ESTELLA project has just completed its first year of work. Therefore, the consortium met last 20th and 21st June its 2nd General Assembly.
During this period we have been working on different lines: we have worked on the functionalisation of cellulose and lignin nanofibres to subsequently form epoxy resins, on the reversibility of DA lace, on the treatment of fibres with CO2 technology and on the search for new enzymes with epoxy degradation properties, among many other things.
The meeting took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Our partners from NIC (National Institute of Chemistry) hosted the meeting and showed us their facilities, laboratories and the beautiful city of Ljubljana.
We also had the opportunity to meet with the partners of another European project, PROPLANET, with whom we had an interesting discussion on the search for synergies of action.
If you would like to learn more about the project, please do not hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter. And finally, don’t leave without taking a look at our first promotional video:
The research leading to these results has received funding from Horizon Europe Programme under grant agreement nº 101058371.
From 13 to 15 June 2023 the XV NATIONAL COMPOSITE MATERIALS CONGRESS (MATCOMP) was held in Gijón, Asturias. Three works of the CIDAUT Foundation were presented at this well-known congress and also CIDAUT Foundation participated with the presence of a stand of the ORISIS project (CER-20211009).
CIDAUT were presented in the area of sustainability and recycling with the work “Chemical treatment of recycled carbon fibres for revalorization in new composites” showed the results of a CIDAUT-AITEX collaborative work within the OSIRIS project (CER-20211009). In this work, carbon fibres from recycled composites have been recycled by pyrolysis processes. For this purpose, sizing treatments were carried out with the aim of improving compatibility and adhesion with polymers in order to obtain new composites. And the work “Design of new sustainable polymer composites for packaging sector” showed the results of a research project whose aim was to design new formulations from bio-based and biodegradable polymers to produce foamed materials for packaging sector.
In the area of repair and joining techniques the work “Thermoplastic weld fatigue behavior analysis using structural health monitoring sensors data” showed the results of a research aimed to integrate sensors into thermoplastic welded joints for monitoring their status of health during operating conditions.
The presentation of Hydeal took place on 14 June at the Nexo Fundación Caja de Burgos building in the capital of Burgos. This project constitutes the largest integrated renewable and competitive hydrogen hub in the world, which will create a “new and clean industrial revolution”, and will be an “opportunity” for the economic development of Castilla y León. This was defined by the president of the Hydeal Ambition platform, Thierry Lepercqu, who unveiled this project at a business meeting in Burgos of the Castilla y León Hydrogen Association (H2CYL). CIDAUT, as a member of this association, had the opportunity to attend the meeting and share impressions with the attendees and the other members of the association.
Hydeal is a project that was born in Spain three years ago and is based on the generation of green hydrogen in Castilla y León for the production of green steels, fertilisers and green ammonia. During the presentation of the project, the Hydeal representative explained that this project can be used in industrial developments or in mobility, and can “feed industrial parks”, which are “smaller consumers”, but thanks to this project they can “change their processes not only in a clean way, but also in a competitive way”. He stressed that one of the most important things about hydrogen is that it is “competitive”.
The meeting, which was attended by the Director General of Economic Policy and Competitiveness of the Junta de Castilla y León, Rosa Cuesta, the Director General of Industry of the Junta de Castilla y León, Jesús Jimenez and representatives of the Regional Energy Entity and the Directorate General of Infrastructures and Environmental Sustainability, brought together more than 70 attendees from 50 different companies, both from the Region and from outside it.
The meeting took the opportunity to host the first meeting of the associates of the Castilla y León Hydrogen Association (H2CYL), including CIDAUT. This meeting aimed to “promote consumption generation projects and technological development in the field of renewable hydrogen”, as explained by its president, Rafael Barbero.
The Automotive Cluster of Castilla y León, FaCyL, as part of the activities programmed by the Think Tank ‘Retos de Futuro de la Automoción de Castilla y León’ of the sectorial brand Polo de la Automoción, brought together around twenty experts on June 8. The objective was to share knowledge and develop a strategic vision on the roadmap for the sustainability of this ecosystem on the occasion of the celebration of Environment Day. This collaborative activity seeks to draw a strategic path for companies in the community in this area.
CIDAUT’s participation, led by José Ignacio Domínguez, from the Energy and Environment area, provided the vision of a technology centre with extensive experience in the automotive sector. Sustainability is one of the key lines of research, both from the point of view of the circular economy of the materials used, and from the perspective of efficiency and zero emissions from the propulsion systems of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cells vehicles. This activity provided an insight into how automotive companies in the autonomous community are facing the challenges involved in adapting to the manufacturing process of new vehicle models that are more environmentally friendly. In addition, the dynamic has also made it possible to exchange experiences on how companies see the new mobility and what actions can be developed to achieve a better understanding between all the actors involved in this challenge.
Last June CIDAUT had the opportunity to participate in several events around H2 at European and national level.
The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Community and the ETSI de Minas y Energía of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid organised the Hydrogen Storage Conference on 6 June in the auditorium of the ETSI de Minas y Energía to find out which technologies are being used in industry and which are being worked on in research centres to implement them in the near future.
After the official inauguration by the Rector of the UPM, the Director General of Energy Policy and Mines of MITERD and the President of Hydrogen Europe Research, the day was organised into two round tables. The first aimed to offer a more business-oriented view of current hydrogen storage technologies with the participation of representatives from Naturgy, Navantia, Airburs, Aciturri and Enagas. The second round table focused on Innovation in hydrogen storage. At this round table there were interventions by representatives of the CSIC, CIEMAT, the Aragon Hydrogen Foundation and the ETSI of Mines and Energy of the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
Continuing with the hydrogen events in Madrid, the following day the Hydrogen Europe Research (HER) General Assembly took place at the ETSII School of Industrial Engineering of the UPM. The meeting took place in a hybrid format, both online and in person, and was attended by more than 123 organisations from 29 countries across Europe. During the General Assembly, Hydrogen Europe Research provided an update on the activities of the Board of Directors, welcomed 23 new members, promoted its communication, policy and competence activities and presented the latest developments of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. Luigi Crema, as chairman of HER, anticipated some future projects, such as the launch of a Working Group on Low TRL Research, and a Working Group on Research and Technology Infrastructures. CIDAUT attended in person and had the opportunity to exchange views and greet members in person.
Finally, and continuing with events organised by HER, CIDAUT presented part of its activity in the framework of H2 transport at the “Meet our members” event on H2 carriers, showing our projects and capabilities. This session took place on 31 May and was attended by many members of the association’s research community.
