FORSCHUNGSKURATORIUM MASCHINENBAU EV

Their core work

FKM is Germany's central research association for mechanical engineering — an industry-backed NGO that coordinates collective pre-competitive research and channels it into practical industrial application. In H2020, their participation focused exclusively on support actions: amplifying the reach and business impact of the EU Factories of the Future Public-Private Partnership, and contributing to the development of industrial scenarios for connected manufacturing. Their concrete work in these projects involved running technology transfer programs, operating helpdesk and coaching services for companies and clusters, managing cross-fertilisation between application sectors, and driving market uptake of exploitable research results. They are not a research executor but a community mobiliser — their value is their direct access to the German and European mechanical engineering industry.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FKM's H2020 footprint spans only two projects, both started between 2015 and 2016, which limits any strong conclusion about evolution. Their first project, FoF-Impact, was dense with community-facing activity — technology transfer, coaching, helpdesk, clusters, trade fairs, cross-fertilisation — pointing to a dissemination and mobilisation function within the Factories of the Future ecosystem. Their second project, ConnectedFactories, carried no keyword data but its title and duration (to 2019) signal a shift toward industrial foresight and scenario development for connected manufacturing. The trajectory, though narrow, moves from outreach and knowledge diffusion toward shaping the industrial roadmap for digital and connected production.

With only two short-window projects, FKM appears to be transitioning from pure dissemination work toward contributing industry perspective to digital manufacturing roadmaps — but the data is too thin to confirm this as a durable trend.

How they like to work

FKM has never coordinated an H2020 project, always joining as a participant — consistent with an association that adds value through its member network and industry reach rather than by leading research consortia. Despite only two projects, they accumulated 21 unique partners across 10 countries, which reflects participation in large PPP-style consortia typical of Coordination and Support Actions. Working with FKM means gaining access to their industrial membership base and cluster connections, not a research team that drives deliverables.

FKM's 21 unique partners across 10 countries — from just 2 projects — reflects the broad, multi-stakeholder structure of EU manufacturing PPP support actions rather than a personally cultivated partner network. Their geographic reach is pan-European by project design, with Germany as the natural home base.

What sets them apart

FKM is the umbrella research federation for Germany's mechanical engineering sector — one of the largest industrial sectors in Europe — which gives them direct reach into hundreds of companies that neither research institutes nor universities can claim. In EU consortia, they fill a specific gap: legitimacy with industry, access to SME and cluster networks, and the credibility to drive actual market uptake of research results. For any consortium needing German manufacturing industry buy-in or a community-facing dissemination partner with real industrial reach, FKM is a rare asset.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FoF-Impact
  Directly targeted the business impact of the Factories of the Future PPP with a structured technology transfer and community expansion mission — an unusual combination of helpdesk, coaching, and cross-sector dissemination in a single CSA.
• ConnectedFactories
  The largest of FKM's two funded projects (EUR 34,625) and the longer-running one (to 2019), focused on building industrial scenarios for connected factories — positioning FKM at the intersection of manufacturing and early Industry 4.0 thinking.