2SMART - engineered Smart materials for Smart citizens, abbreviated as 2SMART, was a structured operation funded by the Operational Program of the Northern Region of Portugal (NORTE 2020), under PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000054. The aim of 2SMART project was to develop smart solutions of engineering and design to improve quality of life and health of citizens. 2SMART fits in the climate-neutral and smart cities mission of Horizon Europe, where the "cities and metropolitan areas", as centers of economic activity, knowledge generation, innovation and new technologies, impact upon the quality of life of citizens who live and/or work in them and they are major contributors to global challenges.
The project initiated on 1st April 2021 and was initially granted for 24 months; however, an additional 3-month extension was approved, and therefore the project ended on 30th June 2023. Total approved budget was 588 180 ¤, of which 499 953 ¤ (85%) was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The execution rate was 100%, with 75% of the allocated budget allocated to human resources, aimed to promote scientific employment (research contracts) and advanced training (grants).
This project was carried out by four research and development centers of the University of Porto, with three from the Faculty of Engineering (LEPABE (project leader), LSRE-LCM and CEFT - which in 2021 formed a consortium to constitute the Associate Laboratory - ALiCE) - and one from the Faculty of Fine Arts (i2ADS). The aim was to benefit from the collaborative skills and resources of the involved R&D units to generate synergies by fusing art and innovation, delivering effective solutions to the Northern Region of Portugal. This will be achieved through the following activities:
Activity 1: Engineered smart materials for energy - DSSCs devices were made available for mass production by implementing the following concepts into DSSCs technology: (1) pushing up the efficiency of DSSCs; (2) using ETCO substrates for maintaining efficiency in large area cells and (3) sealing the cells with glass to guarantee their long lifetime.
Activity 2: Engineered smart materials for protection of air quality - a device for monitoring indoor air quality, specifically in schools and nurseries was developed. The device has surpassed initial projections (TRL 3-4), now standing at TRL 5.
Activity 3: Engineered smart materials by digital manufacturing for environmental applications - 3D printing of (photo)catalysts/adsorbents was developed to control and remove greenhouse gases and other pollutants in the cities.
Activity 4: Engineered smart materials for cancer diagnosis and therapy - nanoparticles were developed for highly selective performance in drug delivery.
Activity 5: Communicating science and technology with art and design - the project has established a visual identity and created various communication materials, such as a book and original artworks. These materials were displayed through individual shows at the Faculty of Engineering and a group show at the Faculty of Fine Arts' Museum gallery, which marked the conclusion of the project.
At the end of the operation all set goals were fully accomplished or even exceeded:
(1) Degree of implementation of the activities foreseen in the project (100%);
(2) Staff involved in the project in research and development activities (24.05 FTE compared to 20.49 FTE approved);
(3) R&D units supported (4, namely LEPABE, LSRE-LCM, CEFT and i2ADS);
(4) Scientific publications in RIS3-related scientific fields (77 international papers compared to 30 approved);
(5) EPO patent applications (4). |
