Tuneable Acoustic Noise DampEning Material

Project Information

TANDEM

Grant agreement ID: 858845

DOI

10.3030/858845

Project closed

EC signature date 24 May 2019

Start date 1 June 2019

End date 31 May 2022

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 3 513 982,25

EU contribution

€ 2 312 528,58

Coordinated by

RESTORED HEARING LIMITED
Ireland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - TANDEM (Tuneable Acoustic Noise DampEning Material)

Reporting period: 2020-06-01 to 2022-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Existing acoustic materials do not meet the challenges of the increasingly noisy modern world. Thick and heavy slabs of materials are required to block out low frequency noise, like that of cars and jet engines. Increasing production cost, product size, and emissions. Industries are facing increasingly stringent regulations, and don’t have the technology to comply.

SoundBounce is an acoustic metamaterial providing superior noise reduction. It bypasses a critical technical bottleneck enabling the creation of smaller, lighter products with substantially reduced noise output. This is critical in the construction, automotive, home appliances, and aerospace sectors where space is at a premium.

SoundBounce provides game-changing advantages – significant improvement on current state-of-the-art; 4x volume reduction; customisable; unique ability to attenuate low frequency noise; and clean technology.

Market leaders in the acoustic materials market have demonstrated a clear demand for the SoundBounce technology. Market growth is being driven by more stringent regulation, increasing social demand for lower noise emissions, and a rapidly urbanising population.

The EU is committed to significantly decreasing noise pollution. SoundBounce can be adapted for integration into a wide variety of products and components, enabling next generation technologies for a quieter world.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During Project TANDEM significant progress towards the industrialisation and commercialisation of SoundBounce was made. Technology was scaled up, with the feasibility of large samples demonstrated, customers were engaged in joint development work to refine SoundBounce for industry, and the product development team expanded design capabilities leading to shorter sales cycles.

The feasibility of large SoundBounce samples was proved – the acoustic performance was verified. Samples were produced and tested according to ISO standards. Two manufacturing methods were identified as viable for series production, depending on the application of the technology. A technology transfer package was created to progress to pilot production, the next step on the transition to industrial scale.

We have built a pipeline of customers that will design SoundBounce into future products and established relationships with potential global manufacturing partners for the product. The pipeline contains companies across diverse sectors including aerospace, automotive, home appliances, and construction. We identified and incorporated the requirements of customers and industry regulations into the product development cycle. Customer pilot projects ensure SoundBounce development is informed foremost by the needs of the customer.
We developed new designs and formulations of SoundBounce in joint development projects with market leaders in key industries. This demonstrates the clear demand for high performance, sustainable acoustic materials.


Shortening the sales cycle was a core aim of Project TANDEM. This was achieved through a combination of technical and commercial developments.
Mathematical modelling was successfully established as an integral part of product development. A variety of modelling techniques are now employed to understand new designs prior to production.
Extensive material characterisation, testing, and the production of datasheets to communicate these results help potential customers understand the SoundBounce technology.
The highly successful rebranding of the company, in addition to the creation of marketing materials such as videos convey the benefits of integrating SoundBounce into the next generation of products and components, leading to reduced noise pollution globally.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The performance of traditional acoustic materials are limited by their thickness and/or mass, particularly at low frequencies. The ability to create quieter and smaller products is critical to continuing technological development in the EU and beyond. By overcoming theoretical constraints SoundBounce is fundamentally unlike anything available on the market today.
The results of Project TANDEM demonstrated the feasibility of SoundBounce at a larger scale, and identified paths to pilot production – both key milestones in commercialisation and adoption of a new technology.

The main way in which society benefits from SoundBounce is by gaining the ability to reduce low frequency noise in a space efficient way. Customers can make their products quieter, meet regulatory requirements, save space, and save costs by using SoundBounce.
By saving space, the overall reduction in bill of materials required for manufacture provides a sustainability benefit both to companies in the market and to society at large.

Sustainability is increasingly a key consideration for adoption by our customers and a core aspect of our approach to providing acoustic materials. Traditional acoustic materials are, mostly, very difficult if not impossible to recycle. SoundBounce presents a distinct advantage because we are implementing cradle to cradle product design techniques.
In addition to the environmental advantages with respect to noise, the materials used to make SoundBounce have a low environmental impact (aligned with the EU’s Sustainable Development Goals). SoundBounce materials are safe, non-toxic, and recyclable at end of life.

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