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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 community observed a minute of silence in memory of Mariano Gago

With the flags at half-mast INL joined the Portuguese scientific community and observed a minute of silence in memory of Mariano Gago. The former minister of Science passed away April 17th. Mariano Gago played a significant, indeed an essential role in the setting up of INL, driving the project forward with much determination and strength. He led this political project but he also had an important role in defining the scientific programme in order to make INL internationally competitive. Mariano Gago fostered research that is now increasingly carried out in a framework of international cooperation, as an opportunity for Portugal to develop new products and provide new types of knowledge-intensive services. He graduated as an electrical engineer from the Technical University of Lisbon’s Instituto Superior Técnico and did advanced research work in Paris at the École Polytechnique as a high-energy physicist. When Professor of Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, he worked at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva for several years. He was a member of the CERN Council (1985–1990), the EC Joint Research Centre Board of Governors (1986–1989), President of the Portuguese National Board for Science and Technology (1986–1989), and was chair of the European […]

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 researchers at NanoPT in Porto

A significant delegation of INL researchers will participate in this year’s edition of NanoPT. The international conference takes place in Porto from February 11th-13th. The 3rd edition will be held with the purpose of strengthening ties nationally and internationally in Nanotechnology and, intends to be a reference event in Portugal in forthcoming years. INL’s Director-Geral, Lars Montelius, (Bridging the materials gap through radical Innovations) and research fellow, Inês Pinto (Epithelial Tumor Dynamics: Nanocharacterization of force-generating structures), are keynote speakers. The programme includes oral presentations from Jérôme Bórme, Wafer-scale fabrication of solution-gated graphene field-effect transistors for biosensing applications; Lifeng Liu, Extraordinarily Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Achieved by Amorphous MoOxSy Catalysts Electrodeposited on Crystalline TiO2 Nanotube Arrays; Ana Vila, Designed Nanocomposite Magnetic Beads for isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC); Yury Kolen’ko, p-Type Cu2O colloids optimized for photoelectrochemistry and electronics; Jana Berit Nieder, Presentation of the New “Ultrafast Bio- and Nanophotonics” Laboratory at INL; and Xiaoguang Wang, Direct Growth of Nickel Phosphoride Nanoneedles on Nickel Foam for Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution. The programme also includes oral presentations from two PhD students: Mohammad Tareqzzaman will talk about Large power emission in MTJ based spin torque nano-oscillators using a free layer near the in-plane […]

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.

INL COFUND Fellowship Program for International Postdocs – NanoTRAINforGrowth

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) opened a 4th call for its COFUND fellowship program for Postdocs– The NanoTRAINforGrowth Program. INL´s international postdoctoral fellowship offers successful applicants the opportunity to perform their innovative scientific project in one of the four attractive Scientific fields pursued at INL: Nanomedicine, Environmental and food control, Nanoelectronics and Nanomanipulation. i) Nanomedicine: point of care diagnostics (lab on chip microsystems, microfluidic platforms), DNA, protein and cell chips, biomolecular labels, drug delivery solutions, imaging, neuroelectronics. ii) Environmental and food control: Nanotechnology applied to Food industry, food safety and environmental control. Water and Soil control, air pollution monitoring. Lab-on-a-chip technologies, Smart Packaging and labels, biosensing technologies, food process control. iii) Nanomanipulation: Single molecule/atom manipulation, molecular motors, nanotweezers, controlled self-assemby of building blocks for nanodevices. iv) Nanoelectronics: NEMS/MEMS, Spintronics, Photonics, Micro and Nanofluidics, integration of new technologies on CMOS. Development of support platforms for the health, environmental and food control, and energy areas. Researchers will have access our new state‐of‐the‐art facility and the opportunity to enhance their expertise via a research project, in a scientific topic of their choice that falls within INL´s strategic research and technological development areas. Eligibility_- INL´s NanoTRAINforGrowth Fellowships are available to researchers who have […]

The Arraiolos Group visited INL

INL received the visit of the Arraiolos Group that comprises the heads of state from nine countries of the European Union. During the visit, the heads of state of Germany, Austria, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Portugal, and also Bulgaria and Estonia, as special guests, attended a presentation of the INL project by the director general of INL, Lars Montelius. The brief visit also included a tour through the research facility to get to know several laboratories in more detail. The Presidents from Germany, Finland, Poland and the Spanish Ambassador had the opportunity to greet personaly researchers from their country. The Arraiolos Group gathered in Braga for their 10th meeting to debate energy issues, immigration and the role of research and innovation in promoting growth, competitiveness and job creation. The Group includes non-executive Presidents of European Union member states and its aim is to provide an open and informal discussion between the heads of state of these countries, notably on European issues.