Presence worldwide

TECNALIA’s Construction Unit has participated in recent years in many activities promoted by the European Union with experience in more than 70 European projects over the last 10 years, of which 26 projects are active within the 7th Framework Programme, with a return of over 6 million euros, in collaboration with the main European technology leaders like VTT, TNO, FRAUNHOFER, CSTB, BBRI, and companies like ACCIONA, PHILIPS, THALES, D´APPOLONIA, BASF, etc.

Technology Platforms

TECNALIA’s Construction Unit is an active member of the executive committees and working groups of the following Technology Platforms:

• Spanish and European Construction Technology Platform (PTEC-ECTP). It also coordinates the Advisory Group for SME’s of the ECTP. On both platforms it leads the Focus Area on Historical Heritage
• ESTEP (European Steel Technology Platform) and PLATEA (Spanish Steel Technology Platform).
• JTI E2BA (Energy Efficiency Building) which is the “Joint Technological Initiative” geared towards improving energy efficiency in buildings-neighbourhoods-towns/cities.
• NLP National Liaison Point, as coordinator of the representation in Spain of the E2BA European association.
• Representatives of the Spanish Government (Ministry for Industry) in the International Energy Agency, Implementing Agreement ECBCS (Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems)
• Plataforma Tecnológica Iberoamericana de la Construcción (Latin American Construction Technology Platform).

Present on the committees and in the working groups of the following platforms:

• Industrial Safety Platform
• Spanish Photovoltaics Platform
• Sustainable Chemistry Platform SUSCHEM-ESPAÑA
• Forestry Technology Platform (timber, paper and the woodland)
• Spanish Technology Platform for Environmental technologies, PLANETA
• Spanish Railway Technology Platform, etc.

Presence in International Bids and Grants

TECNALIA’S Construction Unit is a pioneer in these international initiatives which are regarded as one of its strategic mainstays. Since 2004, the Construction Unit has been developing in a continuous way projects to co-operate in development in Latin America, and right now is one of the most active technology agents in the FOCAD programme being run the by Government of the Basque Autonomous Community, and collaborates in the ART programme of the United Nations.

This year TECNALIA has joined the complex world of international bids and has already been short-listed in various consortia that it leads.

Presence in International Working Groups

• Member of the Working Group “CEN/TC 126: Acoustic Properties of materials and building products. WG9 Test Code for drywall System of Plasterboard with Steel Studs”
• Member of the European Committee for Normalisation “CEN/TC 53-Temporary Works Equipment”
• Member of the “Ad-hoc Advisory Committee on Industrial Nanotechnologies”, of the European Commission’s Research DG
• Member of the Scientific Committee of the 3rd Symposium on Nanotechnology in Construction, held in Prague, June 2009
• Member of the Organising Committee of the 13th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement, to be held in Madrid in June 2011
• Member of the Scientific Committee of the First International Conference in North America on Nanotechnology in Cement and Concrete, in Irvine, California, May 2010
• Member of the Advisory Board of the European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility.
• European Triad CoP (Community of Practice) Group.
• Setting up of an Advisory Group within the ambit of the EDN project with leaders in the scientific sphere of energy efficient buildings from the NRC (Canada), ECN (the Netherlands), CSTB (France), Fraunhoffer (Germany), Berkeley (California), AICIA (Seville).
• Member of the European network NICOLE (Network for Industrially Contaminated Land in Europe) European Triad CoP (Community of Practice) Group.
• Full member for Spain of the ECCS ISO TC 92 Fire Safety.
• SG06 and SG09 as Notified Body (CPD 89/106/EEC)
• FOX GROUP on safety
• EGOLF, European Association of Fire Laboratories
• Member of the Core Group (MC) for Spain on the committee COST C26 Urban Habitat Construction under Catastrophic Events, in WG 1 (fire) and 3 (explosions)
• Member of the CTN 140 SC3 Eurocode 3 committee, National Technical Contact for the part 1.2 Fire
• Collaboration on the Spanish committee for the normalisation of structural wood
• Member of INNOVAWOOD, the European network of companies linked to the wood sector
• Participation in COST ACTION E37 (wood durability)
• SG06 (Sector Group- Doors and Windows) and SG09, as Notified Body (CPD 89/106/EEC)
• SH02 , Fire Sector Group as Notified Body (CPD 89/106/EEC)
• Member of the Working Group “CEN-TC 249/WG 13: WOOD POLYMER COMPOSITES”
• Member of the group for European normalisation on the Protection of wood on a national level and European level CTN 56 (CEN/TC 38 – WG24 TG termites)
• RILEM 223 MSC TC: Masonry Strengthening with Composite materials (Chairperson: MªRosa Valluzzi (Univ. Padua) and Secretary: Daniel Oliveira (Univ. Minho)
• Scientific Committee of the 13th International Congress on Polymers in Concrete (ICPIC 2010). Madeira (Portugal), 2010 (10-12 February)
• Participation in COST ACTION E37 (Light construction in wood)
• The International Energy Agency, Implementing Agreement ECBCS (Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems) as representatives of the Spanish Government (Ministry for Industry)
• EARTO network of centres of excellence alongside Fraunhoffer and TNO.

Alliances, Agreements and Collaborations

• Collaboration agreement with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to develop Mobile Augmented Reality applications in the spheres of building and historical heritage.
• Technology collaboration agreement with the University of Patras for the development of R+D activities in the areas of pathology and restoration in construction.
• Technology collaboration agreement with the University Nova of Lisbon for the development of R+D activities in the areas of pathology and restoration in construction.
• Technology collaboration agreement with the University of Liege – LEMA of Lisbon for the development of R+D activities in the areas of historical cities, and urban and spatial planning.
• Technology collaboration agreement with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) for the development of activities in the sphere of critical actions in explosions and fire.
• Technology collaboration agreement with AICIA (University of Seville) for the development of research activities to do with energy in construction.
• Recognition as Unit Associated with the CSIC (Spanish Council for Scientific Research) through the Eduardo Torroja Institute as Unit in Nano-structured and Eco-efficient Materials for Construction. This signifies the ranking the researchers of Tecnalia’s Construction Unit on a par with those of the CSIC, thus facilitating access to all the resources of the Institute and access to programme calls as part of the CSIC (periods 2005-2008 and 2008-2011).
• University of Minho (Pt). Profs. Lourenço and Daniel Oliveira. Framework agreement 2009/11.
• Collaboration agreement with CREVER – University Rovira i Virgili of Tarragona
• Collaboration Agreement with GIGA – ESCI of the University Pompeu Fabra
• Agreement with the Institute for Materials Science in Madrid - CSIC (Dept. of Materials Science)
• Agreement with the University of Chemical Sciences -Polymat- Donostia-San Sebastian. Framework agreement for doing PhD theses at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country-CIDEMCO Fire Engineering area. (One thesis is ongoing under shared supervision). Generic title “Study and synthesis of polyurethane formulations with fire-resistive features”.
• Technology collaboration agreement with AICIA (University of Seville) for the development of research activities to do with energy in construction.
• Appointment as “Visiting Professor” at the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of the West of Scotland. Apart from the academic post this means participation as adviser in the establishing of strategies and policies for research in the Department (period 2009-2014).
• Informal links with the University of Bonn involving the exchange of researchers and the joint production of publications.
• Informal links with the Technological University of Delft involving the exchange of researchers, participation in training courses, and the joint production of publications.
• Informal links with the Materials Physics Unit of the SCIC (Spanish Council for Scientific Research) and the DIPC (Donostia International Physics Center), which means joint participation in Research Programmes and co-supervision of PhD theses.
• Collaboration agreement with the Spanish National Association of Ready-mixed Concrete Manufacturers (ANEFHOP), thus turning us into one of its main technological allies.
• Collaboration agreement with the University of Organic Chemistry Rovira i Virgili of Tarragona
• Collaboration with the Department of Thermodynamics of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country in energy efficiency aspects
• International Advisory group: IBP-Fraunhoffer, ECN (the Netherlands) NRC (Canada)
• Collaboration agreement with the Metrópoli Foundation for the setting up of a new enterprise (Ametslab)