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Técnico Innovation Summit brings together 21 RRP projects involving Técnico’s participation

November 7thupdated on November 11th at 11:45

During the PhD Open Days, researchers and companies showcased the projects developed within their consortia.

Maria Carolina | Instituto Superior Técnico

On 4 and 5 November, the Técnico Innovation Center hosted the first edition of the Técnico Innovation Summit, an event included in the 10th edition of the PhD Open Days. 21 projects funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) with the participation of Instituto Superior Técnico were showcased at the summit. At the event’s presentation, Rogério Colaço, the president of Técnico, recalled the school’s founding purpose – ‘to prepare professionals for the development of the economy’ and the country – and said that ‘the Técnico Innovation Summit is based on this idea that is more than 100 years old. Putting ‘people who come from academia in direct contact with partners to develop the country continues to be Técnico’s purpose’, he highlighted.

Using totems, samples, catalysers and even a robot dog, the Técnico researchers answered questions about the projects they are working on.

The “VIIA Food” project is already testing a biodegradable polymer for food oil and olive oil bottles, using raw materials of natural origin, as Mónica Loureiro and Tânia Frade explained. The “New Space” project aims to grow the aerospace sector with the Atlantic constellation – a set of satellites to observe the Earth – in which Técnico researchers are developing a vehicle (launcher) design tool, as Iara Figueiras shared.

Decarbonising the crystal, glass and ceramics sector is the aim of “Agenda Ecocerâmica” and “Cristal Portugal”, which is trying to replace natural gas with hydrogen in this industry. To this end, experiments in kilns that replicate those used in factories and analysing flames are conducted at Técnico, says Débora Almeida.

The “Be Neutral” project aims to create new tools for carbon-neutral mobility. Ricardo Gomes, a Técnico researcher, designs energy consumption models, which, for example, make it possible to establish how many and where electric vehicle charging stations should be installed.

Duarte Moço is doing a postdoc at Técnico and focuses his work on extracting substances from old batteries that can be reused, such as lithium and nickel. The former ones can be used in new batteries and the latter in water electrolysis blades (which can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen).

Dora Sousa’s pellets also come from reuse. Sludge (cutting waste) from quarries produces new products such as filaments for 3D printers, façade cladding and electricity poles. Gustavo Paneiro’s “Rocky” – a robot dog – facilitates stock management in quarries by reducing waste and, using a drone, it is possible to capture images on site and, from these, predict what lies behind the surface of the stone.

The “Blue Biotechnology Pact” project includes 83 partners. Técnico participates in four of the 10 work packages. Rodrigo Costa and Tina Keller, microbiologists, are working on digitising the Portuguese Blue Biobank, a network of biobanks that will allow national researchers to use samples from other institutions, according to their needs. This project, which also aims to decarbonise, also includes the creation of bioplastics as well as the biosynthesis of other products applicable, for example, to the pharmaceutical industry.

According to the Vice-President of Técnico for Corporate Interface, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Pedro Amaral, this summit is an ‘example of collaboration’. He pointed out that from this interaction between researchers and companies comes innovation, which will allow to achieve the ultimate goal: creating ‘added value’.

The first Técnico Innovation Summit featured 21 of the 23 Agendas in which Técnico participates: