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European Sharc25 project aims to achieve 25 percent efficiency with thin-film solar cells

A new European research project that goes by the name Sharc25 is setting out to make an extremely efficient thin-film solar cell for the next generation of more cost-effective solar modules. Its objective is to achieve up to 25 percent efficiency in thin-film solar cells made by the co-evaporation of copper indium gallium (di)selenide, or CIGS for short. That kind of performance would top the previous best mark by just over three percentage points. The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Braga is a partner in this project, which is coordinated by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). Altogether, eleven research partners from eight countries are on board. The list of partner also includes EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), the universities of Luxembourg (LU), Rouen (F), Parma (I) and Aalto (FIN), the IMEC (Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronica Centrum VZW in B), the HZB (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie in D), Flisom AG (CH), and Manz CIGS Technology GmbH (D). Launched in May, the project will run for 3.5 years and get €4.6 million in EU funding sourced from the research framework program Horizon 2020. The Swiss government is providing another €1.6 million. The […]

INL signed Letter of Intent to strengthen collaboration with Argentina

March 13 – The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) signed a Letter of Intent to strengthen scientific collaboration with Argentina, in the area of Nanotechnology and Nanoscience. The agreement was signed in Buenos Aires by the Argentine Minister of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation (MINCYT), Lino Barañao, and INL’s Director-General, Lars Montelius. The signing ceremony took place during the EU-Argentina Conference 10 years of Cooperation in Science, Technology and Productive Innovation. The agreement joins the Argentine Ministry of Science and Technical Research, the – National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET) and INL with the goal is to “promote joint activities to strengthen the scientific and technical cooperation” and “facilitate access to institutions of science, technology and innovation, researchers, students and companies” to INL facilities, in Braga (Portugal) and CIBION (Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias – Research Center for Bionanosciences), Buenos Aires (Argentina), for the development of highly qualified human resources. The planned activities comprise joint research and development projects of common interest in Nanotechnology; exchange programs for researchers, doctoral and postdoctoral candidates in Nanotechnology; organization of the scientific meeting, use of equipment and facilities for joint development, exchange of scientific, and technical information in the field, […]

Acceleration Program for Start-ups

INL is a partner in the 2nd edition of the Startup Braga Acceleration. This program is a local initiative designed to help start-ups build, execute and validate their business model, access international markets and obtain funding. This year’s program will run for 3 months with a limited number of teams. The current edition is focused on Mobile/eCommerce, MedTech and Nanotechnology. For more information about the program read here To apply, click here

INL hosted workshop on research and development of photovoltaics

European projections show that in 2050, 15% to 30% of all generated electricity will come from photovoltaics, making it a field of strategic interest for Portugal and Europe. Among others, this was one of the motivations for the workshop that took place Monday (9th of February) at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), in Braga. “Portugal has a very significant number of researchers working in different aspects of photovoltaics and this workshop was used to identify synergy opportunities between the groups. There is no doubt that this is a strategic sector for Portugal and for Europe”, said Pedro Salomé, a researcher from INL and co-organizer of the workshop that gathered over 40 photovoltaic specialists in Braga, Portugal. Along with researchers from INL and Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), the other co-organising partner, the following institutions also participated: Universidade do Minho, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Universidade de Aveiro, Universidade de Coimbra, Faculdade de Ciências e Instituto Superior Técnico da Universidade de Lisboa and Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa. There were also observers from the industry taking part in the meeting, namely Martifer Solar, Open Renewables and Edp Inovação. In total, 42 […]

INL Researcher Lifeng Liu awarded FCT Investigator Grant

In the 2014 FCT Investigator call, Lifeng Liu was awarded a “Development Grant” for his proposal entitled “Atomic Layer Deposition Enabled Nanostructure Surface and Interface Engineering for Energy Storage and Conversion”, ranking the 4th in the domain of “Engineering-Technology-Sciences” with an overall score of 9/9. The proposed project aims to use the emerging atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique to synthesize high-quality hybrid nanostructures and engineer the surface as well as the interface of nanomaterials; meanwhile usinge the obtained hybrid nanomaterials to fabricate energy conversion and storage devices such as lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, solid-state solar cells and water splitting cells. The main objectives of the project are to develop novel hybrid nanostructures that can offer remarkably improved performance when used in energy conversion and storage and to improve greatly the operational stability of water splitting cells and lithium-ion battery electrodes based on metal oxide nanostructures.

Doctoral Programme in Advanced Integrated Microsystems

INL is a partner in the Doctoral programme in Advanced Integrated Microsystems (AIM), together with the Universidade de Lisboa (www.ulisboa.pt) and the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (www.unl.pt). The programme offers advanced research-based training in the design and implementation of miniaturized multifunctional devices and systems fabricated using top-down and bottom-up micro and nanofabrication techniques. These systems will be applied to bioprocessing, biotechnology, biomedicine, pharmaceutical sciences, biosensing for biomedical, environmental and food safety, physical sensing – optical, magnetic, electronic, micromechanical. Detailed information is available here.

INL strengthens collaborative ties with Argentine researchers

The governments of Argentina, Portugal and Spain signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen scientific and technical cooperation between the three countries in the area of nanotechnology. The objective is to develop joint projects in the area of nanotechnology and encourage the training of highly qualified human resources. The document will facilitate the access to Argentine institutions of science, technology and innovation, researchers, students and companies to the research facilities of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. The memorandum was signed by the Argentine Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Lino Barañao, the Portuguese Minister of Education and Science, Nuno Crato, and the Spanish Ambassador Eduardo Junco, representing the Spanish Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, on March 11th in Lisbon.

Brazil, Portugal and Spain Begin Major Collaboration at INL

A call for projects involving Brazilian companies as well as Brazilian research, technology and innovation organisations have been launched. This is the result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), March 8th. The agreement signed between the governments of Brazil, Spain and Portugal is based on previous cooperation agreements and establishes the framework for the role of INL in the development of training and research activities in Nanotechnology. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the visit of the Brazilian and the Portuguese Ministers of Science and Education, Aloizio Mercadante and Nuno Crato, to INL and it will facilitate the access for Brazilian science, technology, and innovation centres as well as for students, researchers and companies to INL state of the art facilities. The main areas of cooperation are nanodevices, nanoelectronics, nanoparticles applied to nanomedicine, environment control and water and food quality monitoring. link to call Photo: (L-R) Jose Rivas, Director General of INL; Aloizio Mercadante, Brazilian Minister of Education and Science; Nuno Crato, Portuguese Minister of Education and Science; and Paulo Freitas, Deputy Director-General of INL – credit – WAPAphoto.

INL involved in EC´s coordinated approach to promote the safety of nanomaterials

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) participates in the European Commission’s NANoREG project on the safety of nanomaterials. At INL, the goal of this four-year project is to establish and test specific measurement and characterization methods and offer a wide set of well‐characterized manufactured or engineered nanomaterials (MNMs). The industrial use of nanomaterials has grown significantly, therefore more knowledge about the health and environmental hazard impacts of nanomaterials is necessary. Interest in the use of nanomaterials is considerable, as they can be used to improve product characteristics; for example, nanoparticles help make a surface self-cleaning through a hydrophobic coat of paint; but the safety of these nanoparticles raises questions. The fast development of nanomaterials and their presence on the market make it necessary to evaluate their environmental and health impacts. The project aims at developing guidelines for safe usage, risk management and safety instructions while assessing the need for new legislation. NANoREG is a FP7 project aiming to deliver the answers needed by regulators and legislators on EHS by linking them to scientific evaluation of data and test methods. The NANoREG consortium joins governmental authorities, research institutes and companies from 14 European countries. With this project, we will get not […]

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