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An academic technical platform, specialized in composite materials and additive manufacturing, seeking collaboration for the HE Clean Hydrogen call HORIZON

Publish date: Monday, May 18, 2026

The platform provides advanced experimental and modelling capabilities for carbon fibre reinforced pressure vessels (COPVs), including dedicated cycling and burst testing facilities for hydrogen tanks. It offers multi-instrumented testing using digital image correlation (DIC), airborne and piezoelectric acoustic emissions, and numerical simulation for structural integrity and damage monitoring. TOFR20260331013
An academic technical platform, specialized in composite materials and additive manufacturing, seeking collaboration for the HE Clean Hydrogen call HORIZON
The technical platform, located in Brittany, on the Atlantic coast, has been actively involved for over 10 years in the formulation and development of polymer and composite materials. The platform operates a unique COPV testing infrastructure in Europe, dedicated to pressure cycling and burst testing of carbon fibre reinforced pressure vessels. The test facility is multi-instrumented, enabling in-depth analysis of mechanical behaviour and damage mechanisms throughout the vessel lifecycle. Instrumentation includes airborne acoustic emissions, piezoelectric acoustic emissions, strain gauges, digital image correlation (DIC), and soon high-resolution monitoring cameras, providing complementary, multi-scale experimental data during testing. Benefiting from its location within a well-established industrial and academic ecosystem, the platform has direct access to liner and pressure vessel manufacturing capabilities, supported by a very short and agile supply chain. This environment enables rapid iteration between design, manufacturing, and testing, significantly reducing development cycles. In addition to the experimental capabilities, the platform is equipped with advanced numerical simulation tools for pressure vessel analysis. Finite element modelling is used to design COPVs and to simulate their mechanical behaviour under operational and extreme loading conditions. These simulations support design optimisation and safety assessment, and are systematically validated through experimental testing, allowing verification of modelling assumptions, material laws, and failure criteria. Overall, the platform offers an integrated service, covering tank design, numerical modelling, manufacturing, and experimental validation, including personalized fatigue cycling and burst pressure tests. It is open to industrial and academic collaborations within the framework of the Horizon Europe Clean Hydrogen call and aims to support Project Leaders and Work Package Leaders in the development of safe, affordable, and sustainable GH₂ storage solutions. Advantages and innovations: The technical platform provides high-level experimental expertise dedicated to hydrogen storage tanks. By focusing on the transition from design to physical reality, the facility offers advanced pressure testing (standard cycling, custom stress profiles, and burst tests) augmented by a unique suite of monitoring tools to de-risk innovative designs: • Piezo-electric Acoustic Emissions (AE): early-stage damage detection mechanisms (fibre breakage, fibre pull-out, and matrix cracking...) • Airborne Acoustic Emissions (AAE): Non-contact measurement for precise detection of damage locations on tank surface • 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC): Non-contact measurement technique providing surface displacement and strain data on composite materials, detection of defects, analysis of the structure’s mechanical behaviour. • Strain Gauges: Local measurements for correlating experimentally measured strain distributions with numerical model predictions. The approach minimizes the gap between virtual engineering and experimental validation by leveraging advanced Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and filament winding simulations to optimize composite architectures prior to manufacturing: • Hypothesis Validation: Systematic comparison of simulated stress fields with experimental data (DIC/AE) to refine composite damage models. • Design Optimization: Fine-tuning winding angles and liner–boss interfaces to maximize gravimetric capacity while ensuring structural integrity.   The platform acts as a catalyst for the regional hydrogen ecosystem, enabling the production of prototypes and small series through a short, localized industrial network. • Short Supply Chain (< 60 km): Strategic partnerships with local high-tech manufacturers ensure rapid iterations and a reduced carbonfootprint for prototype development. • Collaborative R&D: Seamless transition from lab-scale simulation to industrial-grade prototyping, tailored for innovative hydrogen mobility and stationary storage projects. Technical Specification or Expertise Sought: Advanced Structural Validation & Monitoring The technical platform, based in Southern Brittany, provides high-level experimental expertise dedicated to hydrogen storage tanks. By focusing on the transition from design to physical reality, the facility offers advanced pressure testing (standard cycling, custom stress profiles, and burst tests) augmented by a unique suite of monitoring tools to de-risk innovative designs: • Piezo-electric Acoustic Emissions (AE): In order to detect early-stage damage mechanisms, such as fibre breakage, fibre pull-out, and matrix cracking, in real time • Airborne Acoustic Emissions (AAE): Non-contact measurement for precise detection of damage locations on the tank surface • 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC): Non-contact measurement technique providing surface displacement and strain data on composite materials, detection of defects, analysis of the structure’s mechanical behaviour. • Strain Gauges: Local measurements for correlating experimentally measured strain distributions with numerical model predictions. The approach minimizes the gap between virtual engineering and experimental validation by leveraging advanced Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and filament winding simulations to optimize composite architectures prior to manufacturing • Hypothesis Validation: Systematic comparison of simulated stress fields with experimental data (DIC/AE) to refine composite damage models. • Design Optimization: Fine-tuning winding angles and liner–boss interfaces to maximize gravimetric capacity while ensuring structural integrity.   The platform acts as a catalyst for the regional hydrogen ecosystem, enabling the production of prototypes and small series through a short, localized industrial network. • Short Supply Chain (< 60 km): Strategic partnerships with local high-tech manufacturers ensure rapid iterations and a reduced carbonfootprint for prototype development. • Collaborative R&D: Seamless transition from lab-scale simulation to industrial-grade prototyping, tailored for innovative hydrogen mobility and stationary storage projects. Technical Specification or Expertise Sought: Advanced Structural Validation & Monitoring The technical platform, based in Southern Brittany, provides high-level experimental expertise dedicated to hydrogen storage tanks. By focusing on the transition from design to physical reality, the facility offers advanced pressure testing (standard cycling, custom stress profiles, and burst tests) augmented by a unique suite of monitoring tools to de-risk innovative designs: • Piezo-electric Acoustic Emissions (AE): In order to detect early-stage damage mechanisms, such as fibre breakage, fibre pull-out, and matrix cracking, in real time • Airborne Acoustic Emissions (AAE): Non-contact measurement for precise detection of damage locations on the tank surface • 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC): Non-contact measurement technique providing surface displacement and strain data on composite materials, enabling the detection of defects and the analysis of the structure’s mechanical behaviour. • Strain Gauges: Local measurements for correlating experimentally measured strain distributions with numerical model predictions. Integrated Design-to-Validation Loop: Our approach minimizes the gap between virtual engineering and experimental validation. The platform leverages advanced Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and filament winding simulations to optimize composite architectures prior to manufacturing • Hypothesis Validation: Systematic comparison of simulated stress fields with experimental data (DIC/AE) to refine composite damage models. • Design Optimization: Fine-tuning winding angles and liner–boss interfaces to maximize gravimetric capacity while ensuring structural integrity.   Agile Prototyping & Decarbonized Supply Chain: The platform acts as a catalyst for the regional hydrogen ecosystem, enabling the production of prototypes and small series through a short, localized industrial network. • Short Supply Chain (< 60 km): Strategic partnerships with local high-tech manufacturers ensure rapid iterations and a reduced carbon footprint for prototype development. • Collaborative R&D: A seamless transition from lab-scale simulation to industrial-grade prototyping, specifically tailored for innovative hydrogen mobility and stationary storage projects. Expected role of a partner: To support the development of an ambitious European project under the HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026 call, our technical platform — specialized in composite materials and additive manufacturing at the University of South Brittany (UBS) — is seeking to join a consortium as a high-level technical partner. With 13 years of R&D experience and a proven track record of collaborations with Tier-1 leaders in the automotive, maritime, aerospace, and space sectors, we offer specialized expertise in structural validation and digital twin correlation to de-risk innovative storage solutions. The ideal collaboration would include: Project Coordinators & Industrial Leaders (Hydrogen Storage & Mobility): • Manufacturers or OEMs seeking a specialized academic partner to support experimental and numerical validation of high-pressure tanks. • Partners requiring high-fidelity data to support safety cases and enable design optimization through advanced cycling and burst testing. Research Institutions / Academic Laboratories: • Organizations leading work packages on materials science or hydrogen aging, requiring a partner equipped for large-scale experimental testing and monitoring (acoustic emissions, DIC). • Laboratories focused on multi-physics modelling seeking to correlate their theoretical models with our experimental digital twin approach. Digital Solutions & Software Providers: • Companies specializing in structural health monitoring (SHM) or AI-driven predictive maintenance. • We provide high-quality experimental datasets to train and validate algorithms for tank integrity assessment. Material & Component Suppliers: • Developers of advanced fibres, resins, or liners seeking to validate their components within a complete tank architecture under realistic high-pressure cycling conditions.

ProviderInformatioN

Company:
GZS
Telephone:
015898156
Contact:
Petra Arzenšek
Address:
Dimičeva ulica 13
Country:
Slovenia

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