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INL researchers actively engaged in hydrogen and renewable gas research

INL researchers from the Clean Energy cluster are actively engaged in hydrogen and renewable gas research. Hydrogen holds tremendous potential to revolutionize our society in various ways. As a clean and versatile energy carrier, hydrogen offers a promising solution to mitigate climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It can be produced from water and renewable electricity, and it can be transformed into a wide range of synthetic fuels. Advancements in hydrogen research are driving the development of efficient and cost-effective methods for hydrogen production, storage, and utilisation. Hydrogen can be directly used in fuel cells for transportation, enabling zero-emission vehicles and reducing air pollution. It can also be used in industrial processes and power generation, fostering a sustainable energy ecosystem. Furthermore, by combining hydrogen with other abundant gases, it is possible to produce methane, methanol or other renewable gases, that are compatible with existing natural gas and energy infrastructure. While these factors open up opportunities for the widespread adoption of hydrogen, there is still a need to develop more efficient electrolysers and other systems that use fewer critical raw materials. Moreover, hydrogen can be applied in various sectors, including industrial processes, power generation, and residential applications, further contributing […]

Researchers from INL visited EB2/3 André Soares as part of the incluIR project

INL researchers visited, yesterday, the EB2/3 André Soares school, starting a new partnership with the Municipality of Braga within the scope of the ‘incluIR’ project. 7 researchers from different research areas were involved in the activity. ‘incluIR’ is an inclusive holidays project that allows children and adolescents to participate in educational activities, mitigating social and economic differences. During the months of July and August, participants take part in unusual activities, interacting with stimulating experiences and realities, which reinforce the importance of education through Art, Culture and Science. Carla Sepúlveda, Councilwoman for Education, Innovation, and Social Cohesion at the Municipality of Braga, remarked that “’incluIR’, besides its inclusive and integrative aspect, also has a very strong collaborative sphere. It is only possible to offer a program with quality activities based on partnerships with the various structures of the city/county.” She also added that “the partnership with INL arises from the intention of involving an important and fundamental structure for the territory in a project that promotes inclusion. Our goal is to bring to the school and to the vacation program the best that the city has to offer. We believe that an Educating City is the union of efforts and synergies […]

Revolutionizing quantum technologies – INL researcher, Leonardo Novo, published groundbreaking findings in Nature Photonics

Leonardo Novo, Staff Researcher at the Quantum and Linear-Optical Computation, has just published a scientific paper in the renowned journal Nature Photonics entitled “Boson bunching is not maximized by indistinguishable particles”. In this work, the team proposed an experiment that contradicts common knowledge on the so-called bunching property of photons. The observation of this abnormal effect seems to be within reach of today’s photonic technologies. The quantum world is indeed very complex to understand, and today we meet Leonardo so he can explain his most recent work on Boson bunching. Leonardo, congratulations on your latest work published in Nature Photonics! Can you explain what Boson bunching is? Before explaining Boson bunching let me just mention what a Boson is. For all we know, the fundamental particles that we encounter in our universe are divided into two groups: the bosons and the fermions. The ‘most famous’ bosons are the photons, the particles from which light is made, whereas electrons, protons or neutrons are fermions. There is a very powerful principle in quantum mechanics that allows us to predict many phenomena, which, in very simple terms, says that fermions have the tendency to avoid each other while bosons have the tendency to stay […]

Closing event of the Baterias2030 Project

The closing event of the Baterias2030 took place yesterday at gnration, in Braga with all the partners and Braga City Council. Since 2018 and during the last years, the team involved in the Baterias2030 focused the work on the development of technologies applied to batteries of the future and their transfer to the urban environment. The project’s strategic goal was based on disruptive solutions, reliable, sustainable, easily scalable, capable of being integrated throughout the value chain and accessible to the consumer and was aligned with European strategies in terms of decarbonization and sustainable cities, and the coordination with technological agendas to ensure the strategic positioning of the Batteries 2030 in the national panorama. 23 entities took part in the consortium of the Baterias2030 project which was conceived based on energy storage and production technologies with a high potential to evolve beyond the current state-of-the-art and the willingness on the part of business and scientific co-drivers to collaborate and contribute in terms of the development of technologies and/or their application in the market. The last years also counted on the collaboration of the Braga City Council in the implementation of the living laboratory for decarbonization. According to Pedro Salomé “…today we finished the […]

Meet Andrea Cruz, contributing to the first prototype of the LIFESAVER project

At INL since 2016, can you tell us a bit about your journey? My name is Andrea Cruz, Portuguese, and I come from a small village 36km from Braga called Forjães. After completing my degree in microbiology from the faculty of Biotechnology in Porto, I decided that it would be good for my professional career to have an abroad experience, and I did a master’s in science from Montfort University UK. This great experience led me to pursue a PhD in Health Sciences from Minho University that has been conducted between the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS) from Minho University and the Trudeau Institute (USA). In 2016, I joined INL with a Marie Curie fellow to develop point-of-care devices for detecting biomarkers in the context of different disease diagnostics. Since then, I have worked on this interface between medicine and nanotechnology, mainly identifying clinical biomarkers and developing biosensing strategies and lab-on-chip devices for medical applications. I am a staff researcher of the Nanodevices group, working on the LIFESAVER research project funded by the European Commission under the Green Deal. The Lifesaver project involves fourteen European institutions, including universities, research centres and companies, working together, sharing knowledge, and driven by […]

CTBio – Crossborder Biotech Cluster closing event at INL

The closing session of the CTBio – Cross-Border Biotechnology Cluster project took place, this week, at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. All the partners – Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Cluster Tecnoloxico Empresarial das Ciencias da Vida (BIOGA), Consorcio de La Zona Franca de Vigo, Universidade do Minho (UMinho), and INL – Laboratorio Iberico Internacional de Nanotecnologia met and showcased all the impressive outcomes of the project. During the working months, the team involved in the project was able to create three sectorial hybridization workshops for the design and development of new business methods based on the synergies of different sectors of the Euroregion in addition to 22 biotech projects and SMEs advised, through the hybridization between the strategic, technological and biotech sectors of the Euroregion. The CTBio – Cross-Border Biotechnology Cluster project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund FEDER through the Interreg Spain – Portugal program (POCTEP) and sought to reinforce the positioning of this CTBio Cluster as a reference structure for the business dynamization of the biotech sector in the Euroregion, while increasing its scope of action and laying the foundations for the future creation of the Iberian Cross-Border Biotechnology Pole.

INL researchers develop a new model to predict toxicity of nanomaterials

Engineered nanomaterials based on metal oxide nanoparticles offer many promising applications – from cosmetics and sunscreens to diagnostic devices and textiles. These nanomaterials offer exciting technological properties. However, it is crucial to understand their interaction with the biological environment, such as marine, atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems. Alarmingly, emerging studies suggest that engineered nanomaterials might present toxic effects on human lungs, and there is still no international consensus on the metrics and exposure limits of these nanomaterials, as toxicity studies are usually conducted in non-human laboratory models. Researchers from the Nanosafety research group at INL are innovating and using in silico experiments to predict the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials – i.e., these toxicity studies can be performed using an artificial intelligence-assisted and data-driven framework. João Meneses, the leading author of this study, explains “We developed a machine learning model to predict the potential human lung cell toxicity induced by metal oxide nanoparticles exposure”. The group has successfully shown that it is possible to build a simple, easy-to-interpret, and robust model aligning with the principle of Safe-by-Design. João adds that the recently published study “could pave the way for efficient decision-making, prediction, and mitigation of the potential occupational and environmental risks associated with engineered nanomaterials”. This […]

INL Colloquium with Hongjie Dai, Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University

Yesterday, Hongjie Dai, a Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University, presented an inspiring talk at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. During his talk, professor Hongjie Dai showcased the enormous potential of carbon nanostructures for nanoscience and nanotechnology in three different areas. Examples include nanotube-based quantum transport devices, based on nanotubes, graphite and porous carbon nanoballs-based batteries and various carbon-based systems for biological imaging in the infrared, with applications for accurate cancer imaging and study of vaccine effects on living tissue. In his own words: “I had a great visit and enjoyed meeting you all and other researchers at INL. I appreciate everyone spending the time talking about science and life in Braga.“ Hongjie Dai is the Jackson-Wood Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University. He has made fundamental contributions to nanosciences, especially to novel carbon-based nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons. He pioneered nano-carbon biological and nanomedicine applications including imaging in the NIR-II/SWIR window. In the renewable energy area, he advanced new electrocatalysts for splitting fresh water and seawater and developed rechargeable aluminium-ion batteries and Na/Cl2 and Li/Cl2 batteries. Professor Hongjie Dai is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and […]

Final Meeting of the cLabel+ Project

The closing session of the cLabel+ project took place last week, in the Auditorium of TECMAIA – Maia Science and Technology Park. “cLabel+: Innovative natural, nutritious and consumer-oriented “clean label” foods” was a research and technological development project focused on responding to the challenges facing the food industry, focusing on the concept of “clean label”, which arises as one of the major current trends in the sector, given the growing number of consumers who are increasingly aware and eager for information, who are looking for alternative, more transparent and natural food products. 20 entities took part in the cLabel+ project consortium, namely 8 companies linked to the agri-food sector and 12 non-business entities from the R&I system, which INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory is part and all have extensive experience in this sector and ensure the necessary research to respond to the challenges posed. Each of the entities involved enriched the consortium with nuclear key competencies for the successful development of the PPS and, consequent fulfilment of the objectives and goals set. The various entities have a strong knowledge of the agri-food sector at a global level, which is reflected in the various national and international R&D projects in […]