Built over the last four decades, approximately 1,500 platforms have now been operating for more than 15 years. Many European railway bridges are nearly 100 years old. In addition, many motorway bridges, built in the 1960s and 1970s, need maintenance. Therefore, the cost of maintenance and safety inspections is continuing to grow in all EU countries. Forecasts put the market for bridge requalification in Europe at approximately 100MECU per year.
Potential markets exist around the world in developed as well as developing countries.
In the global power plant domain, opportunities exist for customisation of tools for specific types of plants. Key targets are power plants in Eastern Europe and those subjected to increasingly strict environmental regulations. All the partners agree that collaboration has brought important advances and rewards. The project has proved that solutions to difficult practical engineering problems can be found by applying high level science. Probably one of the most important aspects has been the comparison of different methodologies for inspection and maintenance.