Sustainability

A solution for smart water management in urban environments that responds to the market demands of those responsible for its management (planning, improving performance, locating leaks, expanding designs, saving energy, optimizing control, etc.) and facilitates communication with industrial suppliers of network components (manufacturers of pumps, valves, etc.). In order to overcome the initial barriers, the URBANAGU4.0 project has generated a conversion methodology for the integration of hydraulic models in EPANET format (used by many companies) into a programming environment that enables the application of control and monitoring solutions based on models. The URBANAGU4.0 solution has been [...]

Diagnostic tools and soil remediation techniques so to increase the efficiency of the political and social management of contaminated industrial sites. SOIL TAKE CARE project main objective is to develop experimental devices and innovative methodologies to achieve rapid, low-cost diagnoses of metal contamination in mining and industrial soils, as well as developing monitoring tools for air and water pollution in mining and industrial sites through the use of economic devices (biocapture) and modeling. On the other hand, the project aims at improving the development of two types of techniques for remediation of contaminated soils (injection of [...]

The RIS3CAT Water community comprises 56 organisations, including companies, technological centres, research centres, universities and associations. Its aim is to promote the economic transformation of companies with links to water management and consumption through knowledge acquisition and technological development in order to overcome existing technological challenges and provide solutions for environmental, social and economic needs and for the demands of future policies. The community, led by Eurecat, aims to become an internationally recognised innovation hub and to generate opportunities and jobs focusing on R&D of technologies that reduce costs associated with water management, that guarantee people’s [...]

An innovative water recycling system based on a combination of existing biological and separation processes to decrease the environmental impact of the petrochemical industry. REWATCH project analyses and characterises the wastewaters produced by different European petrochemical plants in order to design and build a prototype plant in the facilities of a petrochemical complex in Tarragona (Spain) with high versatility, with the capacity of treating wastewater of different qualities to the standards required for various re-use applications. During the project, the environmental benefits and the economic feasibility of the technology will be evaluated, based on its operation [...]

Innovative, competitive technology on an international scale that removes the main technological barriers to recycling urban, industrial and agricultural waste water so that it can be reused. The REGIREU project aims to generate high-quality recycled water efficiently, effectively, sustainably and cheaply without posing health risks and to guarantee a level of quality that inspires trust among final users. The project’s most significant results include innovative integrated membrane systems to clean the water and optimise running costs, highly energy-efficient electro-oxidation technology to treat water used to clean fruit, a hybrid MBR-MBBR system to recycle water, a decision [...]

Transformational circular economy solutions and systems around resource use in the water sector. NextGen project challenges embedded thinking and practices by bringing financially sustainable innovations to life. To achieve this, NextGen will deliver technological, business and governance solutions for water in ten high profile demonstration cases across Europe and three associate partners worldwide. NextGen project aims at accelerating, transfer and upscale circular economy practices worldwide by sharing our collective experiences and insights in citizen and stakeholder engagement, business models and services. A market place and targeted development of spin off activities will commercialise effective solutions. The [...]

DEMOWARE is an EU FP7 research project aiming at rectifying the shortcomings that hamper the implementation of water reuse by executing a highly collaborative programme of demonstration and exploitation, using nine existing and one greenfield site to stimulate innovation and improve cohesion within the evolving European water reuse sector. The project, finalized in December 2016, was guided by SMEs & industry priorities and had two main objectives: to enhance the availability and reliability of innovative water reuse solutions and to create a unified professional identity for the European Water Reuse sector. The consortium, led by Eurecat’s [...]

Light olefins and aromatics using light hydrocarbons (C1, C3 and C4) by implementing new procedures, involving innovative catalysts synthesis methodologies and novel reactor design and processing, demonstrating their improvement in sustainability and economic scalability in existing industrial processes. BiZeolCat project shares the vision of an innovative and sustainable economy based on circular economy principles as making efficient use of resource. Eurecat is in charge of the coordination of BiZeolCat project, leading the tasks related to catalyst synthesis, characterization and reaction mechanism, and takes part in catalytic and optimization tests. On the other hand Eurecat has a [...]

CAR2CAR-LOFE aims to develop a low-frequency (LF), V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) communication system: a new type of network through which autonomous vehicles can communicate with each other to make more information available on their surroundings and improve safety for drivers in the event of an emergency, such as a road accident, an accident where a vehicle leaves the road, or an obstacle in the road. During the project, antennae and an innovative electronic communication system will be developed to maximise the communication distance between vehicles while fulfilling the requirements of this application and upholding safety standards. Meanwhile, to [...]

ECOFIBRA is designing and testing a composite material with advanced mechanical properties made in an additised thermoplastic mould from recovered cellulose fibre. The project will also examine options regarding the application of cellulose fibre to new products and new circular economy business models and will optimise recyclable paper’s journey from the disposal point to the management centre through the design of a stackable container made from the generated composite material. ECOFIBRA will also develop a raw material quality measurement system to improve the quality of the final material. The results of the project will be applied [...]

Design and development of a power train system for electric scooters with specific technology, thus making up for a national lack of technology to meet the needs of future electric vehicle manufacturers. The iBPACK project has developed an electronic energy and power management system for electric scooters with specific technology, especially in the battery extraction and charging system and in the battery cell charging and discharging programmes. The battery management system, or BMS, which uses a communication system based on IoT technology to locate and diagnose the state of the battery from a distance, sends information [...]

Intelligent monitoring system for the predictive maintenance of the critical elements of bogies, based on the processing of acoustic emissions. The BEA project has developed tools to detect, locate and diagnose emerging cracks in the critical elements of bogies, such as the axles and wheel tread, and to predict the development of the fracture once it has been detected. A bogie, the chassis on which a current locomotive or train carriage sits, is made up of a platform of two or three axles and their corresponding wheels, attached to the vehicle through a vertical swivel. The [...]

The IMAQUA project develops monitoring and supervision tools allowing for integrated water management, from capture to the point of consumption, ensuring quality and minimising losses during distribution. The tools developed will be integrated within an ICT platform comprising a system capable of increasing operability and managing water infrastructure knowledge, tools to monitor and supervise pollutants offline and online (samplers, systems, cyber-physical systems), network supervision tools and support for decision-making so as to improve the efficiency of current management and planning strategies and display simulation tools to provide water managers with access to comprehensive information about all [...]

The GEOFIT project develops innovative and optimized geothermal systems with the aim of promoting the use of renewable energies and energy efficiency in the construction sector, mainly in rehabilitation, and implementing advanced methods of inspection based on a multidisciplinary approach. GEOFIT responds to the need to design a methodology that meets the European requirements of quality and comfort of the occupants and the level of CO2 emissions. Eurecat Metallic and Ceramic Materials Unit and Sustainability Unit participate in the project. The contribution of the Metallic and Ceramic Materials Unit is to analyze the failure mechanisms of [...]

The REFER project promotes energy cost-reduction and greater efficiency in residential and service buildings by monitoring and optimizing the conditioning systems of residential buildings and, on the other hand, incorporating to service buildings intelligent and interoperable energy management systems and new innovative solutions for the generation and storage of renewable energy. During the project, energy measurement, generation and storage systems have been implemented, and more than 17 products have been developed, granting energy flexibility to buildings in ongoing rehabilitation processes. REFER has also allowed to improve technologies that participate in the energy flexibility of the buildings [...]