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About

The Project

The overall objective of AI-CUBE project is to contribute harnessing and optimizing the potential of AI and BD in the European process industry. AI-CUBE will define a roadmap that will serve as guidance for researchers, managers, and operators, and include specific recommendations for all involved industrial sectors and organizations’ functions and processes. To achieve this, the specific objectives of AI-CUBE are:
  • Draw a multi-dimensional AI and BD map (or a “CUBE”) that will map  available good practices , and assess the current state-of-play and level of penetration of AI and BD within the different organizational processes across the 10 Processes4Planet process industry sectors
  • Build on identified good practices to develop future AI and BD business cases and define a roadmap of the RD&I actions needed in each Processes4Planet sector
  • Detect the white spots of AI and BD solutions that can be covered adapting good practices from other process industries, outlining an adaptation roadmap
  • Define the data requirements, skills and RD&I requirements for future AI and BD business cases to emerge within the different process industry sectors
All these will converge into 10 AI and BD roadmaps, one for each Processes4Planet sector, indicating a route map and practical recommendations on AI and BD business cases, transferability of good practices from other industries, data, skills and RD&I requirements, in line with the Processes4Planet 2050 vision.

The Concept

The AI-CUBE concept is based on a tri-axial mapping of AI and BD technologies. It allows to map and visualize the status of AI & BD use and penetration per Processes4Planet sector (Cement, Ceramics, Chemicals, Engineering, Non-ferrous metals, Minerals, Refining, Pulp & Paper, Steel, Water) and per macro-application- process areas (e.g. research and innovation management and planning, process control, supply chain management, predictive maintenance, product customization).

The ‘Cube Concept’ allows to set the stage for the development and integration of four sets of key results, which are key to drive the opportunity assessment and take-up of AI and BD by the European process industries:

  • Maturity Level Assessment: A novel AI and BD Maturity Level Assessment framework to support companies in assessing the level of implementation of technologies.
  • The AI-CUBE tool: to be used as mapping tool by individual industries or sectors to assess their state of advancement in AI and BD and the needs for further development.
  • A set of inspirational AI and BD Business Cases in the process industries and a AI-CUBE Business Model Game: to be used by industries or the sector, to stimulate reasoning about how AI and BD can innovate their Business Models and Value Chains for the future and, hence, what actions to take.
  • Roadmaps and Infographics: A set of several roadmaps and easy to consult Infographics, that outline the path towards: i) transferring good AI & BD practices form one Processes4Planet sector to another; ii) further developing and taking-up technology solutions towards AI & BD Business Cases of the future for the different Processes4Planet process industry sectors.

The Work Packages

Work Packages

The main objective of WP1 is to establish the current technological and industrial landscape regarding AI and BD technologies and process industry sectors in Europe, setting the basis of the following WPs work in defining mapping tools and the roadmap for AI and BD. To properly do so, literature reviews and consultation with relevant stakeholders started from the very beginning of the project. Furthermore, a detailed assessment of both the technological and industrial status will allow to adjust the original implementation plan (if needed), expanding it to additional macro applications areas.
The goal of the work package is twofold: i) set a strategy to work in a continuous way with the stakeholders and ii) design a framework to categorize current AI and BD technologies’ applications in consideration of the actual use and knowledge of their application possibilities in industrial environments. This step will enable the identification of the business expectation of the different companies and prepare the work of WP3 related to the assessment and applicability. Moreover, this framework will take into consideration also the ELSI dimension as a layer of the model itself.
The main goal of WP3 is the categorization of the current AI and BD technologies into the Cube Concept, taking into consideration the actual level of maturity regarding their application possibilities in industrial environments. The list of the individual technologies will enable the systematic identification and further development of application areas and possible uses of AI and BD technologies in the process industry, in accordance to their current level of penetration.
Based on the previous work packages, WP4 will define a roadmap on AI and BD of application in process industries for all the SPIRE industrial sectors with specific recommendations to guide researchers, managers, and operators in the implantation of these technologies. For this, a structured analysis of gaps and opportunities of AI and BD technologies (identified in WP3) and their current level of penetration will be performed. A study on the applications of these technologies and their potential will allow identifying knowledge transfer and synergies between sectors to be exploited. The obtained roadmap will be validated by industry and interested stakeholders, boosting knowledge sharing among different processes and sectors.

The purpose of WP5 is to develop and implement a multitude of measures to communicate project findings and facilitate the industry engagement in their implementation. The goal is to maximize awareness around the project results and create a sustainable dissemination and exploitation platform, based on stakeholder involvement at regional, national, and European levels. Specific objectives of WP5 are:

  1. Creating the AI-CUBE dissemination and exploitation network that will enable EU industry to share knowledge and expertise gained in this project on how to generate and exploit synergy of AI and BD deployment and penetration across all the 8 SPIRE process industries, based on a specific roadmap and guideline designed for the implementation of AI and BD technologies in the European process industry.
  2. Raising awareness and inform stakeholders about the AI-CUBE project, its objectives, and results, and the relevance of its findings. The main effort will be devoted to communicating information about project objectives and scope and disseminating the results across the European process industry community and stakeholders.
  3. Validating the AI-CUBE roadmap and guideline for AI&BD implementation in process industry in a contained set of stakeholders, identified through specific stakeholder and MAMCA methodologies, to guarantee a widely agreed consultation base in a European-wide network of stakeholders from cross-sectorial industrial parks.

The goal of the WP6 on Project coordination and quality management is to provide the Consortium of the AI-CUBE Project with efficient and effective management and administration of the internal and external activities and relationships. In pursuing this goal, the consortium will design an adequate management structure of the project to handle the coordination of the work carried out in the AI-CUBE Project, quality control activities, financial and thematic reporting, and all the communications among project partners (PPs), associated members, interested stakeholders, and the EC. Specific objectives are:

  1. Managing the communication in the Project Consortium and Decision-making board
  2. Providing an overall project governance and quality management strategies ensuring the timely achievement of project goals as identified in the work plan
  3. Defining a central contact point to the project and managing efficient interface with the EC and other partners
  4. Ensuring coherence with all legal and EC requirements, rules, and regulation, and supervise the compliance to the Consortium Agreement, including financial and legal management
  5. Managing the “AI-CUBE Expert Group” and the “AI-CUBE Network on AI & BD implementation in the EU Process Industry”
  6. The Project Coordination and Quality Management Work Package will be carried out under the responsibility of the coordinator PNO.