Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EKOMAP (Eco friendly marine antifouling paint)

Teaser

The objective of the proposed project as a whole (phase 1-3) is to plan, develop, secure and bring to market an innovative non-toxic and eco-friendly self-polishing boat hull paint. In the proposed project Ekomarine Paint AB will introduce the patented non-toxic anti-fouling...

Summary

The objective of the proposed project as a whole (phase 1-3) is to plan, develop, secure and bring to market an innovative non-toxic and eco-friendly self-polishing boat hull paint. In the proposed project Ekomarine Paint AB will introduce the patented non-toxic anti-fouling marine hull paint to the European and the global commercial shipping market and to the global leisure boat industry. Exactly what we wish to achieve through the project is to develop an optimized application for commercial vessels (which is a new market for the company) and a much improved application for leisure boats (partly existing customers). This will be achieved through a well-planned project plan where Ekomarine Paint will demonstrate in full scale and in real environment, in conjunction with potential customers, the functionality, economic and environmental benefits as well as working environment improvements in various geographical and meteorological settings.

The specific objectives of the feasibility study are to evaluate the feasibility of the concept and designing the demonstration phase and preparing for the exploitation phase of the planned innovation activity. The deliverable from the feasibility study is a feasibility report including the Business Innovation Plan 1. Another specific objective of the phase 1 is to find the best demonstration locations and partners for phase 2. This is done in task 1, involving the future users of the technology. A second specific objective is to investigate if there is a need for new knowledge partners in Europe for conducting the activities in phase 2 in an objective and reliable way (task 2). A third specific objective of phase 1 is to map the primary target group of phase 3 (task 3). A fourth objective is to secure the measurement values and working methods to be used in phase 2 (task 4). A fifth objective is to specify the environmental benefits by preparing an Environmental Product Declaration, EPD (task 5). A sixth objective is to formulate the European dimension in a comprehensive way and analyse the profitability obstacles that may exist for Ekomarine Paint when going into phase 3 of the project (task 6) and is expected to secure best possible ROI when going into the exploitation phase. The 7th objective is to elaborate an innovation strategy (task 7) for the innovation project (phase 3). The final objective of the feasibility phase is to write a Business Innovation Plan 1 the will put together task 1-7 and will present the predicted business- and market possibilities. This will be the foundation for an application to phase 2 of the SME-instrument. The feasibility has been proved during phase 1 and an applicaiton for phase 2 will be prepared for the September cut-off date.

Work performed

The work has followed the proposed plan for the feasibility phase. We have been able to progress with the objectives at full speed. We have successfully completed the objectives described in our Grant agreement. That is;
• We have identified the major representatives within each of our four major market segments.
• We have identified potential knowledge partners in Europe for our phase 2 project
• A market survey mapping potential customers has been done
• We have a risk analysis in order to provide valid test results
• We have elaborated an innovation strategy
• We have elaborated on the obstacles that may hinder the commercial process internationally
• We have investigated EPD preparations

Final results

The expected final result of the project is to plan, develop, secure and bring to the global market an innovative non-toxic and eco-friendly self-polishing boat hull paint, both for the commercial shipping market and to the global leisure boat industry. There are high values of this project for society, especially in terms of environmental effects of diminished pollution of water. The societal problem handled is water with bad status (in both ecological and chemical terms). The industrial problems solved by the project for Ekomarine Paint are the development, production and distribution of the innovative paint in-order to reach cost-efficiency and a good momentum in the market introduction phase.

In our SME Instrument Phase 1 application we were envisaging to more or less concurrently launch the new product both for the leisure boat market as well as the commercial vessel market during Phase 3 in 2017. Based on conclusive results from both the tests during the winter 2013/14 and the summer 2014 as well as the resulting provisional patent application towards the end of 2014 we feel that the company is ready to launch the new (patent pending) product which can satisfy the needs of the leisure boat market already during Phase 2 in 2016. The commercial vessel market is more complex and will require further development, test and full-scale demonstration during Phase 2 with product launch in 2017 (possibly 2018). This complexity besides being technical is due to the nature of the market and legislation. The shipping industry is very conservative and not in the forefront when it comes to new technology. The shipping industry will be slow to migrate from existing proven concepts and toxic products to new solution.

The technology will be launched in 6 EU member states in year 1. In year 2 it will be introduced in the rest of the coastal areas of the EU and in Norway. In year 3 it will be introduced for leisure boats in the US, Canada, South Korea, Japan and Australia. In year 4 it will be introduced globally for commercial fleet.

In a 5 year perspective after product launch (which probably may take place in the spring of 2017) Ekomarine Paint will be a world leading supplier of anti-fouling marine paint.
The business opportunities in measurable and realistic terms that we want to achieve are:
- 25% of producers of the leisure boats are using Ekomarine Paint’s paint
- 10% of shipyards are using Ekomarine Paint’s paint
- 10% of vessels are using Ekomarine Paint’s paint
- 50% of private leisure boat owners are using Ekomarine Paint’s paint
- A turnover of 2 million euro year 1 after market introduction, 5 million in year 2, 14 million in year 3 and > 40 million euro year 5
- Profit year 1 – 10% of sales, year 2 – 13% of sales, year 3 – 15% of sales and in year 5, 20% of sales
- Income will be derived from both sales of paint but also from measurement services of environmental effects (e.g. for stakeholders aiming for good water status).

The growth of Ekomarine Paint will create new jobs not only in Sweden but also globally, both for production, sales and distribution. At Ekomarine Paint the work force will grow to around 50 people in year 5 and the recruitment of new staff will be proportional in relation to the turnover i.e. 4 in year 1, 10 in year 2 and 25 staff in year 3.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.ekomarine.se/nyheter.