Business Finland granted funding for the Clean Propulsion Technologies project in their board meeting on March 23, 2021. This was a significant milestone for the whole project consortium.
During the spring, a lot has happened and the project is now up and running at full force. Necessary resources have been allocated to five out of six Work Packages and the partners have started regular meetings to share and coordinate the progress. WP5 is scheduled to start later in the project. In WP level meetings, the research organizations and companies plan the research activities, share knowledge and find the best ways to cooperate in order to achieve the ambitious goals of the project. Amongst the multiple innovations to be developed, we already started building the new demonstrator platforms in WP3 and WP4. The first results are expected to be published in fall 2021.
The steering group has been formed for the project and it is operating actively. Christer Wik from Wärtsilä acts as the Chairman of the Steering Group on the first project year. Ismo Hämäläinen from AGCO Power will take the responsibility for the second project year. The Steering Group is further strengthened with internationally recognized experts to support the consortium strategy as Advisory Board. Advisory Board members will be announced soon.
Finally, a Project Committee has been formed to coordinate the consortium on the operational level. It consists of representatives of all research organizations and companies that allocate resources to Clean Propulsion Technologies. The Project Committee has been meeting monthly already since April and it is an important channel for sharing information and boosting interaction between different Work Packages and companies. Maciej Mikulski from the University of Vaasa as a consortium leader, acts as the Chairman of the Project Committee.
“After almost 2 years of preparation, we are all excited to finally roll up our sleeves, and start solving all those scientific and technical problems that will lead us to the planned new propulsion solutions. Cross-Industry-Academia cooperation in the consortium is exemplary. Our industry leaders are heavily involved in the public part of the research, providing technology, expertise and guidance. Vice-versa, researchers from academia develop dedicated solutions for our companies in associated industry projects”, says Mikulski, the Project Leader of Clean Propulsion Technologies.
