The sound insulation products are employed in several sectors:
1.industrial sector: soundproof cabins for the abatement of noise emissions from large machineries, such as chillers or industrial plants;
2.construction sector: sound-insulating elements for civil and industrial buildings.
In all sectors, two major market needs are emerging and the problem/issues to be addressed are:
1.products with high-performance in terms of sound insulation, due to the regulatory trend in introducing strict regulations in the European countries and the increased awareness among the population about all the acoustic-related health damages;
2.products with a low environmental impact
3.lower thickness and mass for the products, for easy installations also in old buildings avoiding additional loads on the structures.
It is possible to identify two sectors with respect to which this project has important social positive consequences:
-Safety in the workplace. The noise-induced hearing loss still remains the main disease of professional origin registered in Italy in recent years, especially in the industrial sector. According to an Inail study (dating back to 2005), in fact, the hearing loss and deafness accounted for 32% of the reported occupational diseases and 42% of the reimbursements, that is the indemnified cases and those defined positive without compensation. The use of high-performance soundproofing technologies, especially for high frequencies, like the product presented, is fundamental for the reduction of damage due to noise pollution.
-Health. Noise pollution is connected to a wide spectrum of health problems: acute and chronic hearing loss, sleep disturbance; fatigue and reduced performance, especially in learning; feeling sick; cardiocirculatory diseases and hypertension; increase in aggressive behavior and mood swings.
The objective of the project are here summarized:
1.Technical aspects: feasibility and viability study of the Phononic Meta-Panel industrialization through injection moulding exploiting recycled plastics as compound; the use of injection moulding is fundamental to reach the target cost to enter the aforementioned market.
2.Business aspects, comprising:
•detailed study of the European and Global market of the existing sound insulation products: starting from available data on the Italian market, the goal is to extend it at a European and Global level, studying the market sizes, the main future trends, the growth rate, opportunities, profitability and segmentation;
•identification of the key stakeholders (regulators, associations, company networks, main competitors, institutions, research centres) and definition of the best sales and commercialization strategy for the market.
3.Commercial aspects, comprising:
•definition of the certification framework to be carried out in order the products to be sold in EU and globally: this research will comprise both the certifications associated with the employed materials in the different markets (e.g. fire safety, durability, mechanical properties) and the ones associated with the product (i.e. quality assurance, environmental impact);
•check of possible legal barriers to enter the market: the freedom to operate will be studied first in the European market, as it will be the first one to be approached; then the FTO study will be extended to other key countries for the commercialization, such as China and US.
