Articles, event reports, and project updates from the SPEAR consortium.
SPEAR Wins Eureka Innovation Award for Sustainability
In June 2022, the SPEAR consortium was honoured with the Eureka Innovation Award in the "Best Sustainability Innovation" category at the Global Innovation Summit in Estoril, Portugal. The award, presented by the ITEA programme, recognised the project's measurable contributions to energy efficiency in industrial production.
Continue reading →How Open Standards Drive Industrial Simulation Forward
Industrial simulation has long been fragmented by proprietary tool ecosystems. Engineers working on a production line might need a dedicated tool for mechanical simulation, another for electrical behaviour, and yet another for thermal analysis, with no easy way to combine their outputs. The Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) addresses this challenge by defining a standardised container format for exchanging dynamic simulation models between tools.
Continue reading →Digital Twins for Energy-Efficient Manufacturing
The concept of the digital twin has become one of the defining ideas of modern manufacturing. By creating a virtual replica of a physical production system, engineers can monitor, analyse, and optimise operations without disrupting the real process. When combined with energy modelling, digital twins offer a powerful mechanism for identifying and eliminating waste. Swedish innovation agency Vinnova supported the Swedish contributions to the SPEAR project.
Continue reading →Virtual Commissioning and the Path to Industry 4.0
Commissioning a new production line is traditionally one of the most time-consuming and costly phases of industrial plant development. Engineers must verify that every component behaves correctly, that control logic executes as intended, and that the complete system meets throughput and quality targets. Virtual commissioning offers an alternative by shifting much of this verification into a simulated environment.
Continue reading →Renewable Energy Integration in Production Scheduling
As the share of renewable sources in Europe's electricity mix continues to grow, manufacturers face both an opportunity and a challenge. Solar and wind generation introduce variability into the grid: electricity prices fluctuate throughout the day based on supply conditions, and the carbon intensity of available power shifts hour by hour. For energy-intensive production facilities, aligning operations with these fluctuations can yield significant cost savings.
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