A total of eight research groups have participated in the second edition of the Lab to Market (L2M) program, an initiative promoted by the R+D+i Energy for Society (XRE4S) Network with the aim of helping participants to identify technologies that have potential for commercialization. In the second edition that has just ended, the research teams that have participated in the initiative are part of the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the Eurecat technology center, the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research (ICIQ), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Universitat de Lleida and the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC).
Among the projects selected for the second edition, a self-sufficient energy generator that works with an formic acid for capturing CO2, an advanced manufacturing system for supercapacitors, a transversal cooling system for thermal management problems and a portable charger for electric vehicles stand out.
The third edition, starting this March 2022, involves 8 new research groups that belong to the “Solar Energy Materials and Systems“, the “Nanionics and fuel cells” and “Power Systems” groups at IREC, SUMAN group at ICMAB-CSIC, CITCEA and GICITED groups at UPC and GREFEMA from the Universitat de Girona (UdG).The selected technologies will provide solutions for energy storage, increase of renewable energy penetration, improve energy efficiency in buildings and industry, modernize the electrical grid while securing electric systems.
The program, which is still ongoing, offers personalized attention to researchers who are part of the network and who wish to valorize or transfer a technology in the field of energy. The ultimate goal of the ‘L2M’ program is to help groups protect innovations, find licensees or create a ‘spin-off’. Of the 16 technologies assessed during the two first editions of the L2M program, 3 of them plan to create a ‘spin-off’.
A related press release (in Catalan and Spanish) is attached in the following links: