Are you a pioneering SME, startup in fiber composites, or a leading researcher at an institute? Picture a world where your innovation flourishes, your solutions make an impact, and you’re driving industry change alongside industry leaders. If this resonates with you, then Collab Composite is your platform.
If you need help or have questions, just contact us at collab@abi.se and we will arrange for this.
Inspection and quality assessment of composite materials are currently performed using manual inspection methods supported by expert judgement. These approaches are resource-intensive, difficult to standardize and sensitive to operator dependency.
Saab Aeronautics and Hitachi Energy invite solutions for automated quality assessment of composite materials with a focus on production-relevant inspection workflows. The intent is to evaluate technical feasibility, inspection performance and industrial applicability.
As part of the call, Saab Aeronautics and Hitachi Energy will provide four composite test specimens. All solutions shall be demonstrated on these physical specimens.
The challenge is to demonstrate automated or intelligent inspection methods for assessing quality and performance of composite materials on physical test specimens.
Proposed solutions shall:
• demonstrate a Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) ≥ 4
• be suitable for EDT-level inspection
• be applicable to industrial composite materials
• be demonstrated using the test specimens provided by Saab Aeronautics and Hitachi Energy.
Solutions with MRL < 4, or solutions relying exclusively on simulated data or previously generated datasets, will not be evaluated.
The purpose is not final qualification, but to assess whether the solution can:
• detect predefined, industrially relevant defect types (e.g. porosity, delamination, fiber-related defects, out-of-plane damage),
• reduce inspection time and time-to-decision compared to existing inspection workflows, and
• provide repeatable and operator-independent decision support.
Submitted applications will be assessed based on:
• defect detection capability,
• inspection time and efficiency,
• repeatability and robustness of results,
• industrial maturity (MRL), and
• suitability for integration into production environments.
Up to five (5) companies will be invited to a pitch day with Saab Aeronautics and Hitachi Energy. Each invited company will be allocated SEK 25,000 to support participation in the pitch day.
Based on the outcome of the pitch day, selected companies may be invited to proceed with Proof-of-Concept activities together with the industrial partners.
Check out the challenges from Saab & Hitachi Energy. Decide which ones are for you.
Apply via F6S and describe which challenges your solution addresses.
SAAB and Hitachi Energy will review the applications and invite the most interesting companies to join a COLLAB workshop.
At the COLLAB workshop, you will present your ideas and discuss potential collaborations with Saab & Hitachi Energy to move into a Proof-of-Concept project
Opening day: February 17th
Cut-off day: March 31st
As as Start-up simply submit your proposed new services or technology (follow our short template) and we will review and present this to our Industry partners.
Industry partners will review your proposal and decide if to invite you to present them. These pitch days will happen 3-4x per year. If invited we help you prepare for this.
Pitch template (PPT)
If there is a match between your ideas and the industry needs you will get the opportunity to agree on a joint proof-of-concept project (typically 3-6 months long). Collab will then support you in performing this.
As a start-up active in the field of fiber composites, we place you in front of world-leading companies to solve industry challenges together. You will get the opportunity to:
In Öjebyn, outside of Piteå, you will find over 50 years of experience within the development of many different kind of fiber composite products and processes and a close coopeation between companies, the research institute RISE and academia. There are in total vast resources to be found, both competence and equipment.
Collab act as a neutral partner that facilitates the process and cooperation between major industry actors and start-ups. We give you access to resources and facilities to innovate.
Here is a summary of what our expert partner RISE can offer in terms of support in the context of Collab Composite. Read more
You might need additional or supplementary competence during your proof-of-concept project. Via Collab Composite we can hook you up with the expertise in Öjebyn.
RISE and the companies together offer a comprehensive open testbed. The emphasis is on RISE, but the companies equipment is also part of the combined testbed. This means that most processes for manufacturing fiber composites are available in Öjebyn. RISE and the companies can also help out when it comes to produce prototypes or smaller pre-series.
Piteå Science Park offers an environment where you can get an office, find likeminded startups and industries, and get help and support for whatever you and your team will need.
Fiber composite carries the potential to dramatically improve a wide range of applications where traditional composites, metals, and other heavy materials have been dominant. But it must happen now. Collab aims to find innovative applications and usage from renewable and sustainable fiber composites. For example:
