• The Packaging Cluster has presented 5 project proposals to the AEI in the call for aid from the Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo in 2021, established to improve the competitiveness of SMEs
• The proposals group an estimated budget of € 1,000,000, bringing together 5 relevant sectors and 20 key players from the innovative business ecosystem of the entire state
• The aid program stimulates the digital transformation of the industry with 8,000,000 euros to disruptive projects that develop innovative activities

On April 9, the deadline for submitting initiatives to the aid program for Agrupaciones Empresariales Innovadoras (AEI) of the Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo concluded, the one which has a budget of € 8,000,000 for projects that improve the competitiveness of SMEs by promoting Connected Industry 4.0. On this occasion, the Packaging Cluster has presented 5 project proposals, with a budget of about 1,000,000 euros and a requested subsidy of more than € 459,000, about 50% of the total.

During the development of the proposals, the involvement of 20 key actors of the most disruptive and innovative panorama has been structured, with 12 entities associated with the cluster and 5 sectors connected to each other, based on the axis of collaboration and research: food, wine, childhood, HORECA (hotels, restaurants and cafeterias) and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies):

• Multifunctional – Labels. Together with AREAS, INGO GROUP, the EURECAT technology center and INÈDIT, the aim is to implement innovative labeling systems that favor efficiency in the value chain of the HORECA channel. The objective is to reduce waste to fight against food waste and improve the user experience in the purchasing process
• Smart & Sparkling. A project that wishes to adapt the cava bottling process to the characteristics of Industry 4.0, with the Catalan wine cluster INNOVI and MASIA VALLFORMOSA, the capabilities of the DIFMAQ machines and the adaptation of the TAI SMART FACTORY system. It will be determined how the machines should be prepared based on the different levels of action and based on the strategic needs of the producing and packaging companies
• Smart Scence. The project consortium - ABACUS, KID’S CLUSTER, SENITEL, the cooperative group TEB, CARINSA and the PACKAGING CLUSTER - seeks to create a spray mask scent to prevent the spread of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus. The main objective is to increase the success of the launch of flavored products by involving the entire value chain through digital tools that will help the connectivity of each link, from product design to end use, through smart manufacturing and distribution.
• Triana 4.0. The associated companies IP TRIANA and TEPSIS, come together to achieve advanced packaging manufacturing in real time, with the support of the Packaging Cluster. The initiative focuses on data capture - Big Data - in the production plant for the analysis of the parameters obtained and the improvement of performance, which allows us to approach a much more flexible and adaptable system to changes - Smart Factory -.
• Vinotech. Hand in hand with the INNOVI, GRAMONA, BODEGAS SUMARROCA, 3D CLICK and GRÁFICAS VARIAS, we want to formulate an innovative business solution, through a cloud platform, that encourages wine and sparkling wineries to transform their productive management and sales with the digitization of real catalogs of packaging suppliers for simulation and customization in 3D, integrating label and capsule printers in the process.

All these initiatives involve different 4.0 technologies for the improvement of the sector with, for example, dynamic bifunctional QR codes for the traceability of the entire production and supply chain, or with the printing of thermochromic sensors to achieve the analysis of the temperature of the food products.

The cluster has proven experience in the ministry's line of aid since its first registration as Agrupación Empresarial Innovadora (AEI) in 2013, as we saw last year, when the entity won the second best project proposal with:

• SmartLabels, an inter-cluster and trans-autonomous collaboration for the creation of smart labels in the wine sector, which allow the provision of valuable information for the end customer and supply chain.
• Packvision was another of the approved projects, of the 6 reports presented, which allows incorporating artificial vision technology together with robotic systems to quickly locate packaging with any type of printing or manufacturing mistakes and discard them in time, avoiding excess production .
• IntelFoodPack is the feasibility study that assesses the insertion of a monitoring system to detect new opportunities and threats in the agri-food and packaging sector, which is in the implementation phase.

In a few months, around the end of the year, the second phase of the program in support of AEI will begin, with an estimated budget of more than 20 million euros, more than double that on this occasion. A budget that is estimated to be gradually multiplied in accordance with the national strategy for strengthening the business ecosystem of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Packaging Cluster entity will inform its associates of this next call and of future lines that may positively impact the recovery of the economy and the development of research in our country, through the unprecedented platform "Next Generation Project Office" , which we will soon present in scoop.

Contact us at [email protected] if you have a project in mind to propose, where the cluster can help you shape the idea, propose an aligned consortium, write a winning report and coordinate its execution.