NEORION

PROJECT ACRONYM

NEORION

PROGRAMME

Interreg ADRION Programme

http://www.adrioninterreg.eu/

TITLE

Promotion of green maritime technologies and new materials to enhance sustainable shipbuilding in Adriatic Ionian Region

 DURATION

01/01/2018 - 31/12/2019 (24 months)

PROJECT TOTAL BUDGET

1,176,925.00 €

PPA SA BUDGET

135,535.00 €

FUNDING

100% (85% ERDF & 15% NATIONAL FUNDS)

PROJECT WEBSITE

https://neorion.adrioninterreg.eu/

PROJECT SUMMARY

The maritime industry has always been a key economic sector in Adriatic Ionian Region, providing thousands of high skilled jobs and opportunities for SMEs and larger enterprises such as shipyards. These days the shipbuilding industry in Europe faces fierce competition coming mainly from Turkey, S. Korea and China, where shipbuilding capacity has grown exponentially. Ship construction has also been deeply affected by the lack of effective trade rules at global level and the absence of investment initiatives. The collapse in demand since 2008 had a severe impact on employment in this sector as well.

NEORION aims at establishing a transnational Cluster in the Adriatic-Ionian on Green Shipbuilding that will accelerate both the cooperation of key actors & innovation in the industry. NEORION is expected to reinforce the traditional shipbuilding sector through coordinated efforts that will facilitate the exploitation of innovative technologies and technology transfer between new complementary markets such as new materials & specialized vessels.

As main outputs, the project aims at enhancing the innovation capacity of the sector, creating a sustainable shipbuilding ADRION cluster, developing tools to favor the cooperation of SMEs with research institutions and provide action plans to both foster economic growth of the sector and benefit the regional business ecosystem, through actions targeted to and initiated by representatives of the Quadruple Helix.

NEORION aims at exploiting joint assets of the participating countries to eventually create a transnational innovation system for Green Shipbuilding. We argue that since Shipbuilding constitutes a major sector of EU’s Blue Growth Strategy, transnational cooperation is needed to boost the performance & accelerate the EU market towards new & innovative ones. Expected impact is the creation of an ADRION Cluster that will maximize growth potential, synergies & the diversification of the Shipbuilding market.

PROJECT AIMS

• The project aims to facilitate the market uptake of research and innovation and push Green Shipbuilding sector towards new and rising markets
• The project aims at capitalizing on the existing experience and expertise of the sector and multiplying it by establishing a transnational Green Shipbuilding Cluster that will offer a consolidated mix of support services to all relevant stakeholders
• The project aims to set the vision of Green Shipbuilding in the region by promoting industrial involvement, supportive policy and financial framework

PROJECT RESULTS

In order to increase the level of capacity of key actors to be effectively involved in transnational actions for the development of a regional Innovation system in Green Shipbuilding, NEORION will improve the capacity of enterprises to build effective links with technology providers, enhance the transnational cooperation of key actors by developing a cluster and shape the dialogue among business, research and policy actors in the region. More specifically, the project will enhance the commercial exploitation of research and innovation competencies across the integrated value chain, identify new markets and foster competitiveness through technological innovation. Innovation through R&D can allow the industry to generate export opportunities and ensure that the EU can maintain its industrial leadership.

NEORION addresses the above mentioned challenges by engaging actors from the various fields involved, in order to play a facilitating and coordinating role in the exploitation of these emerging technologies.

Furthermore, we anticipate a significant increase of transnational cooperation amongst maritime networks and Clusters in Shipbuilding by providing support services increasing SMEs’ innovation capacities and generate the critical mass that is necessary for the deployment of this emerging technology in the industry. More specifically with regard to SMEs, the Cluster will support them to identify opportunities for diversification of their products, identification of new markets and trends, cooperation with companies that operate on supplementary products and joint R&D activities.

Finally, NEORION will result in the accelerated deployment of green solutions in maritime industries by engaging private, government and social sector. The project is expected to ensure that a robust shipbuilding industry can revitalize abandoned shipyards, and improve the economies of coastal and insular communities.

PROJECT PARTNERS

Lead Partner: University of the Aegean

– Department of Shipping, Tradeand Transport (UAEGEAN), Greece

PP2: Chamber of Commerce Industry Crafts and Agriculture of Venice Rovigo Delta-Lagunare

PP3: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE - ITALIAN NAVY

PP4: Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Department of Industrial Engineering

PP5: Piraeus Port Authority S.A

PP6: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering

PP7: Brodarski institute Ltd, Maritime Technology Department

PP8: Technology Park Ljubljana Ltd.