Six SMEs in marine defence selected for funding
Last year, the partners in the LEVIATAD project launched a call for SMEs with ambitions in navel defence. The selection process has resulted in the selection of 6 Belgian SMEs whose goals and ambitions are well in line with LEVIATAD's investment priorities. These priorities include:
- development of autonomous ships and drones;
- communication and cybersecurity improvements;
- on-board equipment optimisation;
- predictive maintenance;
- weapon systems improvement;
- decarbonisation of ships.
The selected SMEs will receive support from the LEVIATAD programme to develop their innovative projects and to enter into international partnerships with other participating organisations. This funding not only provides a boost for growth and development within naval defence, but also lays the foundation for strong cooperation between companies from different countries, aimed at strengthening European naval capabilities.
Curious about which companies have been selected and what they plan to do? Read more below.
Selected companies
Footprint Inc.
Who are they?
Footprint inc. is a 3D printing company with a focus on sustainable and circular materials.
The company also provides advice on production methods, machinery and how to integrate and optimise additive manufacturing in a manufacturing company.
Footprint inc. aims to minimise the raw materials used and, where necessary, find a new purpose for the material, so that the production cycle is repeated as much as possible.
What are they planning?
Footprint inc. will investigate the possibility of cooperation with the Belgian navy in three areas:
- Sustainability improvements by incorporating 3D printing technologies on naval vessels.
- Investigate the technical implications of 3D integration on ships
- Train the crew to operate 3D printers
The company focuses on designing and creating 10 essential ship parts in order to create a more streamlined supply chain.
Officers On Watch
Who are they?
Officers on Watch aims to be a beacon in the world of Maritime Domain Awareness, and does this by providing the following services.
- Certification
- Expertise in assessments, analyses and creating effective policies for maritime activities
- Expertise in Vessel traffic service
- Performing certified risk assessments
- Advanced solutions to optimise operations, with specialisation in radar, LiDAR, VHF, MF/HF, GMDSS, AIS, VDES, CCTV, AI integration and network and software architecture.
What are they planning?
Officers on Watch aims to develop a test facility for navigation equipment technologies including radar, weapon communication and augmented vision systems. With this facility, they want to facilitate access to better formatted and high-quality data streams for companies.
The facility is being set up in collaboration with Antwerp Maritime Academy. The aim is to act as an independent certification body where companies can come and test their equipment. Academic researchers will also be welcome in the test facility, and knowledge sharing will be an important point of attention.
Jimber
Who are they?
Jimber focuses on building cyber security solutions that cover the most common threats - without the need for expensive hardware or years of expertise. Based on their knowledge, they have designed a security solution even the best hackers cannot break through
What are they planning?
Jimber will focus on further developing their unique security solution for naval defense through the Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) tool. This tool is based on a zero-trust foundation, where every access request is thoroughly verified, authorized and encrypted before it is granted. This ensures that the Navy's most sensitive operations are shielded from potential internal or external threats.
e-BO Enterprises
Who are they?
e-BO Enterprises develops smart content distribution platforms and provides network management services, secure cloud computing solutions and network infrastructure. Their goal is to deliver all content to any device in a secure way. Therefore, e-BO Enterprises focuses on user-centric design to innovate in a society where information sharing has become an integral part of the way business is done and users are becoming more mobile every day.
e-BO Enterprises has a highly qualified engineering team and an experienced customer service department with a fundamental knowledge of network design and architecture, advanced security, remote control, virtualisation and data center automation
What are they planning?
e-BO will further develop and internationally market a hybrid data fusion-driven surveillance solution for the maritime environment. They will explore the potential of data fusion-driven threat detection that combines military sensors and sensor systems on offshore installations for the protection of critical offshore infrastructure.
Prophesea
Who are they?
Prophesea delivers tailor-made predictive software solutions that enable you to:
- Gain actionable insights into your business processes;
- Optimize your business by predicting the future;
- Measure more often and more accurately;
- Automate (smart) decision-making.
They deliver solutions tailored to your business needs and guide you from proof of concept to production.
What are they planning?
Cooling and heating systems on naval vessels are vital to maintain operational readiness, preserve equipment functionality and prevent structural and material damage.
Prophesea will research and develop predictive maintenance techniques to ensure the health and efficiency of cooling and heating systems on naval vessels.
To this end, they will create a digital twin of the cooling and heating systems using real-life observations and mathematical models. This approach enables an optimized operational lifespan
MULTI.engineering
Who are they?
MULTI.engineering helps customers to be successful by offering flexible solutions for their engineering challenges. Their customers execute projects in 3 markets: Industry, Construction & Infrastructure as well as Maritime & Offshore. MULTI.engineering offers customers expertise and capacity in different services:
- they work out projects in-house in their own design & engineering offices;
- they offer support on the customer's premises via project sourcing;
- a combination of our design & engineering office and project sourcing via their Site Based Team.
What are they planning?
Multi-engineering uses digital twin services to digitize fleet support and increase decarbonization efforts. These can then be used to validate and optimize construction and commissioning, but also to predict maintenance, train crew and demonstrate risks and controls in HAZID/HAZOP. Multi-engineering will further develop their digital twin services thanks to the support of Leviatad.
