TEEWood project with Horizon 2020

Projects

TEEWood (ID: 805912) project with Horizon 2020

The TEEWood project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme "H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017/H2020-SMEINST-2-2016-2017" under grant agreement No 805912 - TEEWood

To build up on the promising results from the two projects sponsored by Gebert Rüf, Swiss Wood Solutions aspires to scale up the technology to produce wood for larger stringed instruments such as guitars and cellos. In addition, SWS aims to evaluate production for percussion instruments and expand the application fields of the technology to wooden sports equipment. For this purpose, SWS filed an application for financial support by the European research and innovation program Horizon 2020. Created and financed by the European Union, Horizon 2020 couples research and innovation to tackle societal challenges and deliver economic growth. For promising science projects and derived business ideas, nearly 80 billion of funding are available from 2014 to 2020.

In cooperation with accelopment a service provider specialized on applications for public funding programs, SWS filed a submission titled TEEWood (Technologically Enhanced European Wood for Substituting Endangered Tropical Woods). With the constructive help of accelopment, SWS completed the highly complex and time-consuming application process in October 2017. To our greatest delight, the submission was approved and the company received a grant of 1.5 million. Proof of competitive product properties, promising market opportunities and growth potential helped secure the funds starting in February 2018 and running through January 2020.

The upscale of the developed technology targeted in the TEEWood project with Horizon 2020 is expected to bear a range of impacts. Most importantly, the project is expected to solve the raw material scarcity problem of tropical wood-dependent industries such as the musical instrument industry. At the same, the customer benefits from a high performance material with custom-made physical properties, which comes along without any ethical issues and trade restrictions. Ecologically, a successful TEEWood project will make a precious contribution to save botanical diversity and enhance sustainable forestry in tropical areas. On a global political level, the project targets to reduce the incentives for illegal overexploitation of tropical forests as well asfor piracy and corruption in affected countries. From a cultural perspective, the TEEWood project is expected to save the traditional instrument manufacturing profession by providing a suitable and legal raw material.


More about the TEEWood project >

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