Step by step automated driving is becoming present in our daily driving. Some years ago, some vehicles were able to maintain the selected speed or to inform us about our position in the lane, later they increased their intelligence braking when they found an obstacle in front or steering to stay in the center of the lane. Self-parking is nowadays a reality for some models, as it is the traffic-jam chauffeur. This upscaling of the vehicles’ skills is addressing us to growing levels of automation. Nowadays level 2 vehicles are a reality in the road and level 3 are starting to be sold, and together with the conditional and high automation level, the driver of the vehicle will be allowed to make different activities while the system controls the vehicle.
These activities will be linked to new positions in the vehicle, mainly it is foreseen that the seats will move backwards, the seatbacks will be more reclined and the steering wheel will be warded off in the cockpit. Attending to this new scenario, the conventional restrain systems will totally lose their performance. The seat belt, fixed to the B-pillar will be very far from the occupant shoulder, so it will be impossible to stop the chest in the event of a crash. Similarly, the steering wheel airbag will be away from the driver, so the pressure inside the bag will not be the suitable one when the body impacts the air-bag and the head will impact both the steering wheel and the cockpit.
To tackle these new scenarios, CIDAUT, together with three reference research and development centers, CTAG, ITENE and i2CAT, is developing new passive safety solutions in the frame of Integra project. The new solutions are related to the integration of the seat belt in the seat, in order to maintain the relative position between the occupant’s body and the restraint device, and also innovative solutions of smart airbags are involved with adaptive working parameters attending to the kind of impact and the position of the passengers inside the vehicle.
In parallel, and in order to inform the adaptive airbag solutions, CIDAUT is developing an innovative artificial vision devise based on a single camera to understand the occupants’ position and the main biomechanics characteristics. Additionally, the system integrates artificial intelligence algorithms that monitors the driver and are able to decide if it is in good condition to take over the control of the vehicle.
Acknowledgment
The work driving to these results is been performed in INTEGRA project, funded by and CDTI through Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación in the frame of the funding for Excellence in Research Centers “Cervera”. CER – 2021 1031.
IFEVS is the Italian company designing smart electric urban vehicles with four main characteristics, affordability, all made in Europe, modularity and safety. The aim to obtain affordable solutions has addressed to the design of high strength steel tubular frames for different vehicle configurations. The technology is so flexible that can be applied to the frame of a bicycle and also to the frame of a van. For the last ten years, CIDAUT as specialist in crash worthiness, has established a strong collaboration with IFEVS to make these smart vehicles as safe as possible, being able to comply not only with the Regulation applicable to M1 vehicles but also with the more restrictive Euro NCAP protocols.
In TRA Lisbon, IFEVS presented the four wheels vehicle and also different configurations of the e-bike. In the case of the e-bikes the two and three wheels versions were available for testing. The vehicles received very good comments after testing mainly related to the high comfort, the easiness to ride and the progressivity of the electric boost.
Besides the positive feed-back of the tester, it is important to highlight that thanks to the modular design of the frame, its manufacturing cost is lower than the ones coming from Asian countries and also easy to manufacture in a low investment assembly line, with the competitive advantage that the design and the components are made in Europe, with innovative solutions for the energy storage system.
Acknowledgment
The research leading to these results received funding from the European Union (EU) project Avangard (GA #869986)
Euro NCAP protocols are continuously evolving to warranty the highest level of active and passive safety in the vehicles available in the market. As a result of this evolution a new frontal crash scenario has been recently included, it is the Mobile Progressive Deformable Barrier test (MPDB). It consists on a mobile vehicle of 1.400kg with a deformable barrier in the front that circulates at 50kph and crashes against the tested vehicle, also circulating at 50kph with a 50% overlap.
This crash configuration is especially critical for light urban electric vehicles. The fist reason for this assertion is related to the mass and size of the urban vehicle. As they are quite light, the impact against another vehicle that almost duplicates their mass is really challenging, and this fact is aggravated by the small size of the vehicle that implies a shorter space to absorb all the energy coming from the 1400kg vehicle and the ego vehicle. The second reason for this assertion is related to the need to protect the batteries from any kind of damage, which is especially critical also in a small sized vehicle.
Thanks to the development of Multi-Moby project, and together with the rest of the partners of the consortium, CIDAUT has demonstrated that it is possible to comply with this restrictive crash configuration. To achieve a positive result, and exhaustive optimization of the vehicle structure, together with the suitable design of the restraint system have been performed at the research and development center. After the optimization process, the simulations have shown that it is possible to protect both the occupants and the energy storage system from significant damage in this kind of impact.
Acknowledgment
The research leading to these results received funding from the European Union (EU) project MULTI-MOBY (GA #101006953)
El Batel Auditorium and Conference Center hosted, on October 4 and 5, a forum of European technology centers: the ‘Iknowledge – Forum of technology centers’, organized by the Murcia Region Development Institute. Cartagena became the epicenter of the technology sector, bringing together more than 200 of these professionals and the main technology centers. Experts from all over Europe traveled to Cartagena to present the latest technological developments and trends within the themes: Smart & connected devices, Collaborative robotics & advanced industrial automation, Immersive experiences: metaverse technologies, Web 3.0… and Energy transition, Climate change & Sustainability.
CIDAUT has participated in Challenge 4 (energy transition) showing the main capacities in the hydrogen sector in its three main aspects: production, distribution and use. In addition, the projects in which CIDAUT is immersed were shared with the rest of the centers, such as: design of innovative renewable electrolysis systems, design and testing of non-conventional fuel cells, hydrogen compression systems for very high pressures or definition and testing of hydrogen-based combustion systems. Bilateral meetings also took place to identify partners for future projects, technological and research cooperation, as well as a technology fair and a project exhibition space.
From October 24th to 28th, the European Hydrogen Week took place in Brussels. The Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, opened the High Policy events where the Commissions highlighted the objective of reaching 20 million tons of renewable hydrogen produced by 2030 within the #RePowerEU and announced a new budget of 3 billion euros for the new Innovation Funds of hydrogen.
During the week, #H2EUReviewDays showed the results achieved and the new projects financed by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, business to business meetings between the main companies and technology centers that take part in the hydrogen ecosystem and finally a technology fair where the main manufacturers of components, electrolysers and transport systems showed their products.
Moreover, on October 25th CIDAUT attended the General Assembly of Hydrogen Europe Research, where more than 140 members from 27 countries from all over Europe participated. HER had the opportunity to show the advances in the European hydrogen policy, as well as communicate the news in the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and anticipate some projects for the immediate future.
Last November 16th, the 1st Biorefine Congress. Agricultural and industrial solution took place in the La Nave Complex, in Madrid.
In the first Biorefine Congress participated representatives of the Ministries of Industry, Trade and Tourism (MINCOTUR) and for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), as well as organisations such as Vertex Bioenergy, CIDAUT, Novozymes and the MaízSostenible Operational Group, among other institutions and companies. The Spanish Bioethanol Association (Bio-E) organised this first edition, which brought together “around two hundred professionals and experts” who followed it “in person and via streaming”, Bio-E sources said in a press release.
On this occasion, Alfonso Horrillo introduced and moderated the business round table on Biofuels and state-of-the-art biorefineries. Also, Elena Castilla presented in this round tables on “Bioetanol, una fuente continua de hidrógeno renovable”.
On November 22, 2022, the event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Spanish Hydrogen Association took place. Around 250 participants from 200 affiliated companies attended the talks and project generation sessions that took place throughout the day, where the partners had the opportunity to share the growth, progress and concerns that the sector.
In the morning, Mr. Javier Brey, president of the AeH2 and Mr. Galo Gutiérrez, General Director of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, reviewed the milestones of both the association and the administration, to promote the development of hydrogen in Spain.
Two presentations were also given by Mr. Daniel Esteban, Technician of the Department of Energy, Manufacturing and Transportation Technologies, Directorate of Evaluation and Technological Cooperation of the CDTI and Mrs. María Ángeles Ferre, Head of the Scientific-Technical Programs subdivision of the State Agency for Research, which offered a general image of the financing mechanisms available in the field of hydrogen and evidenced the growth of innovation projects linked to hydrogen.
To close the first part of the event, Ms. Marina Holgado, Coordinator of the technical secretariat of the Technological Collaboration Program on hydrogen of the International Energy Agency and representative of “Women in Green Hydrogen”, presented both initiatives.
The second part of the event consisted of two project generation sessions, in which our partners had the opportunity to share opinions on topics of common interest within the hydrogen sector.
The CIDAUT Foundation, as a founding partner and member of the Board of Directors of the AeH2 actively participated in these sessions, supporting and promoting R&D in the hydrogen sector in Spain.
The AeH2 20th anniversary event ended with a cocktail-dinner where you could establish ties and create opportunities for collaboration to continue advancing together in the hydrogen sector in our country.
On the 27th of September, the Circular Economy Forum: Challenge of plastic recycling organized by the Institute for the Business Competitiveness of Castilla y León (ICE) in collaboration with the Cidaut Foundation was celebratedin the facilities of the Cidaut Foundation. This Forum was inaugurated by the Councillor for Economy and Finance of the Region of Castilla y León (Spain), Mr. Carlos Javier Fernández Carriedo, and the president of Cidaut Foundation, Mr. José Oliveri Gandarillas, who highlighted the importance of the transition towards a productive model of circular economy in the plastic sector.
With the aim of incorporating the circular economy as a key element to promote the change towards a model of sustainable development and focused on plastic materials in particular, the Forum addressed this aspect from a double point of view: first, trends in R&D related to the recycling of plastics was analyzed, and on the other hand, the latest developments in the regulatory context were addressed. This Circular Economy Forum had the following talks:
– ‘Future trends and challenges to optimize the quality of plastic recycling and its circularity’ presented by researchers from CIB-CSIC and ICTP-CSIC.
– ‘Panel Discussion: R&D as a key in the transition to the circular economy’ moderated by CyLTV and composed of the four partners of the Osiris Network -GAIKER, AIMPLAS, AITEX and CIDAUT- and the University of Valladolid (CELLMAT laboratory).
– ‘The new regulations: Challenges and solutions for the Circular Economy’ presented by CICLOPLAST.
– ‘Panel Discussion: Challenges and Opportunities for the different sectors in the new scenario of the recycling and circularity’ moderated by ECOEMBES and composed by the representatives of the following companies: Viscofan, SABIC, SOSTENPLAS and Grupo Antolin.
– ‘Case of successes’ presented by Mr. Antón Fernández, CEO of PolyNext-Naeco.
– ‘Roadmap for the Circular Economy in Castilla y León’ presented by the Natural Heritage Foundation of Castilla y León.
Finally, the event was closed by the Director of Cidaut Foundation, Mr. Juan Carlos Merino Senovilla, and after that the attendees were able to visit the facilities of Cidaut Foundation.
Last July 5th, the ESTELLA consortium met in Brussels to kick-off the project. All partners presented their role and they discussed the details of the implementation of the work plan for the following 42 months of research.
The ESTELLA is an ambitious initiative that proposes an innovative solution to improve the recyclability of poorly recyclable materials, specifically thermoset composites. This will involve the design of novel thermosetting biocomposites (epoxy and natural fibres) with inherent recyclability. This will be achieved thanks to the introduction of the Covalent Adaptive Network (CAN) that will allow the resin (reprocessed or repolymerised into new products) and fibres to be recycled. The recyclability of the composites developed will be evaluated by means of current mechanical, chemical and biological processes adapted to these new materials. And they will be validated through the manufacture of prototypes for the construction and leisure/mobility sectors.
The ESTELLA consortium has 13 partners from 9 European countries as well as Slovenia, Poland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Denmark, Germany and Norway. Soon our project website will be up and running!
The CREATOR consortium, consisting of 17 partners, met in Belgium last September with the Project Officer to analyze the progress of the project. CREATOR focuses on the development and demonstration of processes to remove hazardous bromine-containing flame retardants, which are already banned, from waste streams by means of so-called continuous extraction.
A lot of efforts have been devoted in the CREATOR project to the recycling and reuse of thermoplastic waste. And the review meeting was a good occasion to show the current status of all tasks performed during the project and to present the next steps until the end of the project in May 2022.
In the CREATOR project, much effort has been devoted to the recycling and reuse of these hazardous thermoplastic wastes. And the review meeting was a good occasion to show all the achievements made during the project and to present the next steps until the end of the project in May 2022.
This meeting has also served to present different events that are being prepared in the framework of the project: such as the Boot Camp in Sustainability & Plastic Recycling for students that will be held from 5-7 October in Hamburg (Germany) (more info: https://www.the-klu.org/event-pages/boot-camp-in-sustainability-plastic-recycling/), or the Innovation Forum 4 Plastics that will take place from 13-14 October in Mallorca (Spain) (more info: https://h2020innovationforum.com/).
