Poly-DREAM | Polymers and technologies to advance additive manufacturing

Boosting regional innovation through advanced polymer 3D printing adoption

Poly-DREAM addresses a structural challenge in the Meuse-Rhine Region: low productivity among manufacturing SMEs, particularly in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies such as polymer-based 3D printing. In rapidly evolving value chains, SMEs need to boost their innovation capacity to stay competitive. The project sets up a cross-border R&I platform that pools expertise and infrastructure, supporting SMEs in developing new products using polymer additive manufacturing. 
 

Target group

The project is aimed at:

• Manufacturing SMEs, particularly in the health and biotech sectors, looking to integrate polymer-based additive manufacturing into their processes
• SMEs directly involved in the project (TENCO DDM, 3D Maastricht, FABOT, IamFluidics, MEOTEC, Fibrothelium), plus 18 additional SMEs selected through open calls
• Students from institutes across the Meuse-Rhine Region (HEPL, HEL, PXL, Hogeschool Zuyd, etc.), integrated into the project through internships lasting 4 to 11 months at partner organisations
• Hospital sector stakeholders including MUMC+, CHU Liège, and RWTH Uniklinik Aachen, who will be involved in clinical testing, validation, and the real-world deployment of medical applications

Context

The Meuse-Rhine Region shows lower productivity growth than the EU-27 average, which directly affects the competitiveness of manufacturing SMEs. This situation is partly due to still limited cross-border coordination in the fields of polymers and additive manufacturing, as well as restricted access to advanced 3D printing infrastructure.

SMEs have limited access to demonstrators or concrete use cases that would allow them to assess the real potential of these technologies for their applications. In addition, innovation ecosystems remain fragmented, with insufficient interaction between research, industry and end users. Finally, many existing polymers do not yet meet the requirements of medical applications due to constraints related to toxicity, durability or processing.
 

Objectives & results

Poly-DREAM aims to boost productivity, innovation, and economic resilience among SMEs in the Meuse-Rhine Region by accelerating the adoption of advanced polymer-based 3D printing. The project builds a long-term, cross-border R&I ecosystem around additive manufacturing.

Specific objectives include:

• Set up a shared AM service platform tailored to SME needs
• Co-develop demonstrators (TRL 7) focused on health and biotech use cases
• Develop new sustainable, medically compatible polymer materials
• Build business cases to demonstrate economic viability of solutions
• Strengthen regional collaboration through joint projects and transnational calls 

Key results:

• 1 operational cross-border AM platform
• 6 SME partners involved from the start
• 3 calls for projects reaching 30 additional SMEs (18 projects selected)
• 18 demonstrators co-developed at TRL 7
• 30 SME-research collaborations
• Stronger capacity-building and integration of students and young researchers
   

Approach

The project is structured into three main work packages:

• WP1 Realisation: set up platform infrastructure, governance, and SME portal; launch first materials and demonstration activities with core SME partners
• WP2 Validation: run three calls for projects targeting SMEs (10 proposals per call); co-develop 18 TRL 7 demonstrators; validate material properties including biocompatibility
• WP3 Valorisation: build business cases; assess impact; ensure post-project sustainability of the platform
   

Project logo

Funding

• Funding agency: Interreg Meuse-Rhine (NL-BE-DE)
• Project type: Interreg VI-A
• Contract number: IMR6-00075
• Total budget: € 5,941,175.20
• Funding level:  € 2,970,587.60 (European Union), € 975,919.48 (regional co-financing), € 1,994,868.12 (partner contributions) 
   

External links

• Official website page of the project Polydream