MAteRials and Technologies for New Applications, MARTINA

The development of materials is of key importance for the technological and economic-social progress of society. Steel and aluminum are and remain among the most commonly used materials in engineering applications with excellent properties, affordability and recyclability. Multicomponent materials, which enable combining the properties of different materials, are gaining more and more importance. The central goal of the program is to explore the possibilities of developing new advanced multi-functional materials and technologies for new demanding applications through a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach. The program directly supports the priority area (S)INDUSTRY 4.0 and the domain Development of materials as end products. We will develop high-strength steels and aluminum alloys with the goal of achieving material properties that are key to new applications in the automotive industry for reducing the weight of vehicles and the associated CO2 footprint and energy use both in the production and use of vehicles. In the case of multicomponent materials, we will take advantage of the ease of use of polymer materials and the specific properties of metal materials. By introducing new materials, we will develop advanced manufacturing and transformation technologies, setting new requirements for tools and tool steels. In addition to the properties of the tool steels themselves, our challenge will also be the correct distribution of these properties in the tool and the sensor technology that enables control over the operating conditions of the tool. Due to the increasingly demanding forms of tools, within the framework of the program we will research innovative processes of 3D printing of tools. Existing materials and production technologies individually and separately do not satisfy the growing needs of society and thus limit the development of new applications with increasingly strict requirements. The program is based on the development of new advanced multifunctional materials and manufacturing technologies of engineering components. The development and subsequent production of advanced materials requires demanding manufacturing and transformation processes, which sets new requirements for tools and consequently tool steels. The activity that connects the entire program and the goals of individual RRPs is the development of new tool steel and research into the possibility of using new technologies for the production of innovative tools. The common strategic idea of ​​the program is to more permanently connect research, development and innovation in three areas, namely different materials, tools and technologies for the production and processing of materials and their integration. This way of thinking and working also enables sustainable and more comprehensive solutions.

The main objective of the MARTINA program is to strengthen the position and role Slovenian industry in the field of materials, especially high-quality steels and aluminum, and increase competitiveness in the global market by moving from standard to development suppliers in international value chains and networks. In the context of the smart specialization strategy S4, the MARTINA program focuses on the priority area "Development of materials as end products", as it is based on and addresses the areas of steel, aluminum and multicomponent materials, and at the same time it also connects the use of materials in industry, specifically in the automotive industry, which is for Slovenia economy of a strategic nature, both in terms of scale, added value, as potential and export rate. The program includes and connects as many as five of the key identified industries or branches, namely materials, tools, plastics, chemical and automotive industries.