Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ICARUS-SW (Icarus Software)
Reporting period: 2019-05-01 to 2020-04-30
ICARUS-SW is an innovative and mathematical tool able to describe the grain boundaries of materials and to predict the thermal stability of nanostructured alloys. So far, there is no other commercial CALPHAD software product available that is able to relate precisely the grain boundary to material properties and subsequently allows the description of the thermodynamics of nanomaterials. ICARUS-SW enables the material research, development and design community to more quickly explore, identify and design new thermodynamically stable multicomponent nanocrystalline metal alloys with enhanced thermal, mechanical and irradiation damage self-healing properties. However, ICARUS-SW will not only be relevant for nanocrystalline materials, but also for all applications where the surface is important (e.g. coatings, thing films, catalysts). Overall, ICARUS-SW will pave the way for the design and production of new families of materials with unprecedented properties and performances.
The underlying theoretical model of ICARUS-SW was developed in the linked ICARUS project and refers currently to a technology readiness level of approximately 3. Since exploitation and dissemination activities were not addressed within the linked project, ICARUS-SW had the objectives to develop and implement 1) an exploitation strategy, 2) an IPR strategy, 3) an accompanying dissemination strategy and 4) overall, to move ICARUS-SW from TRL 3 onwards.
The underlying theoretical model of ICARUS-SW was developed in the linked ICARUS project and refers currently to a technology readiness level of approximately 3. Since exploitation and dissemination activities were not addressed within the linked project, ICARUS-SW had the objectives to develop and implement 1) an exploitation strategy, 2) an IPR strategy, 3) an accompanying dissemination strategy and 4) overall, to move ICARUS-SW from TRL 3 onwards.
During the one-year project lifetime of ICARUS-SW the economic feasibility was assessed as well as competitors in the field of thermodynamic SW-tools, drivers & barriers and needs & requirements from potential users were analysed. Therefore, a comprehensive desk research, a workshop as well as 27 qualitative-explorative interviews were conducted. Identified potential users of ICARUS-SW solution can be attributed to three different user categories: 1) universities/academia, 2) supranational organizations and 3) industry/companies. Users from these categories can be employed in the sectors of aerospace, automotive engineering, coating and surface technologies, electronics, energy industry, materials science and tools. There are four different types of drivers & barriers for potential ICARUS-SW users: 1) technical drivers (e.g. interfaces to other SW-programs) & barriers (e.g. limitation to binary systems), 2) product drivers (e.g. user-friendliness) & barriers (e.g. difficult commands for calculations), 3) operational drivers (e.g. free test versions) & barriers (e.g. maintenance only for new SW versions) and 4) economic drivers & barriers (e.g. licensing costs). These analysed drivers & barriers are of utmost importance for the advancement of ICARUS-SW. In addition to that, needs & requirements of potential users such as regularly and well-functioning support, a robust tool with short response time capable of addressing uncertainties, accuracy of databases, interfaces to other SW-tools or specific requirements like the inclusion of materials that are (partly) in microscale are crucial for a successful market introduction of ICARUS-SW. Besides that, it is important to know about significant internal resources and capabilities and the external market situation (i.e. competitors). Therefore, a SWOT analysis has been conducted, which shows major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. To maximize the potential impact of the project results, a tailored dissemination strategy, using an efficient and effective mix of interpersonal and mass communication tools including scientific publications, conferences, workshops, trade fairs and other events, word-of-mouth recommendation, online presence (through website and Social Media), face-to-face discussions and videos, was established. An IPR strategy outlines the protection under proprietary, free and open source licenses which are all options for selling ICARUS-SW as add-on or module in an already existing portfolio of an experienced software house. The final type of licensing will depend on the future cooperation partner. Finally, all the results gathered during the project were summarized and incorporated within the final exploitation strategy. This final exploitation strategy also includes a Value Chain Analysis showing all primary and supporting activities of ICARUS-SW as well as a cost calculation demonstrating possible future royalties of about 1.6 Mio. EUR for ICARUS-SW if a proprietary licensing approach will be chosen. Moreover, it could be shown that there are about 11,300 potential ICARUS-SW users worldwide. Assuming a licensing fee of 10k EUR per perpetual industry license and 5k EUR per perpetual university license this results in a total addressable market of 100 Mio. EUR worldwide. Since it was assumed that about 5% of these potential users will actually buy the ICARUS-SW program, the share of market of ICARUS-SW is about 5 Mio. EUR. Finally, a Business Plan Lean Canvas visualizes the business model of ICARUS-SW.
So far, scientists have been unable to predict the performance of nanocrystalline materials. Now, thanks to the innovative approach of ICARAUS-SW, grain boundaries of materials can be taken into consideration precisely. This will pave the way towards describing and analysing thermodynamically stable nanocrystalline alloys, but also to applications where the surface is of importance.
ICARUS-SW will focus the experimental trials to the most promising combinations of elements and therefore saves time to market (30%) and development costs (20%). Furthermore, when finding novel alloys becomes easier, this will support the substitution of critical raw materials in applications across all industries. The society will benefit from an improved path to innovations across the related industries and an increased competitiveness of the European materials industry, reducing the external dependence. Since the development of a new nc alloy requires a large amount of experiments, there will be a large investment in economic and human resources. New, specialized job positions will arise linked to software operation. For the development, operation, dissemination and maintenance of the software 10 new jobs are expected to be created at the involved parties alone. During the interviews with prospective partners (existing SW houses), potential users and further relevant stakeholders an open and proactive mind-set towards exploitation of the ICARUS-SW innovation was already stimulated and supported.
ICARUS-SW will focus the experimental trials to the most promising combinations of elements and therefore saves time to market (30%) and development costs (20%). Furthermore, when finding novel alloys becomes easier, this will support the substitution of critical raw materials in applications across all industries. The society will benefit from an improved path to innovations across the related industries and an increased competitiveness of the European materials industry, reducing the external dependence. Since the development of a new nc alloy requires a large amount of experiments, there will be a large investment in economic and human resources. New, specialized job positions will arise linked to software operation. For the development, operation, dissemination and maintenance of the software 10 new jobs are expected to be created at the involved parties alone. During the interviews with prospective partners (existing SW houses), potential users and further relevant stakeholders an open and proactive mind-set towards exploitation of the ICARUS-SW innovation was already stimulated and supported.