The Polytechnic Institue of Portalegre (IPPortalegre) is a Public Institution of Higher Education that integrates the Higher School of Education and Social Sciences (ESECS-IPPortalegre), the Higher School of Technology and Management ( ESTG-IPPortalegre ), the Higher School of Health ( ESS-IPPortalegre), in Portalegre, and the School of Agriculture of Elvas (ESAE-IPPortalegre). In its four Schools, the Polytechnic covers a great diversity of areas of knowledge, distributed by study cycles of CTeSP, Bachelor, Master, and Postgraduate courses.

The WASTE2H2 project aims to enhance the scientific and technological capacity of IPPortalegre in the field of waste recovery through gasification processes and the production of biofuels, particularly hydrogen, as well as raise the profile and excellence of research through collaboration with three leading research institutions: Royal Institute of Technology, from Sweden, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, from Italy, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, from Germany.

The Waste to Hydrogen project integrates a set of knowledge transfer activities, networking opportunities, and collaboration between institutions and companies in the involved countries.

The challenge: Despite IPPortalegre’s significant experience in biomass thermal gasification processes and technologies mainly focus on electricity production in internal combustion engines, this Institution lacks technical expertise, particularly on cleaning technologies, water gas shift reactors, and hydrogen separation techniques. Thus, the application to the Horizon 2020 program arises as an opportunity for IPPortalegre to increase its technological capacity and acquire new technical knowledge.

The contribution: The commitment to these areas represents an enormous contribution to the decarbonization of society and the development of the circular economy, which are key elements for achieving the goals of the European Green Deal. At the same time, it enhances the valorization of Portugal in scientific research applied to this domain.

The action:

  • Elaboration and review of the proposal;
  • Submission of the application to the Horizon 2020 programme, under the topic “Twinning” of the “Widespread” call;
  • Support of the project dissemination and communication activities, including the development of the website and promotional materials.

The results:

  • Approval of the application coordinated by IPPortalegre;
  • Approved budget of 900 thousand euros;
  • Participation in new networks, increasing the number of international/national project submissions and international publications and patents;
  • Opportunity for IPPortalegre to increase its technological capacity, acquire new technical knowledge and skills in administration and management.

Client:

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