Top Spanish University in Horizon Europe funding

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The UPC heads the list of Spanish universities in terms of funding raised and the number of projects under Horizon Europe. With 161 projects, it has obtained 83 million euros in funding so far.

Oct 30, 2024

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) has cemented its positions as Spain’s top university in the Horizon Europe programme, according to the latest programme data. Among all organisations, the UPC ranks third in terms of the number of projects, just behind the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Tecnalia research centre.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie projects, boosting research talent
The UPC’s participation stands out particularly in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), which are the European Union’s reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. The UPC coordinates 17 of these projects and participates in 53 others, led by other universities or research centres. To date, these projects have contributed a total of 11.2 million euros to the UPC.

One of the projects coordinated by the UPC is Building decentralIsed, DistributEd And Local micro-GRids for dEcarbonisation Electrification challeNge (IDEAL4GREEN), led by researcher Andreas Sumperfrom the Centre for Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives (CITCEA). With an overall budget of over four million euros, it addresses the challenges of climate change and the transition to sustainable energy systems, focusing on the development and integration of microgrids to manage renewable resource variability. The project establishes a doctoral training network to educate engineers with cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral skills by combining academic research and industrial collaborations to drive practical applications. Alongside the UPC, 7 universities and 11 companies participate in the project.

Leaders in climate, energy and mobility research and innovation
The most funding is attracted by projects under the clusters, subprogrammes of the Horizon Europe framework programme. The UPC specifically stands out in cluster 5 (Climate, Energy and Mobility), bringing in 28.2 million euros for 35 projects, and in cluster 4 (Digital, Industry and Space), having already obtained 23 million euros for 35 projects.

An outstanding project under cluster 5 (Climate, Energy and Mobility) is Innovative Storage Technology And Operations In Hydropower (STOR-HY), led by researcher Alexandre Presas from the Centre for Industrial Diagnostics and Fluid Dynamics. The project has a budget of almost 8 million euros, with 1.2 million earmarked for the UPC as the coordinating entity. STOR-HY seeks to reduce investment and operational costs for pumped storage plants by optimising component durability and recycling and employing digital tools to improve efficiency and reliability. This enhances the flexibility of hydroelectric plants, contributing to the resilience of the EU’s energy grid.

Under cluster 4 (Digital, Industry and Space), Liberation Analysis For Optimizing Extraction And Processing Of Crms (BLOOM) and Quartz Enrichment Enabling Near-Zero Silicon Production (QUEEN), coordinated by researcher Josep Oliva from the Department of Mining, Industrial and ICT Engineering, are particularly significant. Together they have a budget of 14 million euros, of which 5 million go to the UPC. BLOOM will develop extraction technologies for critical materials, in collaboration with Ukraine and Canada, to strengthen the EU’s supply chains and reduce extraction costs. As for the QUEEN project, with participants from eight countries, it addresses the dependence on imported metallurgical-grade silicon (MG-Si). It aims to produce this material in an environmentally friendly process by using quartz sand from European quarries, reducing CO₂ emissions and increasing the EU’s production capacity to meet 56% of demand by 2032.

Another relevant project coordinated by the UPC under cluster 4 is Digital, autonomous, Intelligent and Synchronous system for Continuous identification, Optimization and Value Extraction of Resources from the end-of-use built environment (DISCOVER), led by researcher Alba Pérez from the Industrial Equipment Design Centre (CDEI). This project contributes 1.2 million euros to the UPC and seeks to transform deconstruction processes with an autonomous system that uses robotics and artificial intelligence to identify and analyse materials in buildings at the end of their life, promoting circularity and reducing environmental impact.

The UPC also has a prominent role in cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment). Here, the project Development Of An Easy-To-Use Interactive Platform To Renovate Training Experiences And Networking For Farmers In The Field Of Sustainable Crop Management (RENOVATE), led by researcher Emilio Gil from the Department of Agri-Food Engineering and Biotechnology, seeks to develop a knowledge-sharing platform to enhance sustainable crop management by using engaging technologies such as serious games.

Excellent research projects
Finally, the UPC’s participation in European Research Council (ERC) calls, encouraging the highest quality research in Europe, often at the frontier of knowledge or basic research, is also noteworthy. In the 2024 call, David Escofet, a Serra Húnter researcher from the Department of Heat Engines, has been awarded a Starting Grant. Additionally, researcher Sergi Abadal from the Department of Computer Architecture, who is a Starting Grant holder since 2022, has received funding from the ERC Proof of Concept programme to explore the commercial potential of his research findings.

The strategic importance of Horizon Europe for public universities

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s research and innovation framework programme for 2021-2027 with a budget of 95.5 billion euros. It aims to tackle major global challenges, such as climate change, digitalisation and health, by promoting collaboration across countries and sectors. It is particularly important for public universities, as it provides funding for cross-disciplinary projects and promotes participation in international networks, enhancing knowledge transfer and academic excellence. Additionally, it boosts competitiveness, enabling universities to develop innovative research with significant social and economic impact.

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