Urban ecosystem

We design and develop materials and products with new or better properties and functionalities, while contributing to their carbon footprint reduction. We work with materials such as technical plastics, composites, adhesives, coatings and cellulose products to:

• Improve their characteristics in terms of durability and resistance.
• Provide them with new functionalities such as energy storage, auto-repair, electrical conductivity or super-isolation.
• Improve their biological resistance and fire reaction.
• Achieve thermal insulation.
• Obtain and modify cellulose nanofibres.
• Additive manufacturing of pre-fabricated elements (concrete and thermosetting polymers).

We develop technological solutions for energy efficiency and renewable energies, to generate or store electricity, to provide thermal energy, to regulate temperature or to improve insulation, both at building and city scale. We work on:

• Systems and Tools for the management, optimisation and energy planning of buildings, cities (micro-networks and district heating) and Territories.
• Digital solutions (IoT, RV/RA, Cybersecurity, Blockchain) for the “smartisation” of energy equipment and buildings.
• Digital twin of buildings and energy components.
• Design, development, and validation of enclosures, high efficiency thermal and solar solutions for both the building and the urban environment, and infrastructures.
• Energy planning for Cities and Territory.

We foster the resilience of cities, infrastructures, the region and different key industrial sectors, such as energy, through the development of ad-hoc solutions.

To do so, we accompany public administrations and companies in:

• The design of solutions, combining monitoring and smart management technologies with the acquisition, processing and exploitation of climate change projections (scenarios) for different timeframes.
• The development of customised climate services to analyse vulnerability and risk.
• The design and development of effective measures and plans to adapt to climate change, with an emphasis on nature-based solutions.
• The integration of climate adaptation into public and private policies to increase long-term resilience through climate-proofing in regional planning, urban development, energy planning and business strategy.

We develop and implement solutions for the diagnosis, planning and design of strategies for urban regeneration and transformation from a multidimensional, integrated, and participatory perspective, that allow a transformation of cities aligned with the objectives of the New Urban Agenda: more sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities.

Our developments are based on digital data capture and analytics tools and systems, predictive algorithms, advanced modelling and visualisation, such as GIS, BIM, CityGML, IoT, and IA.

We use technologies related to:

• Smart management of cities and territories.
• City Digital Twins.
• Urban transformation and regeneration.
• Sustainable and smart cities and rural areas
• Energy planning and optimisation
• “Smartisation” of the urban equipment

We address in a comprehensive manner the management of air and noise pollution in cities, linked to transport, industrial processes or others.

• We evaluate the environmental quality and comfort of public spaces by developing integrated simulation and low-cost sensory systems.
• We apply Big Data and Deep Learning, developing algorithms and models for performance management and optimisation.
• We design comfortable urban spaces incorporating environmental criteria.

We also develop solutions based on digital technologies to adapt urban environments, buildings and cities to the needs of an ageing population, promoting active ageing in a new care services model.

We work in key areas for the Silver Economy, such as:

• Social care and healthcare
• Independent living and remaining at home
• Housing and town planning
• Transport and mobility
• Active and healthy ageing

We develop technologies and new business models that contribute to the shift towards the mobility of the future: low environmental impact, connected, efficient, safe, and inclusive. We work on:

• The design and development of smart transport infrastructures and systems.
• Analytical and monitoring solutions for more efficient mobility.
• Safety & Security.
• Urban and regional mobility planning.
• Infrastructure maintenance tools and systems.

We undertake the development of advanced products and processes to make infrastructures safer and economically sustainable, making them smart, optimising their performance and extending their useful life through highly technological solutions that facilitate decision-making. We work on:

• Conservation and maintenance of bridges, tunnels, and slopes.
• Smart infrastructure monitoring and management.
• Conservation and maintenance of unique infrastructures.
• Fire safety of infrastructures.

We develop solutions for waste reduction, reuse and lower consumption of raw-materials.
We work on:

• Promoting the industry-city symbiosis for the recovery and use of materials and waste.
• CO₂ collection and recovery.
• Tools for assessing, modelling, interpreting, and communicating the sustainability of buildings, as well as urban and territorial sustainability.
• Emissions inventories and projections; decarbonisation plans and improvement of circularity
• Predictive urban metabolism analysis based on information and patterns of citizen consumption.