Presided over by the Vice-Rector of the University of Coimbra, Professor Doctor Helena Freitas, the ceremony was attended by Eng. Vitor Catarino, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ramos Catarino, the sponsoring company of the Prize, and Professor Doctor António Gomes Martins, Coordinator of the EfS Initiative (Energy for Sustainability), among other dignitaries.
During the ceremony, brief presentations were made of the winning proposal and two other applications that received Honorable Mentions from the Jury. The winning application came from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), titled “WinDSC – Development of Innovative Systems for Photovoltaic Integration in Buildings.”
The team, led by Adélio Mendes, a professor at FEUP, which also includes researcher Luísa Andrade and engineer Nuno Delgado, managed to resolve several limitations of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSC) technology by developing a new encapsulation model that significantly increases the longevity of photovoltaic cells (which convert solar energy into electrical energy) and a new solution that allows for more efficient collection and lower-cost processing of the energy generated by the cells.
These technological advancements will enable the commercialization of photovoltaic modules based on DSC technology for integration into buildings, with an industrial project currently under consideration by the company EFACEC.
In addition to the winner, the jury decided to honor two other projects, which received Honorable Mentions. One of them, titled “Functional Mortars for Latent Heat Storage,” is the responsibility of researchers Victor Ferreira and Sandra Lucas from the University of Aveiro, also involving collaboration with José Aguiar from the University of Minho.
The other, entitled “PCM_Windowall – Solar Energy Storage System,” was developed by Nelson Soares as part of his Master’s degree in Energy for Sustainability, promoted by the University of Coimbra, under the guidance of José Costa (University of Coimbra) and Romeu Vicente (University of Aveiro).
The “Ramos Catarino Innovation Prize” aims to contribute to the promotion of entrepreneurship in Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) carried out in Portugal in the Engineering and Construction sector and was established to distinguish proposals for value creation based on RDI results, with applications in this sector.
The 2011/2012 edition of the “Ramos Catarino Innovation Prize,” an initiative of Ramos Catarino, S.A., received support from the University of Coimbra and also had the magazine Arquitectura e Construção as a “Media Partner.
