Metabuilding Project
METAclustering for cross-sectoral and cross-border innovation ecosystem BUILDING for the European Construction, Additive Manufacturing and Nature-Based Solutions industrial sectors’ SMEs.
The European construction industry needs to improve the innovation of its SMEs in order to extend its value chain and integrate new dynamic industrial sectors. To achieve critical mass and promote internationalisation, the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP) has initiated a synergy with the ICT, additive manufacturing, nature-based solutions and recycling industrial sectors. The EU-funded METABUILDING project will complete a sustainable and expandable synergistic innovation ecosystem to reach clusters and their SMEs in their business environment.
This advanced ecosystem will be supported by an open-innovation digital platform to build and sustain the rise of new cross-sectoral, cross-border industrial value chains delivering a metaclustering process. The project will advise and technically support SMEs and perform several cascade funding mechanisms in six EU countries: Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Austria and Portugal.
The consortium consists of 15 institutions from 9 countries representing the key sectors: additive manufacturing, nature-based solutions, digital industry and circularity & recycling. The consortium includes national platforms and other stakeholders representing the construction sector and actively engaged in bringing innovation to the traditional built environment. In the following image we can see the partners that make up this consortium:
Cascade funding
Cascade funding, also known as financial support to third parties (FSTP), is a mechanism used in the European Commission to distribute public funding to SMEs or start-ups.
This funding system aims to simplify administrative procedures, creating a user-friendly application system for SMEs, so that they have the possibility of receiving funding individually without having to participate in large projects.
Since the start of the project (June 2020), four calls for innovation grants for SMEs have been launched (two with a maximum amount of 5,000 euros and two with a maximum amount of 60,000 euros), through which the innovative activity of cross-sectoral and cross-border projects has been promoted.
METABUILDING PLATFORM
The Metabuilding consortium has created a digital platform that will support SMEs and other entities to participate in the European innovation environment. On this platform SMEs and entities belonging to the construction value chain will be able to find the following services:
- FUNDING AND FINANCING
- COLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES
- PRODUCTOS AND TECHNOLOGIES
- CONECTION TO CLUSTERS
- INNOVATION COACHING
- INNOVATION AND TESTING SUPPORT