In MyM – Mecanizados y Montajes Aeronáuticos we are in luck to close 2021: the project “Towards a more sustainable and competitive aviation through the implementation of active protection technologies and ultrasound-based sensors in aluminum aerostructures” (ACTIVAL), developed by the consortium of which our company is part together with Titania Ensayos y Proyectos Industriales S.L., Chemplate Materials S.L. and Innerspec Technologies Europe S.L., has been one of the proposals approved in the first call of the Aeronautical Technology Program (PTA) of the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Through ACTIVAL we work on material preparation, the implementation of sustainable processes, early corrosion detection systems and the development of innovative repair methods, with the aim of implementing a sustainable production free of environmentally unfriendly compounds.
The CDTI, an entity under the Ministry, has published the final resolution of the first call of the PTA with a total of 12 approved projects, of which 4 belong to the PTA PYMES modality (16 participating companies, including M&M; total budget 12.25 million euros; CDTI contribution commitment: 7.5 million euros) and the remaining 8 to the PTA Grandes empresas modality (31 participating entities; total budget: 66.60 million euros; CDTI contribution commitment: 32.51 million euros). Thus, of the total budget of 78.85 million euros, the CDTI will contribute 40 million euros in the grant modality.
The approved projects, which have counted with the participation of 29 state-level research organizations and total 60 participations in different groupings, focus on three of the challenges identified in the call: technologies focused on reducing emissions (zero-emission aircraft), unmanned aircraft (UAVs) and new multipurpose aircraft and systems.
In terms of regional distribution, a total of eleven autonomous communities have participated in the program, with Andalusia being the second region in contribution with 4,974,677 euros, only behind Madrid (22.9 million).
The Aeronautical Technology Program (PTA)
This program is an action of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Designed and managed by the CDTI, the PTA promotes and finances R&D-intensive strategic initiatives carried out by a group of companies with the objective of contributing to the development of relevant technologies for application in the aeronautical field, which generate a knock-on effect on the entire value chain in order to reduce the impact of the crisis generated by COVID-19 on the innovative capabilities of companies developing aeronautical technologies.
In operational terms, the aim is to significantly reduce the environmental impact of aeronautical technologies, increasing the efficiency of future aircraft and reducing polluting emissions from air transport, without forgetting other strategic technological challenges such as multipurpose aircraft, systems or UAVs.
Modalities of participation
The call has a total budget of 40 million euros, with a minimum endowment of 7.5 million euros reserved for consortia formed by SMEs.
In the PTA Large Companies modality, projects of between 5 and 12 million euros are financed, carried out by business groups made up of up to six companies, with the participation of at least one SME, and an execution period of between three and four calendar years.
In the PTA PYMES modality, the projects are of a smaller amount, between 2.5 and 5 million euros, developed by business groups of up to 4 SMEs and with an execution period of between two and three calendar years. The final resolution of the Aeronautics Technology Program, published on December 22, 2021, is available on the CDTI website.
The project “TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND COMPETITIVE AVIATION BY IMPLEMENTING ACTIVE PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES AND ULTRASOUND-BASED SENSORS IN ALUMINIUM AEROSTRUCTURES”- ACTIVAL with file number PTAP-20211004 is subsidized by the CDTI, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and by the “Next Generation EU” funds, specifically by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, established by Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094 of 14 December 2020 establishing a European Union Recovery Facility to support recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, and regulated under Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.
