Development of Materials for Sustainable Infrastructure

Since 2021, the Applied Mechanics and Advanced Manufacturing (GAM) group at IQS has been leading a line of research on the development of new sustainable materials for building more efficient and environmentally friendly infrastructure. This line of research takes a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, encompassing mechanical and materials engineering, chemistry, sustainability, and technological innovation.

In addition to reducing the environmental impacts of infrastructure projects, the primary objective is to enhance the positive contributions of construction on the environment. To do so, the group is researching the development of new applications to improve structural efficiency, increase durability, and optimize the regeneration capacity of materials.

Within the field of sustainable infrastructure, one of the GAM group’s research areas has focused on the development of materials with high biological receptivity, inspired by biomimetic principles. These materials are designed to promote marine biodiversity by supporting the natural colonization of infrastructure and contributing to the regeneration of marine ecosystems.

As part of this project, and in collaboration with the Ona Futura Foundation, a pilot test has been carried out in a real marine environment. This validation has made it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of different material compositions using a cement-based substrate with a low carbon footprint. This “blue cement” has demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for colonization, achieving a total occupation of the surface and the identification of more than 36 species in six months, including sponges, bivalves, ascidians, and other filtering organisms such as bryozoans, hydrozoans, nudibranchs, cephalopods, annelids, crustaceans, and echinoderms.

These results show a high specific richness and taxonomic diversity, confirming the potential of these materials to restore and regenerate degraded marine habitats.

The Biostone project has been co-financed through the Innovadors programme (2022 INNOV 00047) within the Knowledge Industry call by the Catalan Agency for the Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), promoted by the Government of Catalonia Department of Research and Universities. Innovadors grants aim to finance projects to transfer research results aimed at the creation of spinoffs, exploiting licenses, and other forms of intellectual and industrial protection of technology or knowledge.

Thanks to this support, the GAM group’s research has led to the creation of the spinoff NextReef Ecosystems, which is dedicated to the development and implementation of innovative technological solutions to restore marine biodiversity. NextReef Ecosystems applies the scientific knowledge it has acquired to design and scale solutions based on biomimetic materials and natural regeneration strategies, with the aim of restoring degraded marine ecosystems and promoting a positive impact on the sustainability of the marine environment.

The innovative impact of NextReef Ecosystems has been recognized in 2024 with several awards, including the Best Environmental Innovation Project awarded by Ramon Llull University, the Young Entrepreneur Award from the Valls Chamber of Commerce and CaixaBank, and it has been included in the APTE Top 100 Startups, which recognizes the most innovative companies that have been incubated in Spain’s Technology Parks.

Another one of the GAM group’s projects on sustainable materials is being developed in collaboration with the company Molins. The project seeks to reduce the ecological footprint of cement production by implementing innovative strategies that contribute to a more circular and sustainable economy in the construction sector.

To this end, the group is exploring solutions such as reducing clinker content, reusing construction waste as a supplementary material, and recovering the CO₂ generated during the production process. These initiatives not only decrease the environmental impact of the cement industry, but also contribute to a more circular and sustainable economy in the construction sector.

Within the framework of this project, two industrial doctorates are being conducted in collaboration between the GAM and GESPA research groups at IQS and the company Molins, funded through the AGAUR industrial doctorate programme (2024 DI 00048 and 2024 DI 00098).