70 talented young people tackle real challenges related to water, plastics and energy at the first ALBA Hackathon

During the inauguration of the ALBA Hackathon, several authorities highlighted the value of this event as a space for exchange and co-creation and emphasised the importance of public-private collaboration and knowledge transfer to generate social and economic impact.

The director of the ALBA Synchrotron, Caterina Biscari, expressed her pride in hosting this hackathon ‘because it is the first one at a synchrotron, and – just like the Synchrotron works – the solutions from this event put science at the service of people.’

For his part, Carlos Valero, director of the UAB Research Park, highlighted ‘the importance of bringing together companies and students and exploring possible solutions creatively to build a bold innovation ecosystem rooted in the territory.’

Lourdes Puigbarraca, deputy director general of Transfer and Knowledge Society at the Government of Catalonia, noted that this event ‘highlights the transformative power of innovative talent and technology when connected with industry.’ ‘Public-private collaboration allows ideas to be transformed into solutions with social and economic impact, helping to consolidate the university system as an engine of economic and social innovation and promoting Catalonia as one of the most innovative regions,’ she added.

Ángela Fernández Curto, Deputy Assistant Director General for Large Scientific and Technical Facilities at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, also highlighted that ‘the hackathon is an example of open and collaborative science, which is key to transforming society and generating quality employment’.

Ana María Martínez, from the Barcelona Provincial Council, insisted on ‘the importance of bringing science closer to the region and its citizens,’ while Carlos Cordón, Mayor of Cerdanyola del Vallès, closed the institutional speeches by expressing his pride in Cerdanyola's role as a ‘City of Knowledge’ and highlighting the value of implementing projects and actions that benefit the well-being of citizens.

The hackathon addressed challenges in the key areas of water, plastics and energy. The companies Acciona, Applus+ Laboratories, Dentaid and Ercros each proposed a challenge for the teams of participants to develop proposals based on the use of synchrotron light, a unique scientific instrument that allows materials to be analysed at the atomic scale.

Improving the sustainability of water treatment plants was the challenge proposed by Acciona. Applus+ Laboratories proposed exploring the use of hydrogen as a sustainable fuel. For its part, Dentaid proposed developing methods to recover wastewater in production processes, and Ercros proposed investigating the factors that influence the shrinkage of thermosetting plastics during processing.

The teams of participants, made up of students, researchers and professionals, worked for two days to come up with creative, innovative and disruptive solutions that made things very difficult for the jury, made up of experts from fields such as computer engineering, telecommunications, social action and bioinformatics. In total, ten teams presented their proposals and four projects were awarded prizes, one for each challenge.

The winning project in the ACCIONA challenge was Critical Carbon, which proposes in situ regeneration of granular activated carbon saturated with PFAS in a closed system using supercritical CO₂.

For the second challenge, the winning project from Applus+ Laboratories was Pentapplus, with the idea of creating mechanical innovations using synchrotron technology.

In the third challenge, the winning project from Dentaid was Mouthloop, with the proposal to create a closed loop at the Cerdanyola del Vallès plant by recycling mouthwash waste.

Finally, the winning project for the Ercros challenge was UFO, which aims to take a multifactorial approach with nanostructural and spectrographic analysis of the parameters that affect the shrinkage of post-moulding thermoset plastics. The winning projects will receive scientific advice from the ALBA Synchrotron team and a free feasibility study of their solutions at the centre's facilities.

ALBA Hackathon combined inspiring sessions, visits to the synchrotron facilities and networking spaces such as Speed Innovation Dating (SID), where companies from Cerdanyola del Vallès met with students and professionals in quick meetings to establish contacts, generate synergies and explore job or internship opportunities.

Following the company presentations, participants worked intensively in teams, making the most of the time available to come up with viable, scientifically sound proposals. "It is very satisfying to feel this energy and motivation among the participants. The participants have made the most of all the knowledge we have shared from the Synchrotron, the research staff and mentors for each challenge, and we believe that the result provides great value for companies, with new perspectives for solving their challenges," says Alejandro Sánchez, head of the Synchrotron's Industrial Office.

This event has been a very concrete and powerful way to generate this transfer of knowledge, as it allows real challenges to be solved in a collaborative and multidisciplinary way.