Stronger process industry through digitalisation

The process industry is part of the soul of the Swedish economy. It encompasses all industrial companies that turn our resources into new products, including the paper and pulp, steel , chemical, and petroleum industries, as well as mining and pharmaceutical production. The industry accounts for close to 50 percent of Swedish net exports.

The idea for PiiA came about in 2013, when companies within the process industry discussed the need to modernise the industry in order to match global competition, ensure recruitment, develop appropriate skills, and reduce their carbon footprint. It became clear that the way forward required cooperation with each other, technology providers, and researchers. The initiative managed to secure funding in 2013 through strategic innovation programmes geared towards bolstering the digitisation of the Swedish process industry. The programme guides the industry in finding new collaborations to test new technologies and develop work methods. PiiA also monitors global developments and showcases good examples from its own portfolio and from lessons learned from other countries and ventures.

– “We see many good results where collaboration within PiiA has led to innovative projects and new implementations that have made the industry safer, smarter, and more resource and energy efficient,” says Peter Wallin, Programme Manager at PiiA. “Swedish industry is among the best in the world when it comes to sustainability, the work environment, and quality. The challenges we are working on within the framework of Agenda 2030 require that we take a strong approach to the impact on the environment and society. In this, Swedish industry can contribute greatly with experience and work methods. PiiA aims to ensure that the process industry possesses the advanced IT and automation solutions needed to benefit from digitisation more effectively than its competitors on the global market. We intend to achieve this by strengthening cooperation among various process industry sectors, suppliers and researchers. PiiA coordinates applications for the funding of innovation projects, supports research, analyses industry needs, brings together researchers, and helps industry stakeholders access the training and skills they need.”

Industrial technology new Swedish proficiency

By forging new partnerships among industrial companies, technology companies and research partners, new technologies, work methods and tools are explored and implemented. A growing number of technology companies are adapting their products for industry, and IndTech – industrial technology – is becoming a new Swedish proficiency. IndTech makes the Swedish process industry smarter and more efficient, and thereby more sustainable and less environmentally destructive. New technologies are allowing an increasing number of dangerous or monotonous tasks to be performed by machines. This makes the work environment cleaner and safer, and work tasks less monotonous, which leads to attractive workplaces able to retain staff. It is clear that, to learn how to work in new ways, other types of skills and further training for existing staff are needed.

Governed by industrial needs

The direction of PiiA is governed by the needs of the industry by way of the Board of Directors, which comprises industry representatives and stakeholders.

– “The Board plays a very important role by governing the direction of our calls, and they also decide on our strategic investments, our agenda and projects that meet challenges for the entire industry,” says Wallin. “There are 17 strategic innovation programmes and we often work together across programme boundaries since we can learn many lessons from each other. Digitalisation makes things possible and spans all industries, which means we can learn a lot about how other industries work with societal challenges.”

The strategic innovation programme is expected to be funded up to 2023, and the goal until then is centred on increasing the use of digital technologies in the process industry, along with implementing digital business and operational models.

– “By 2022, we hope that more than half of the companies that have participated in our activities will realise that they have coped with the changes brought on by digitalisation better than their competitors,” says Wallin. “Another goal is for more than half of the research teams that have participated in PiiA’s activities to have improved in terms of research, development and innovation (R&D&I) and thus strengthened their international position.”

With support from RISE

PiiA is supported by RISE as host organisation with nearly 3,000 employees, which grants the programme access to vast expertise, networks and technical infrastructure able to accelerate the digital transformation of the industry.

– “With RISE as our host organisation, we can work with greater coordination in the research institute, and we are also given access to numerous testing and demo facilities. In the DigiCORE lab at our office in Västerås, we bring together the industry and smaller companies to test new technologies and work methods. RISE participates in many of the projects that have secured funding through the programme, and it’s clear that the research institute is playing a vital role in the industry’s digitisation,” concludes Wallin.