SPIRE-backed industrial resources platform project begins
A Spanish research institute has begun work on the European SHAREBOX project in the SPIRE programme under Horizon 2020.
The main objective of the project, which includes the participation of the Instituto de Tecnología Cerámica (ITC), is to develop a secure platform from which to conduct flexible management of the resources used in industrial processes, which can be shared among different companies through this innovative tool.
The ultimate aim is to create a platform that facilitates implementation of industrial symbiosis. It therefore seeks to develop accessible, solid and reliable software, based on data mining and mathematical tools that are demonstrated in actual industrial settings.
The project is co-ordinated by the company IRIS, also based in Spain, and who recently hosted the kick-off meeting of the new study. The meeting was attended by the other participants in the initiative; in total, 15 partner organisations are involved, including companies in the chemical, ceramic and automobile sectors, as well as universities and research centres.
According to the research team: “SHAREBOX seeks to provide the market with a secure platform that integrates analytical and optimisation tools for flexible use of energy and integration of the material flow, in order to facilitate an holistic approach to resource management in industrial processes, on both a small and a large scale, lowering barriers and radically increasing widespread adoption of industrial symbioses.”
The project takes place within the frame of the European SPIRE Programme, focused on fostering efficiency in the use of energy and resources in different industrial sectors, including the ceramic sector. Specifically, SHAREBOX addresses one of this programme’s priorities ‘fostering industrial symbiosis’, which is exchanging resources among different companies to reduce production costs and industrial consumption of natural resources (raw materials, water and energy).
The first phase of the project sees the identification of the industrial requirements in order to carefully decide upon the definition of platform specifications.
