Webinar Series Wrap-Up: “Next-Gen Materials – Europe’s Digital Manufacturing Leap”

From May to July 2025, DiMAT hosted a five-part webinar series in collaboration with sister EU-funded projects MetaFacturing and PIONEER. Titled “Next-Gen Materials – Europe’s Digital Manufacturing Leap”, the series brought together leading experts to discuss how digitalisation is shaping the future of materials manufacturing, with a focus on empowering SMEs across Europe.

Held on Zoom and made available for registration via the F6S platform, the series attracted strong interest from the innovation and manufacturing community. Over 201 participants engaged in the sessions, which explored digital transformation from data interoperability to AI, simulation, circularity, and digital twins.

Each webinar featured diverse speakers from DiMAT, MetaFacturing, and PIONEER, and offered practical insights, real-world applications, and examples from pilots and technologies already in action.

Webinar 1: The Role of Digitalization in Advanced Manufacturing

📅 20 May 2025 | 48 participants

The series kicked off with a big-picture discussion on why digital transformation is critical for competitiveness, particularly for SMEs in the materials sector. Speakers from CERTH, Vitronic, ENG, and DiMAT’s coordination team highlighted how EU projects are accelerating the digital shift and making innovation more accessible.

Webinar 2: Standardisation and Data Management for Material Manufacturing

📅 27 May 2025 | 42 participants

This session focused on the power of FAIR data and standardisation for smarter material development. Experts from Fraunhofer, RISC Software, and PIONEER explained how consistent data practices can streamline sustainability, collaboration, and interoperability across the manufacturing value chain.

Webinar 3: Digital Tools for Accelerated Materials Discovery

📅 5 June 2025 | 37 participants

From simulation and AI to data-driven design, the third webinar explored how emerging tools can significantly reduce R&D time and cost. Speakers from CETMA, UPV, AIMEN, and ISQ provided concrete examples of how digital solutions are already enhancing materials discovery.

Webinar 4: Circular Materials & Digital Traceability

📅 24 June 2025 | 36 participants

Sustainability took center stage in this discussion on how digital tools, like LCA platforms and traceability systems, can drive circularity in materials production. DiMAT and PIONEER partners shared use cases showing how digital tracking and analysis support greener, more transparent manufacturing.

Webinar 5: How Digital Twins & AI Are Revolutionising Manufacturing

📅 3 July 2025 | 40 participants

Closing the series on a high note, the final session showcased how Digital Twins and AI are transforming real-time decision-making and predictive control in industrial processes. Speakers from NTUA, CORE, LTH Castings, Benteler, and more demonstrated how these technologies enhance process resilience and efficiency.

A Collective Step Forward for EU Materials Manufacturing

Throughout the series, it became clear that collaboration between EU projects is crucial to shaping a unified and scalable digital transformation. The shared challenges and cross-cutting solutions discussed over the five sessions offered not only technical depth, but also actionable knowledge for SMEs and industry stakeholders looking to embrace the digital future.

Stay tuned for more updates from DiMAT and partners as we move toward the final phase of the project and beyond!