Innovation Europe > News > Innovation EU Vol2-1 > FIMECC boosts strategic research

Europe as an innovation environment is strongly turning to the era of public private partnerships (PPP). FIMECC is a PPP established in 2008 having already a research base of E200 million. This amount of money is decided to be invested into industry-driven strategic research through multiannual programs that execute FIMECC strategic research agenda. FIMECC leads the renewal of metals and engineering industry towards user experience and service-oriented high value adding technologies.

“Our intention is to continue providing work within the fields of metal processing, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing in Europe, and it’s absolutely necessary to increase the value added. This calls for strategic research to perceive potential applications with proper scientific groundwork and cross-organizational cooperation”, says Dr. Harri Kulmala, CEO of FIMECC Ltd.

FIMECC aims at increasing investments in research to a total of 60 million euro per year (300 M€ research base). FIMECC is a limited company that started operations in April 2008. Its shareholders include 16 global companies (see the shareholder company list at the info box 1), 12 universities, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and FIMA Forum for Intelligent Machines.

FIMECC focuses on five strategic research themes (see the info box 2): Business-oriented themes include Service Business, User Experience and Global Networks; all these areas are rather new, but highly promising in terms of scientific research. Technology-oriented themes comprise Intelligent Solutions and Breakthrough Materials; in these areas FIMECC shareholders already hold a strong position globally.

Fast ramp-up of pre-competitive platform

The ramp-up of industry-driven research programs in FIMECC has been faster than anybody could guess. FIMECC Ltd. has launched six research programs having E200 million planned and budgeted volume for five-year period. During the global economic crisis, this proves that an underlying need for open FIMECC platform existed in the industry. In the PPP-model of FIMECC, the average public funding in programs is 55 per cent.

What makes FIMECC a winning concept? FIMECC is surrounded by people who feel the change making in our industry and in research world as a mission. This means high motivation, a vision to go for. On the other hand, most of the wisdom and cumulative scientific knowledge is outside any organization. This makes it both necessary and efficient to create open innovation platforms in which the rules of the game are clearly communicated and synergic cooperation takes place in pre-competitive areas. FIMECC is a new innovation platform.

Strategic research can be platform research carried out openly with competitors and other stakeholders in order to develop the understanding of business environment. This strategy is based on two assumptions: Higher research volume produces typically more innovations than lower research investment, and more interfaces with different actors (competitors, research institutes, and other competencies) increase the probability of innovations to take place.

Boosting is doing together

The search for new innovations is researching together, sharing the IPR, and competing on how to build applications on the joint platforms. The scope of FIMECC platform is presented in info box 3: What is not possible to be opened to others, is not in the scope of FIMECC innovation activities.

“R&D is not just about studying and developing materials; we are also exploring the different ways in which materials can be processed, and look at the environmental impacts over the entire life cycle. Multidisciplinary co-operation is extremely rewarding as everyone brings in their own, different perspectives”, says Dr. Marke Kallio who is responsible for new technology platform development at Metso Materials Technology.

FIMECC provides researchers with intellectual challenge in a working environment where they can benefit from real life in businesses and see the connection between their own work and the real world. “We are not a closed club. We are actively searching for companies and researchers to join us all over the world”, says Dr. Kulmala.

“We change attitudes and research culture through results”, says Mr. Ismo Vessonen, program manager for one of the current six programs launched by FIMECC. “Open innovation gets accepted step by step, because we have managed to write IPR agreements, which work in practice, and program participants have created value added by organizing cross-disciplinary and crossindustry sessions leading to new openings”.

“Structural changes in industrial companies challenge business and earning logics, which activates both companies and research institutions to develop cross-industrially open innovation networks covering whole value chains”, says Dr. Kristian Möller, professor at the new multi-disciplinary Aalto University. In two years, the cross-organizational cooperation index has increased significantly among the FIMECC program participants.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Harri Kulmala, CEO
FIMECC Ltd
Åkerlundinkatu 11 A,
FI-33100 Tampere, Finland
Tel: +358 40 840 6380
Website: www.fimecc.com