Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PHOMETAPAN (PHOMETAPAN- Meta-materials for Green High-Performance Soundproofing)
Reporting period: 2019-12-01 to 2020-05-31
The sound insulation products are employed in several sectors:
1.industrial sector: soundproof cabins for the abatement of noise emissions from large machineries, such as chillers or industrial plants;
2.construction sector: sound-insulating elements for civil and industrial buildings.
In all sectors, two major market needs are emerging and the problem/issues to be addressed are:
1.products with high-performance in terms of sound insulation, due to the regulatory trend in introducing strict regulations in the European countries and the increased awareness among the population about all the acoustic-related health damages;
2.products with a low environmental impact
3.lower thickness and mass for the products, for easy installations also in old buildings avoiding additional loads on the structures.
It is possible to identify two sectors with respect to which this project has important social positive consequences:
-Safety in the workplace. The noise-induced hearing loss still remains the main disease of professional origin registered in Italy in recent years, especially in the industrial sector. According to an Inail study (dating back to 2005), in fact, the hearing loss and deafness accounted for 32% of the reported occupational diseases and 42% of the reimbursements, that is the indemnified cases and those defined positive without compensation. The use of high-performance soundproofing technologies, especially for high frequencies, like the product presented, is fundamental for the reduction of damage due to noise pollution.
-Health. Noise pollution is connected to a wide spectrum of health problems: acute and chronic hearing loss, sleep disturbance; fatigue and reduced performance, especially in learning; feeling sick; cardiocirculatory diseases and hypertension; increase in aggressive behavior and mood swings.
The objective of the project are here summarized:
1.Technical aspects: feasibility and viability study of the Phononic Meta-Panel industrialization through injection moulding exploiting recycled plastics as compound; the use of injection moulding is fundamental to reach the target cost to enter the aforementioned market.
2.Business aspects, comprising:
•detailed study of the European and Global market of the existing sound insulation products: starting from available data on the Italian market, the goal is to extend it at a European and Global level, studying the market sizes, the main future trends, the growth rate, opportunities, profitability and segmentation;
•identification of the key stakeholders (regulators, associations, company networks, main competitors, institutions, research centres) and definition of the best sales and commercialization strategy for the market.
3.Commercial aspects, comprising:
•definition of the certification framework to be carried out in order the products to be sold in EU and globally: this research will comprise both the certifications associated with the employed materials in the different markets (e.g. fire safety, durability, mechanical properties) and the ones associated with the product (i.e. quality assurance, environmental impact);
•check of possible legal barriers to enter the market: the freedom to operate will be studied first in the European market, as it will be the first one to be approached; then the FTO study will be extended to other key countries for the commercialization, such as China and US.
1.industrial sector: soundproof cabins for the abatement of noise emissions from large machineries, such as chillers or industrial plants;
2.construction sector: sound-insulating elements for civil and industrial buildings.
In all sectors, two major market needs are emerging and the problem/issues to be addressed are:
1.products with high-performance in terms of sound insulation, due to the regulatory trend in introducing strict regulations in the European countries and the increased awareness among the population about all the acoustic-related health damages;
2.products with a low environmental impact
3.lower thickness and mass for the products, for easy installations also in old buildings avoiding additional loads on the structures.
It is possible to identify two sectors with respect to which this project has important social positive consequences:
-Safety in the workplace. The noise-induced hearing loss still remains the main disease of professional origin registered in Italy in recent years, especially in the industrial sector. According to an Inail study (dating back to 2005), in fact, the hearing loss and deafness accounted for 32% of the reported occupational diseases and 42% of the reimbursements, that is the indemnified cases and those defined positive without compensation. The use of high-performance soundproofing technologies, especially for high frequencies, like the product presented, is fundamental for the reduction of damage due to noise pollution.
-Health. Noise pollution is connected to a wide spectrum of health problems: acute and chronic hearing loss, sleep disturbance; fatigue and reduced performance, especially in learning; feeling sick; cardiocirculatory diseases and hypertension; increase in aggressive behavior and mood swings.
The objective of the project are here summarized:
1.Technical aspects: feasibility and viability study of the Phononic Meta-Panel industrialization through injection moulding exploiting recycled plastics as compound; the use of injection moulding is fundamental to reach the target cost to enter the aforementioned market.
2.Business aspects, comprising:
•detailed study of the European and Global market of the existing sound insulation products: starting from available data on the Italian market, the goal is to extend it at a European and Global level, studying the market sizes, the main future trends, the growth rate, opportunities, profitability and segmentation;
•identification of the key stakeholders (regulators, associations, company networks, main competitors, institutions, research centres) and definition of the best sales and commercialization strategy for the market.
3.Commercial aspects, comprising:
•definition of the certification framework to be carried out in order the products to be sold in EU and globally: this research will comprise both the certifications associated with the employed materials in the different markets (e.g. fire safety, durability, mechanical properties) and the ones associated with the product (i.e. quality assurance, environmental impact);
•check of possible legal barriers to enter the market: the freedom to operate will be studied first in the European market, as it will be the first one to be approached; then the FTO study will be extended to other key countries for the commercialization, such as China and US.
The project lasted 6 months: 5 months has been devoted to carry out the technical feasibility, market study and certification/IP strategy, in the last month the business model and feasibility report has been prepared.
Tasks included:
1. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY
1.1. Injection moulding feasibility study: viability of using injection moulding of plastics for production and optimize the product to make it producible and choose of the better recycled plastics
1.2. Design-to-cost: feasibility study of optimizing the product for injection moulding, with the aim of reducing the final manufacturing cost.
2. MARKET STUDY
2.1. European market study: market study of the European sound insulation market, including stakeholders, main competitors, potential clients, market size, best strategy to enter the market;
2.2. Global market study: market study of the Global sound insulation market, including stakeholders, main competitors, potential clients, market size in order to select the key factors needed to extend the market and widen the applications;
3. CERTIFICATION AND IP FRAMEWORK
3.1. IP strategy: consultancy for the extension of the PCT patents in other countries
3.2. Certification framework study: consultancy for the definition of the certifications needed to commercialize the product, both in terms of raw material employed and of the products to be sold in the selected markets;
4. FEASIBILITY REPORT + BUSINESS PLAN
4.1. Summary and critical analysis of all the findings of the study, both in terms of technical, commercial and business aspects;
4.2. Writing of a detailed business plan, taking into account the aforementioned feasibility report.
The following results have been achieved:
• reduction of number of moulds from 2 to 1, with subsequent reduction of initial investment by 50%;
• removal of the glueing process, leading to a reduction of costs in the whole manufacturing cost by 10%;
• reduction of the core thicknesses, leading to a subsequent saving in moulding time required to cool down each piece by 20%.
Tasks included:
1. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY
1.1. Injection moulding feasibility study: viability of using injection moulding of plastics for production and optimize the product to make it producible and choose of the better recycled plastics
1.2. Design-to-cost: feasibility study of optimizing the product for injection moulding, with the aim of reducing the final manufacturing cost.
2. MARKET STUDY
2.1. European market study: market study of the European sound insulation market, including stakeholders, main competitors, potential clients, market size, best strategy to enter the market;
2.2. Global market study: market study of the Global sound insulation market, including stakeholders, main competitors, potential clients, market size in order to select the key factors needed to extend the market and widen the applications;
3. CERTIFICATION AND IP FRAMEWORK
3.1. IP strategy: consultancy for the extension of the PCT patents in other countries
3.2. Certification framework study: consultancy for the definition of the certifications needed to commercialize the product, both in terms of raw material employed and of the products to be sold in the selected markets;
4. FEASIBILITY REPORT + BUSINESS PLAN
4.1. Summary and critical analysis of all the findings of the study, both in terms of technical, commercial and business aspects;
4.2. Writing of a detailed business plan, taking into account the aforementioned feasibility report.
The following results have been achieved:
• reduction of number of moulds from 2 to 1, with subsequent reduction of initial investment by 50%;
• removal of the glueing process, leading to a reduction of costs in the whole manufacturing cost by 10%;
• reduction of the core thicknesses, leading to a subsequent saving in moulding time required to cool down each piece by 20%.
State of the art
Nowadays, to achieve high sound insulation performances, all the products on the market, based on traditional sound insulation technologies, are characterized by:
• significant surface mass, i.e. made of high-density materials;
• significant thickness, as multi-layers’ panels are beneficial for the performances.
These requirements are needed since sound isolation closely depends on the physical properties of the raw material. Therefore, the performances of the products employed in this market are highly material-dependent and, thus, no high performance environmental-friendly, i.e. made of recycled materials, solutions can be exploited.
The innovation: phononic meta-panels
The project aims at introducing a new technology based on meta-materials, which include all those materials that, thanks to an appropriate design and functionalization of the topology, allow to achieve specific physical characteristics and performances greater than those of the raw material available in nature. These properties do not depend, therefore, on the microscopic and molecular nature of the constituent materials but only on the final geometry and topology.
Among these, phononic crystals are made of the repetition of a unit cell, which is optimized in order to maximize sound insulation. The company aims at developing and industrializing the so-called “Phononic Meta-Panels”, i.e. which are formed by the periodic repetition of the unit cell, whose fundamental geometry has been developed through research carried by the founders at Politecnico di Milano and MIT Boston.
Socio-economic impact
The project has the following social impacts:
• health: introduction of a technology which aims at improving the life in workplaces by decreasing the acoustic impacts on workers;
• sustainability: the technology allows to substitute traditional acoustic materials with recycled materials;
• allows a technology developed in the university network to become products and have impact on everyday life.
Nowadays, to achieve high sound insulation performances, all the products on the market, based on traditional sound insulation technologies, are characterized by:
• significant surface mass, i.e. made of high-density materials;
• significant thickness, as multi-layers’ panels are beneficial for the performances.
These requirements are needed since sound isolation closely depends on the physical properties of the raw material. Therefore, the performances of the products employed in this market are highly material-dependent and, thus, no high performance environmental-friendly, i.e. made of recycled materials, solutions can be exploited.
The innovation: phononic meta-panels
The project aims at introducing a new technology based on meta-materials, which include all those materials that, thanks to an appropriate design and functionalization of the topology, allow to achieve specific physical characteristics and performances greater than those of the raw material available in nature. These properties do not depend, therefore, on the microscopic and molecular nature of the constituent materials but only on the final geometry and topology.
Among these, phononic crystals are made of the repetition of a unit cell, which is optimized in order to maximize sound insulation. The company aims at developing and industrializing the so-called “Phononic Meta-Panels”, i.e. which are formed by the periodic repetition of the unit cell, whose fundamental geometry has been developed through research carried by the founders at Politecnico di Milano and MIT Boston.
Socio-economic impact
The project has the following social impacts:
• health: introduction of a technology which aims at improving the life in workplaces by decreasing the acoustic impacts on workers;
• sustainability: the technology allows to substitute traditional acoustic materials with recycled materials;
• allows a technology developed in the university network to become products and have impact on everyday life.