CICECO has expanded its participation in Horizon Europe through the integration of several strategic EU Hop-On projects under the WIDERA programme (link).

These initiatives reinforce CICECO’s role in European research networks, while broadening its scientific scope across energy storage, sustainable biorefineries, circular bioeconomy, and medical imaging technologies. In all projects, CICECO’s participation ensures strong integration between fundamental investigation and applied innovation.

Heat2Battery: solid-state thermal batteries for waste heat recovery

With Denis Alikin (from CICECO and the Physics Department) as local Principal Investigator, the CICECO team has joined the Horizon Europe project “All in One: Harvesting of waste heat with solid thermal battery” (Heat2Battery).

Coordinated by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), under the leadership of Nini Pryds, Heat2Battery aims to develop an all-solid-state thermal battery capable of converting low-grade waste heat into electricity through reversible, thermally driven electrochemical processes. The consortium brings together European research institutions and industrial partners with expertise in solid-state ionics, energy materials, and battery technologies.

The contribution from CICECO focuses on advanced local-scale characterisation of battery materials and complete battery stacks under realistic operating conditions. Using state-of-the-art scanning probe microscopy techniques, including electrical, mechanical, and thermal modes, the team will analyse how nanoscale and mesoscale heterogeneities—such as phase transitions, proton transport pathways, and mechanical degradation—affect performance and durability at temperatures up to 300 °C.

"This expertise complements the consortium’s existing characterisation and modelling capabilities, enabling a deeper mechanistic understanding of key processes that govern the efficiency, stability, and lifetime of solid-state thermal batteries. The participation also strengthens outreach and technology transfer potential in Portugal, fostering links with national industry and contributing to the development of sustainable energy storage solutions", explains Denis Alikin.

Link about the project: https://www.heat2battery.eu/

OLinWASTE: sustainable biorefining of olive mill waste

With Armando Silvestre (from CICECO and the Chemistry Department) as local Principal Investigator, the CICECO team now participates in the Horizon Europe project “OLinWASTE: Smart sustainable biorefining of olive mill waste into biocompounds for plant and soil health, bioplastics, and bioenergy”.

The project is coordinated by Vincenzo Lionetti (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy) and brings together ten European institutions from six countries, establishing an integrated, zero-emissions biorefinery case study. OLinWASTE aims to convert olive mill waste into high-value resources, setting benchmarks for sustainable waste management and renewable energy production within the olive oil sector.

The CICECO contribution extends the project’s scope through the development of sustainable processes based on Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) for selective lignin extraction and recovery of high-value components. The recovered lignin will be used to develop nanoencapsulated, bio-based bioprotectants, as well as polysaccharide-based functional films for food packaging applications. These lignin-based biosolutions contribute to waste reduction, lower emissions, and reduced fossil dependency, supporting circular and zero-pollution biorefinery concepts.

Link for the project: https://www.olinwaste.eu/

XTREAM: biodiscovery from extreme aquatic microbiomes

With Sónia Ventura (from CICECO and the Chemistry Department) as local Coordinator, closely supported by Sónia Santos (from CICECO and the Chemistry Department), the CICECO team has joined the Horizon Europe project “Sustainable exploration and biodiscovery of novel products and processes from extreme aquatic microbiomes to expedite the circular bioeconomy” (XTREAM).

XTREAM is coordinated by the Norwegian Research Centre NORCE, under the leadership of Antonio Garcia-Moyano, and aims to unlock the potential of aquatic extremophiles for the discovery of enzymes, drugs, metabolites, and chemicals. The project develops interdisciplinary tools that enable rapid, efficient, and sustainable exploration of extreme microbiomes, supporting industrial applications in biocatalysis, biorefining, and antifouling solutions. The consortium includes European SMEs, academic teams, and research and technology organisations with expertise in functional metagenomics, microfluidics, microbial ecology, and synthetic biology.

The CICECO team contributes by developing advanced, sustainable downstream processing and green recovery strategies for high-value biogenic compounds.

"The CICECO/UAveiro strategy integrates computational solvent selection with experimental optimisation to develop scalable, eco-friendly extraction and purification workflows tailored to extremophile-derived metabolites. By closing the loop between omics-driven strain prioritisation and validated chemical recovery, CICECO strengthens XTREAM’s data-driven pipeline and accelerates the exploitation readiness of targeted biomolecules", explains Sónia Ventura.

Link of the project: https://xtream-project.eu/project/ 

DDG-MRI: radiation-free metabolic cancer imaging

With Prof. João Mano (from CICECO and the Chemistry Department), CICECO participates in the Horizon Europe project DDG-MRI. The project, funded under the European Innovation Council (EIC) and coordinated by the Hadassah Medical Organization (Israel), takes place until November 2027.

DDG-MRI addresses a critical limitation in cancer diagnostics by developing a safer, radiation-free metabolic imaging technique based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Current metabolic imaging relies on positron emission tomography (PET), which involves ionising radiation and restricts frequent use, particularly in vulnerable populations.

The project introduces a novel deoxy-glucose analogue combined with advanced MRI methodologies to generate PET-like metabolic images without ionising radiation, enabling safer and more accessible cancer detection and therapy monitoring.

Link of the project: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101185775

SUN-PERFORM: from solar energy into sustainable fuels

With Prof. João Mano (from CICECO and the Chemistry Department) as local principal investigator, CICECO has joined the Horizon Europe project SUN-PERFORM as a new Hop-On partner. The project, coordinated by Wageningen University, aims to develop an innovative biohybrid route for converting solar energy into sustainable fuels by combining nanocrystal-based light conversion technologies with engineered microalgae and advanced photobioreactor concepts.

The Hop-On partnership strengthens SUN-PERFORM by integrating CICECO’s expertise in functional biomaterials and microfabrication into the existing consortium, which brings together specialists in photonics, nanomaterials, synthetic biology, and bioprocess engineering. This collaboration enables a new level of interdisciplinary integration, addressing light management challenges directly inside photobioreactors rather than only at their boundaries.

The micromaterials produced by CICECO are designed to tailor the solar spectrum toward photosynthetically active wavelengths and to distribute light more homogeneously within algal cultures, improving photosynthetic efficiency and lipid production. In parallel, CICECO will apply advanced surface engineering strategies to ensure material stability, antifouling behavior, and environmental safety under realistic operating conditions.

“This Hop-On collaboration allows us to translate our expertise in materials engineering into a new biohybrid energy context,” explains the CICECO team. “By working closely with partners in photophysics and algal biotechnology, we aim to contribute to a new generation of internally illuminated photobioreactors that are more efficient, scalable, and sustainable.”

Link for the project: https://sunperform.eu/

Through these Hop-On projects, CICECO consolidates its position as an internationally recognized multidisciplinary research center, contributing to European priorities in energy transition, circular bioeconomy, and health technologies.