ICT

Report of the thematic expert group:
ICT and embedded systems for Process Industries (ProcessIT)

Description of the theme and its relevance

The Background

Historic background Process and manufacturing industry
For several hundred years Sweden and Finland has had people and companies that continuous has contributed to an increased ability to use, extract and refine our natural resources. In mining and forestry the companies has also gained and maintained an international leading position thru continuous renewal. The region has now a strong and leading process industry that also has meant a lot for their suppliers and manufacturing industry. Thru profitability and big investments this process industry has served as an engine and injection for the growth of regional manufacturing industries, as advanced process industry suppliers, that in there turn also has developed to have a leading international position thru ability in development and for renewal. Both industry-segments are very aware of the importance of renewal thru the use of ICT-based solutions in order to maintain and increase global competitiveness.
Now the process and manufacturing industry can be an engine for a further development of the ICT-industry.

Historic background ICT industry
The ICT sector in the region has also been established and has grown tremendously during the last 40 years. The sector has good education and excellent research has been established that has lead to highly skilled engineers, world leading researchers and top innovative ICT-companies and top performing products. The sector is characteristic with high competence and a high growth potential. The region has several world leading companies in the area of telecom and mobile phone but also in other ICT-areas.
Tradition in industry cooperation
Thru the years Finland and Sweden has seen many examples in joining forces in both process, manufacturing and ICT industries. StoraEnso, Metso Paper, TietoEnator, TeliaSonera, ABB (ASEA-Strömberg), Boliden-Outokumpu etc-. Also the material value chain from LKAB via Luleå to Rukki in Finland and “cross-border mining” around Pajala.

In both Telecom and ProcessIT Sweden and Finland are strong stake holders on the international arena. Successful companies like the above + Nokia, Ericson etc are all based on Finish-Swedish culture and competence. Thus Telecom and ProcessIT can serve as pilot areas for joint programing between Finland and Sweden focusing on development of the best innovations system in Europe.

The Automation market
The worldwide market for Monitoring & Control products and solutions is around 188 billion euros.. In the field of ICT, this is comparable to twice the world mobile phone manufacturer’s revenues. The European M&C market is around 62 billion euros. The 3 larger application markets are Vehicles, Process and Manufacturing industries.
Factory automation, the sum of Manufacturing plus Process industries remains the main market with 58 billion euros, comparable to Vehicles (56 billion). Services, with more than 50% of the market value, have the biggest share.

The growth perspectives in the Process Industry market is expected to have an annual rate of 6.9 % (between 2007-2020).

Main challenges on the process industries market are different IP and service architectures, complex systems optimization & control, flexibility, availability & maintenance control. All with sensibility to environmental concerns, energy saving questions and CO2 issues.

Drivers are: Energy efficiency, Cost of oil/gas, Safety, Security, Development of services, Reliability, Easy to use, Environment/Environmental concerns.

The embedded system market
Over 98% of all computing chips are actually hidden or "embedded" in all sorts of things that do not look like computers. Computers are moving away from the desktop and can be found in everyday devices like credit cards, mobile phones, cars and planes. Over 4 billion embedded processors were sold in 2006 and the global market is worth €60 billion with annual growth rates of 14%. With current growth rates the number of embedded programmable components will reach 16 billion by 2010 (nearly 3 embedded devices per person on earth) and over 40 billion worldwide by 2020.

The European process industry perspective
Europe's processing industry is strong and well positioned on its global markets.  The process industry is crucial in the European process value chain, for example from ore right through to steel-based engineering production, since at an early stage in this chain it can influence and thereby ensure the quality, sustainability, efficiency and competitiveness of the end product. This applies also to other process industry segments like the chemical industry and the paper-based industries. For the process industry in the long term to be able to retain and increase its competitiveness, there is a need, among other things, to maintain constant development and application of new process and production products and services based on information and communication technologies. 

The European embedded systems perspective
Computing technology is facing many threats and challenges from fragmentation, globalisation and fierce competition. The European Union recognises the strategic importance of Embedded Computing Systems and has launched the Artemis Joint Technology Initiative. The Artemis JTI is implemented as a Joint Undertaking which is a public-private partnership between. The Artemis JU will manage and co-ordinate research activities through open calls for proposals through a 10-year €2.5 billion research programme on Embedded Computing Systems. Artemis aims to help European industry consolidate and reinforce its world leadership in embedded computing technologies. The economic impact in terms of jobs and growth is expected to exceed €100 billion over ten years.

1. Description of the theme and its relevance
The background above is a description why it is justified to propose that the Governments and Parliaments of Finland and Sweden jointly

• Take actions to fully exploit the potential of combining the challenges that the Process industry has with the knowledge, experience an potential that the ICT and embedded industry has in order to address a growing international market with new products and services that also will increase the effectiveness of Swedish-Finnish process industries.
• Announce that we together take lead in Europe by forming and ARTEMIS ProcessIT,
(a collaborative Innovation Eco-Systems “CoIES”) according to the ARTEMIS Multi Annual strategic plan of 2009.
• Announce program for excellent research trough cross border research collaboration based on the PhDPolis concept.

New challenges to maintain and increase competitiveness in refining our natural resources.
Today’s process industry is knowledge intensive and high tech and increasing competitiveness requires a successful management of all existing and future ICT challenges.  Challenges that not only deal with new and more effective measurement, control and optimization but also with communication, infrastructure, user environments and new business concepts.  Challenges that require new approaches, new ways of working together and increase research and innovation in products and services. These challenges have a huge potential for those ICT companies that manage to meet them.

Finland and Sweden taking the lead
With a prosperous Finish-Swedish collaboration between ICT-companies, process industries, innovators and researchers we can take on these challenges, strengthen our process industries, develop our ICT industry to an international competitiveness in monitoring and control, automation and embedded systems.
In this area, ICT and embedded systems for process Industries (ProcessIT) Finland and Sweden can take lead by forming an ARTEMIS Collaborative Innovation eco system for Europe. Similar to the first ARTEMIS innovation system EICOSE.

A leding innovation system
Joint activites in the area suggested between Finland and Sweden addresses triple helix programs cross border where Finland – Sweden already are or can become the leader in Europe.    Such tripple helix program will address the development a innovationsystem based on a close partnership between industry, universites and societies. What Finland has done in the Telecom area and Sweden in the ProcessIT area can serve as good examples. 

To develop the best innovations systems requires excellent research, excellent university and industry competence and technology transfer and excellent strategic planing in close colaboration with society. Models to develop such excelencies can be the PhD. Polis project and ProcessIT-Innovation projects between Luleå University of Technology and Oulu University where crossborder research and research education is made in close colaboration with industry with the aim of generating next generation of ProcessIT products.

Uniqueness, opportunities and possibilities
With the background described above the Finnish-Swedish uniqueness, opportunities and possibilities can be summarized in
• Similar industry structure
o Industries to refine our natural resources, forest, minerals, water etc. Note also that Pulp & Paper is moving to BioRefinery
o Telecom. International players with national and regional sub-suppliers.
• Process Industry challenges
o A decreasing market causing similar problems as in the Swedish automotive industry.
o Reduce CO2, reduce energy usage, reduce negative effects on environment and increase both people safety and plant security.
o Increase the overall plant efficiency. Most probably there will be few new industry processes and increased efficiency will be based on more use of ICT and embedded systems
• For the telecom sub suppliers there is a challenge and a possibility to find new markets. The ICT and embedded systems industry that are and have been sub-suppliers to industries like Nokia and Ericsson has a big potential to build on and expand to provide services and products to the process industry.
• There is a huge and growing market for ICT and embedded systems for Process Industries
• Yrjö Neuvo, former president of the ARTEMISIA association, has also asked why not the two countries take the lead and form an innovation system on “ProcessIT” similar to the EICOSE. He regards the two countries as having the potential and position to do this.
• World leading research in embedded systems, ICT and process industry applications.
• There are several regional initiatives that Finland and Sweden can build on.

2.  Goals and objectives
The vision is to strengthen and expand the embedded and ICT industry to, based on process Industry needs provide world leading products and services that for a growing global market that increase to overall process industry plant efficiency. This in triple helix based innovation system including universities, process industry and their suppliers plus public and privet organisations.

A deeper collaboration by Swedish and Finnish national, regional and sector initiatives should be seen as a way to achieve the vision.

It is important that Initiatives in embedded systems and ICT are cross process industry sectors (P&P, Metals, minerals, chemical, pharmaceutical, water treatment, food etc)

The goals are to
• Establish and lead an new and dynamic ARTEMIS Collaborative Innovation Eco-Systems in the area ICT and embedded systems for Process Industries (ProcessIT)
• Establish a set of program for excellent research trough cross border research collaboration and research education based on the PhDPolis Ccncept
• Contribute to a stronger and more efficient Swedish and finish process industry thru Finnish and Swedish world leading ICT and embedded systems suppliers
• Contribute to an leading ICT and embedded system industry on a  global process industry market
3.  Proposed actions
The proposal to launch a set of actions in order to reach the goals set up.
Typical actions would be
• Establish a joint group, plans and office to form and drive the ARTEMIS CoIES on “ICT and embedded systems for Process Industries (ProcessIT)”
• On a national base invite the different stakeholders. Universities, industries, suppliers, organisations and other initiatives.
• Develop a Finish - Swedish   innovation system in ProcessIT. Consisting of a larger research program finding its research problem in close collaboration with the Finnish and Swedish ProcessIT industry. The research program is highly integrated with a tools and support for bringing research results to first the local market and further to a global market.
• Establish a Finish Swedish research school in ProcessIT using the concept of phDPolis. The research school should have a high integration to the ProcessIT research program.

4.  Prerequisites of the implementation (financing, organizations, etc.)
The activities to initiate the proposed actions are well within the task for VINNOVA and Tekes. The initial cost include the cost for establishing the different groups and the ARTEMIS ProcessIT Office.

5. Definition of ICT and embedded systems for Process Industry (ProcessIT)
 The main industry processes that “ProcessIT will address are the production process, the maintenance process and logistics process. The training and engineering process will also be addressed.
The systems that will support these processes are measurement systems, control systems, communication systems and interaction systems. Many of these systems are based on embedded systems technologies. ICT must also support the information integration of these systems.
Many of the people involved (eg operators) in the different industry processes are normally involved in several and need information from different processes. Therefore the ICT systems must support collaborative working and information retrieve, analyze, distribution and presentation.