions synchronous with a vast potential of the nearly unlimited complexity of computational design. Digital fabrication can relate to all digitally enabled manufacturing technologies, in particular to novel concepts for additive manufacturing such as new 3D printing techniques to realise the highly complex design definitions at voxel level with ever-higher resolution. Beyond advancing and further building on the known practices of layered extrusion and binder jetting, processes such as rapid liquid printing in a carrier suspension can be a promising new pathway for digital fabrication for the AEC. In addition, quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) may be enabled by new scanning technologies such as Computed Tomography (CT/ μCT) to detect defects and build a digital “as built” model, albeit at the dimensional scale and fabrication context AEC needs.
- Alternative materials as a field where the mix with digital design and digital fabrication technologies can be demonstrated by the AEC sector to vastly reduce the use of cement and its CO2 emissions in the transition to net zero. With a deeper adoption of digitalisation in design and fabrication on the potential of adopting alternative materials widens. Digital design and digital fabrication can enable a widespread adoption of bio-based materials, as for example all known and new timber derivatives, fungal architecture, bamboo, hemp, and others, natural materials such as earth, clay, stone as well as recycled and waste-based materials currently considered as inferior. By a similar token, new pathways for engineered materials can also emerge here, as for instance applications of composites and algorithmically generated “meta-materials”. The adoption of such materials allows the AEC sector to reduce or even remove carbon permanently from the atmosphere and economic cycle.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
The EIC considers proposals with an EU contribution of up to € 4 000 000 as appropriate.
In addition to funding, projects will receive tailor-made access to a wide range of Business Acceleration Services and interactions with EIC Programme Managers and other actions in the portfolio of projects selected.
Thematic Categories
- New Entrepreneurship
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
Eligibility for Participation
- Educational Institutions
- Natual person / Citizen / Individual
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to apply, your proposal must meet the general as well as possible specific eligibility requirements for this Challenge (Please see TOPIC DESCRIPTION above).
The EIC Pathfinder Challenges support collaborative or individual research and innovation from consortia or from single legal entities established in a Member State or an Associated Country. In case of a consortium your proposal must be submitted by the coordinator on behalf of the consortium. Consortia of two entities must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia of three or more entities must include as beneficiaries at least three legal entities, independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
The legal entities may for example be universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups, natural persons. In the case of single beneficiary projects, mid-caps and larger companies will not be permitted.
Your proposal will only be evaluated if it is admissible and eligible.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Persons:
George Christou
Scientific Officer
Email: gchristou@research.org.cy
Nedi Kaffa
Scientific Officer
Email: nkaffa@research.org.cy
EU Contact Point
Research Enquiry Service: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/contact/research-enquiry-service_en
EIC 2023 work programme – https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-2023-work-programme_en