Business champion is the Slovenian company Vanema. The ACME project proposal scored in the evaluation 14,03 points out of 15 and received 2,49 million € (70%) co-funding, while the total project costs are estimated at 3,5 million €.

ACME Project

The main trend in the aviation industry is the weight reduction of the aircraft and consequently reduction of fuel consumption, net carbon emissions and lower operational costs. Development trends in the aviation industry are focused on new, lighter materials that nevertheless maintain the characteristics of the currently used materials. The challenge in the development of aircraft seats lies in the production of more comfortable seats, however this includes more materials needed, which consequently impacts increased weight of an aircraft.

Vanema saw its business opportunity in this challenge, since its Octaspring technology (a foam spring that comprises all the best characteristics of a classical spring and foam) addresses both before mentioned challenges at the same time – increasing the comfort and reducing the aircraft seats’ weight at the same time. During the presentation of the prototype at the Expo Hamburg in 2016, Airbus expressed interest in this solution. Vanema has therefore decided to apply for an R&D project within the Horizon 2020 programme, under the special SME dedicated Instrument Phase 2. The main aim of the project is to continue with the prototype development and successful market deployment.

Tiko Pro (info@tiko-pro.si), who has extensive experience with EU project preparation and implementation, immediately recognized the innovation potential and provided support to Vanema in the preparation of the project proposal.

The innovation, its market potential and the implementation plan are those key aspects of the project proposal that persuaded the evaluators to approve a 2,5 million € grant. The Grant Agreement with the European Commission has already been signed and the project implementation is ongoing. The prototype of the new aircraft seat, its advantages and benefits for the aviation industry and passengers, convinced also the panel awarding the prestigious international “Crystal Cabin Award” for excellence in aircraft interior innovation. The presented solution won in the category of material&components.