Picture of the winners. The spin-off companies Fuelium, Gnanomat and SiTerm, created by CSIC scientists, have been awarded in the 5th edition of the ‘Fondo de Emprendedores’, of the Repsol Foundation, a competition aimed at funding the most innovative company projects or ideas in the field of energy.
This call has two categories: Project business and Ideas. The companies will be funded, each one, with up to 288.000 Euros for two years.
Fuelium
This project, led by Neus Sabaté, a researcher at the Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona, will develop paper batteries capable of powering a variety of single-use devices, such as portable diagnostic, and discarded without recycling.
The batteries of Fuellium are a clean alternative for the growing demand of energy for portable devices, and will reduce the waste of energy and the environmental impact that conventional batteries produce. In 2015 Fuellium was selected in the category of Ideas of the “Fondo de Emprendedores”.
Gnanomat
Gnanomat, led by Bernardo Herradón, a researcher at the CSIC’s Instituto de Química Orgánica General, has developed a technology for the production of high added value nanomaterials made of graphene and other nanostructures. These materials can be applied for energy accumulation uses, like lithium batteries or supercapacitors. The scientists have developed a method for its industrial production, which is environmentally friendly and economically feasible. The goal of the company is to design, optimize and produce at industrial scale nanomaterials derived from grapheme.
SiTerm
The scientist Libertat Abad, at the Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona, together with other scientists from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and the Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, led SiTerm. This ‘spin-off’ produces autonomous thermo-electric nanosensors for the detection of flow changes in gas distribution networks.
To measure gas flow changes, sensors are generally big, consume energy and cannot be easily integrated into wireless networks. The sensors developed by SiTerm are designed to be wirelessly connected, allowing to exchange information about the situation of the whole network. Compared to conventional sensors, the devices of SiTerm are small, very sensitive and can be produced at industrial scale. Also, they can use the remaining heat for its auto supply, which would reduce costs.
SiTerm was selected in 2015 the category of Ideas of the 4rt edition of the ‘Fondo de Emprendedores’.