Project Name: AM2R – Mobilizing Agenda for Business Innovation in the Two-Wheel Sector

Project No.: C644866475-0000012

Fund: PRR – Recovery and Resilience Program

Investment Priority: Component C5 – Business Capitalization and Innovation – Resilience Dimension

Investment Type: Pacts for Innovation

Notice No.: 2/C05-i01/2022

Total Investment: €23,481,532.59

Eligible Investment: €23,481,532.59 (100% financing)

Project Start Date: 01.10.2022

Project End Date: 31.12.2025

The AM2R Agenda was created with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of Portuguese two-wheel sector companies, namely in the creation of new export products and solutions based on technology and know-how acquired and consolidated in Portugal, through a sustained and significant contribution to national strategic objectives, namely:

• Increase exports of goods and services;
• Increase investment in R&D;
• Reduce CO2 emissions;
• Strengthen the specialization profile of the Portuguese economy, through investment in knowledge-intensive activities with higher value-added industries, directed towards international markets and the creation of qualified employment.

The Mobilizing Agenda for Business Innovation in the Two-Wheel Sector (AM2R) aims to operationalize intervention in priority areas in the value chain that will transform the national production profile and develop a new specialization profile in the sector that will leverage its competitive positioning in the international market, focusing on independence from the Asian market, through the development and endogenization of advanced knowledge around new products, processes and services, increasing and differentiating national productivity and enhancing the diffusion of technological knowledge based on sustainability and digitalization.

Thus, the main objective of the Agenda is to consolidate and expand the link between the business fabric and the scientific-technological system with the aim of increasing the competitiveness and resilience of the sector based on research and technological development, innovation and diversification of the productive structure of products and services.

The AM2R is led by Polisport Plásticos, SA and includes a consortium of 46 more entities.

The Portuguese two-wheel sector has been developing and establishing itself competitively in the global market. In recent years, it has been recognizing obstacles to its activity, mainly concerning the dependence on external markets, in terms of component supply and vehicle design/definition, due to the limitations of the knowledge and production structures available to the national industrial fabric.

Additionally, the sector has been observing, more recently and in general, the emergence of the transition from mass production to mass customization. This paradigm shift has been driving different types of technology and processes, which imply an industrial reorganization. This changing scenario creates a myriad of challenges to Portuguese companies in terms of identification, selection and optimization of the different industrial processes and their respective technologies that can be used in the new products of the two-wheel sector and soft mobility.

In this context, the sector recognizes the pressing need to create a technology development infrastructure for the two-wheel sector, with the aim of giving dimension to the activities of development and technology transfer and industrial experimentation, enhancing the integration and connection of universities with the sector, so that it is possible to develop new products, processes and models of industrial exploitation in a more systematic and systemic way, enhancing the creation of a culture of innovation and industrial integration/symbiosis.

Thus, in order to fill the gaps in the state of the art of the Portuguese two-wheel sector and leverage the underlying knowledge to the necessary advances, it is intended to dynamize a Technology and Innovation Center for the two-wheel sector and its specialized initiatives to leverage national know-how, through the creation of a set of operational centers, namely:

• Shared Industrialization Project Center;
• Test Center and definition of production processes for new products;
• Applied Industrial Design Center;
• Center for validation of the technological aptitude of production equipment.

BIKiNNOV participates in the following Work Packages (WP) within the scope of AM2R:

• WP4 – Components, Tools and Materials for the production of Two-Wheel Vehicles
• WP8 – Digitalization and Integrated and Sustainable Management of the Value Chain in the two-wheel sector
• WP9 – Technology and Innovation Center

At BIKiNNOV, we continuously strive to innovate and create value in the two-wheel industry. Let us share a brief overview of some of our most intriguing projects currently under the AM2R umbrella:

– Project 43 – Study of New Aluminum Alloys for Two-Wheelers

The pressing issue at hand is the lack of specific aluminum alloys to meet the needs of the bicycle market. This lack leads to a laborious and complex production process for these components, resulting in high production costs. The challenge lies in finding the right alloys – those that adapt best to different usage conditions and offer optimal environmental performance. These recent alloys also potentially offer a chance for aluminum bicycles to compete with carbon ones in terms of performance. One of the key advantages of aluminum over carbon is its recyclability, making it a highly environmentally attractive product.

– Project 100 – Shared Capacity Management and Available Technology System

Our goal is to implement a collaborative system to manage a pool of production and technological capacity. This will help companies smooth out normal fluctuations in the use of their production resources, allowing them to meet their customers’ responsibilities and establish competence networks to respond to more technologically complex proposals, thus adding greater value.

– Project 111 – Shared Industrial Development Center for Two-Wheelers

This investment incorporates all infrastructure and equipment investments, as well as the launch of the CTI Bikinnov, which includes:

• Experimental laboratory for the development of performance evaluation methods for materials and products.
• Pilot laboratory for the development of advanced materials.
• Digital PBV Factory.
• Prototyping and Product Development Laboratory.
• Industrial Property Support Office.

We at BIKiNNOV are enthusiastic about these projects’ potential to bring about a significant change in the two-wheeler industry, addressing critical environmental, technological, and manufacturing challenges.