Agents of the Navarra R&D&I System (SINAI) together with AIN and the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) have developed a series of structures that allow buildings to be ‘cooled’ without the need for energy as part of the Disenia project. This breakthrough has been recognised with an international prize, the Nanophotonics Research Award for Innovative Sustaninability, awarded during the Metamaterials 2024 conference, held recently in Crete (Greece).
A research team led by Pilar Herrera Plaza, from AIN, and Miguel Beruete Díaz, from the UPNA, has developed a material capable of cooling surfaces without the need for energy, even under the sun. This material, created from silica and silicon, is optimised using artificial intelligence to improve its performance, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional air conditioning systems that emit heat to the outside.
‘This work opens the door to a new generation of sustainable building materials that not only improve energy efficiency, but also contribute significantly to climate change mitigation,’ said Miguel Beruete.
In addition, the development born out of Navarra’s innovative ecosystem has attracted industry interest because it improves the reflective properties of cement against solar radiation by controlling its porosity and adding small particles of sustainable materials in microscopic and nanometric sizes. With these advances, cement can reflect more solar radiation and, at the same time, emit heat towards outer space, allowing surfaces to stay cool.
NAVARRA, AN EXCELLENT R&D ECOSYSTEM
The culture of innovation is fully integrated in the region. Universities, companies, research centres and clusters work together with the Government of Navarre in an innovation ecosystem that never stands still, transferring science and technology to industry and society, transforming and forging continuous advances.
As an example of the latter, in the period 2014-2017 (latest available) Navarre applied for more than 147 PCT patents through the SPTO, with specialisation in Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry standing out. In terms of inventive activity (number of patent applications per inhabitant), Navarre is double the national average, being the first among the different autonomous communities. More information via this link.
Source: diario de navarra