Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR)
TRACER Project
Mission 4 - Component 2 - Investment 1.5
"Innovation Ecosystems" call
TRACER - Smart processes and materials for sustainable, human-centric manufacturing
The ability to functionalize and control material properties in real time during processes
is enabling new scenarios in the control and management of manufacturing processes.
The TRACER project aims to implement and validate, at a prototype level
in an industrial context, new technologies capable of supporting smart,
sustainable manufacturing paradigms with increased human-machine interaction, in line with the requirements of the most recent
Industry 5.0 models. In line with these goals, the project is organized into two research strands for the development
respectively of (i) intelligent control systems, or smart molds, based on magneto-rheological
fluid technology, enabling interactive operator control of material flow within the mold, and (ii) atmospheric nano-pulsed
plasma jet devices for the functionalization of the mechanical properties of metal surfaces. Within the project, experimental
prototypes equipped with appropriate sensors will be developed, in line with process digitalization, and real-world case
studies will be made available for their validation.
PROTECH, as a partner, will contribute to the design and configuration of a new high-voltage generator, controllable at the nano-pulse level, for generating cold plasma at atmospheric pressure - research strand (ii). The company will also implement this system with a Rogowski coil suited to the non-invasive measurement of the currents generated by the plasma, which will make it possible to obtain, in real time, the value of the "dose" of plasma delivered. Combining a new nano-pulse plasma generation system with a real-time plasma current measurement system is expected to provide an unprecedented competitive advantage, with clear commercial spillovers in different areas: from those closest to the industrial sector targeted by this proposal, to new markets such as, for example, the medical sector. Validating the prototype's performance will be a key step, also thanks to the sharing of data with the University, which will be able to use it to develop optimization strategies and processes.
View the poster for the TRACER project.
Cascading call for the Triveneto area of Spoke 5, funded under the iNEST research programme (Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem), drawing on resources from the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), M4C2 - Investment 1.5 - creation and strengthening of "Innovation ecosystems for sustainability", funded by the European Union, NextGenerationEU, 2025.
Project amount: €69,607.00
Funding granted: €49,975.00
CUP C23D24000050006