The Urban Infra Revolution project Journal 5: get an update about Lappeenranta's project
Executive summary
Despite the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the work of the project has continued, and a significant progress has been made. This progress was presented during the online conference on 27 October 2020, as described in the second section of the article.
The third section provides detailed analysis of the project status, especially in the area of the development of the prototype as an innovative technical solution. Currently, the full-scale 3D printer is operational and uses new types of materials. The very intensive work for completing the construction of the prototype – the noise wall – is being carried out. The specific elements required for the new construction are manufactured daily, and the innovative project is close to becoming a reality. Moreover, the activities related to the certification of the new materials are being continued, and the environmental research is almost completed.
The fourth section of the article gives information on the different areas of project implementation. The project has been extended till December 2020, because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic that influenced the timely completion of the project. Considering the determination of the consortium members, the new deadline seems realistic. This chapter shows challenges addressed by the project during the last 6 months. There are presented in the following areas: leadership for implementation, public procurement, integrated cross-departmental working, adopting a participative approach, monitoring and evaluation, communicating with target beneficiaries, upscaling and others.
The last section presents the plans for the next three months. Despite the difficulties, the consortium in planning to finalise the project according to the new schedule – till the end of 2020. The commitment of the consortium members will make the project plan a reality.
Introduction
1. Project update
2. Implementation status
3. Project Challenge
4. Main lessons learned
Conclusions and next steps
The article summarises the most important activities that occurred in the last months in the UIR project. In this period, the work associated with scaling up of the technology was particularly important. A significant progress in the project was achieved in these areas. This brings good prospects for the future and successful projections for the completion of the UIR project in December 2020. Most of the technical problems have been overcome, and the project is in the last phase of implementation.
There is still a question of using the developed solution on a wider scale. The application of the local waste or by-products, in the technology, brings large benefits for the environment, but it also caused some challenges in scaling up the solution at the international level. The technology is dependent on chemical and mineralogical composition of the raw materials (local waste or by-product resources). This caused some limitations for using them in other regions and other countries with different industrials sectors. A potential user must be aware that the use of this technology will require some changes in the system because of a new composition of raw materials.
Circular economy
