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Research news

List of news published in the Press Room on research and innovation

• Stabilising the power grid through grid-forming loads: the challenge of a European project led by CITCEA-UPC

  The UPC’s Centre for Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives (CITCEA) is leading a European project to redesign the current energy system in order to stabilise the power grid in the face of growing renewable energy integration. The proposed solutions involve using the very devices that consume electricity to help balance the grid.

• Launch of a European project for monitoring marine biodiversity using an intelligent marine digital twin

  SEAMPHONI is a project led by the UPC with the participation of 24 European partners and funding of €11 million from the Horizon Europe programme. It aims to transform the monitoring of marine biodiversity through the creation of an intelligent marine digital twin that will integrate innovative tools such as environmental DNA, acoustics and underwater imaging. The project kick-off meeting was held in Vilanova i la Geltrú on 25 June.

• Leonardo Grants awarded to UPC researchers Inés Aquilué, Gissell Estrada and Juan Murcia

  The 2025 call for BBVA Foundation’s Leonardo Grants has selected the projects of Inés Aquilué, Gissell Estrada and Juan Murcia to study, respectively, the reconstruction of cities after armed conflicts, the mathematical modelling of cell migration and the resilience of infrastructure in the face of extreme climate events.

• The UPC leads a Unite! project to restore urban rivers and prevent flooding in European cities

  Coordinated by a research team from the UPC’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and involving researchers from the University along with other Unite! partners, the initiative has received funding from the alliance’s seed fund.

• The 1st UPC Artificial Intelligence Challenge expands its scope and extends the registration period to 15 November

  The UPC Artificial Intelligence Challenge (IA Challenge) will recognise the best projects applying this technology in any of the University’s fields of knowledge. The competition is open to more than 30,000 UPC bachelor’s and master’s students, who can submit their proposals until 15 November. In addition, partner companies have introduced six new industrial challenges.

• 69 European regions share tools to assess climate risk at regional and local levels

  In a context of climate change, how will areas at risk of wildfires evolve? What about projections of extreme rainfall or the frequency and intensity of heatwaves? A total of 69 regions and municipalities from 23 European countries have received support and funding from the EU to design adaptation and emergency response plans at the regional and local levels. On 11 June, more than 150 representatives from these regions and municipalities gathered in Barcelona for the CLIMAAX workshop, co-coordinated by the UPC’s Centre of Applied Research in Hydrometeorology (CRAHI).

• The UPC aims to improve the treatment of bone fractures with advanced biomaterials

  A research team from the UPC’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering is exploring ways to transform the treatment of bone fractures using smart, advanced biomaterials that can reduce the risk of infection and implant rejection, as well as shorten recovery times. The research is part of the European project HYDROHEAL.

• Launch of Next Frontier Founders, the programme that connects technological vision with funding

  New call—running until 15 July—of this programme for start-up acceleration and investment readiness. For the students, recent graduates and academic and research staff at the UPC who have founded a tech-based start-up or spin-off.

• The UPC, Spain’s leading university in six classifications in the 2025–2026 Best Global Universities Rankings by ‘U.S. News’

  Published by U.S. News on 17 June, the latest edition of the Best Global Universities Rankings positions the UPC as Spain’s top university in Engineering and in five subjects: Optics, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

• The Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Architecture (IRIA-UPC) is presented in Barcelona

  On 1 April, the UPC presented the Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Architecture (IRIA-UPC) with the aim of promoting and strengthening research, innovation and knowledge transfer in architecture, urban planning and building. IRIA-UPC, which brings together architects, urban planners and technical architects, is a pioneering institute within the university system and aspires to become an international benchmark in these fields.

• First year of Connèxia UPC: a new model of engagement with companies offering innovation and knowledge transfer opportunities

  One year after its launch, the Connèxia UPC programme now includes four major partner companies—Fractus, Schneider Electric, Mecalux and Cetaqua—and is set to welcome new additions in 2025. Around 5,000 UPC students have taken part in activities related to the initiative, which has generated an economic impact of approximately €350,000. The programme has also contributed to the development of mentorship activities aimed at promoting female talent through initiatives that support leadership.

• The UPC leads an innovative project within Unite! to tackle climate challenges in cities

  The project “Cities in times of drought or abundance”, funded by the Unite! Seed Fund and coordinated by the UPC, will gather European experts to develop architectural and urban solutions in response to the effects of climate change.

• 7 tonnes of plastic waste end up along the Barcelona coastline every year, according to a UPC and UB study

  A research team from the UPC and the UB has spent two and a half years monitoring the Barcelona coastline to quantify the scale of floating marine litter and to identify transport flows and accumulation zones for plastic waste. The results of the study were presented at an event held on the UPC’s North Diagonal Campus on 20 May.

• Citizen science and numerical modelling to tackle marine plastic pollution and improve environmental management

  The UPC’s Maritime Engineering Laboratory is taking part in a European project aimed at improving the management of plastic pollution in the north-western Mediterranean and raising public awareness about the importance of protecting the marine environment.

• New method developed to identify regions at high risk of compound flooding along the Spanish Mediterranean coast

  A joint research effort by the UPC and the UGR has developed an innovative method to detect and classify areas at high risk of compound flooding—flooding caused by a combination of intense rainfall, river overflows and coastal events such as storms and heavy waves. The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, has identified three particularly vulnerable regions: central Valencia, northern Catalonia and western Andalusia.

• The UPC, Spain’s leading university for European patent filings

  The UPC is the Spanish university that filed the highest number of European patent applications in 2024, according to data from the European Patent Office. The UPC’s filings rose by more than 30% compared to the previous year.

• Sustainable 3D printing resins developed from plant-based materials

  A team from the UPC and the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia has developed polymeric resins derived from plant-based materials aimed at reducing 3D printing’s reliance on fossil fuel-based resins. The research findings have been published in 'RSC Applied Polymers', a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

• Light-powered catalyst to make hydrogen

  A team from the UPC and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) have designed an efficient and stable photocatalyst capable of producing hydrogen directly using sunlight. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.

• Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub reveals that AI and 5G-6G are the technologies with the highest potential for techno-social disruption

  Artificial intelligence, 5G-6G, big data, robotics, cybersecurity, computers and IoT protocols and 3D and 4D printing are the technologies with the most research groups at the UPC, according to the study 'Analysis, map and detection of Deep Tech areas and technologies'. Prepared with its own methodology within the framework of the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, the study detects the end of 16 technologies in which 50% of the University's research groups are distributed, depending on the social impact or industrial escalation.

• Airgilab, the first living lab that regenerates building air with horticultural crops, is presented at the UPC’s ESEIAAT

  A greenhouse for urban agriculture, connected to classroom 3.07 and an office at the Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering (ESEIAAT), absorbs CO2 from these spaces and transforms it into oxygen through photosynthesis. The clean air is recirculated back into the classroom if the conditions are suitable. This is how the Air quality & Green Infrastructure Living Lab (Airgilab) works, it is the first living lab to regenerate building air using agricultural crops. It was created by the Construction Research and Innovation Group (GRIC) of the UPC.

• Advancing space exploration: a pioneering experiment in cryogenic fuel management in space

  Researchers from the UPC’s Space Exploration Laboratory are contributing to the development of advanced technologies for the storage and refuelling of cryogenic propellants in microgravity conditions. This technology, which will be key to driving space exploration and advancing Europe’s space transportation ecosystem, will be validated through an in-orbit experiment—the first of its kind in Europe.

• Protecting marine ecosystems from ship-induced noise pollution

  The UPC’s Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) participates in a European project focused on developing technologies to reduce underwater noise pollution caused by maritime traffic, which poses a threat to marine ecosystems. The LAB will assess the effectiveness of noise reduction systems installed on five vessels.

• The UPC climbs positions in the 2024 QS Sustainability Ranking and is placed as one of the world’s 150 best universities

  The new edition of the QS Sustainability Ranking places the UPC as one of the world’s 150 best universities, specifically in 143rd place. The ranking also places the University among the world’s top 100 in governance, in 79th.

• New edition of the UPC Research Valorisation Award, supported by Fractus

  A new call for applications is open for the UPC Research Valorisation Award, accepting submissions from the UPC’s teaching and research staff until 10 April.

• The UPC among the world’s top 50 in Architecture and Art History in the 2025 QS Rankings by Subject

  The 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject rank the UPC the world’s 38th in Architecture and Built Environment and in the 21–40 band in Art History. The rankings also place the University among the world’s top 100 in the broad subject area of Engineering and Technology and in the subjects of Industrial, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering; Data Science and Artificial Intelligence; and Civil and Structural Engineering.

• Awards to a new generation of surgical meshes, a program for designing buildings and the Process Talks spin-off

  The jury of the 14th UPC Research Valorisation Award, promoted by the Board of Trustees, has recognised 4DPolysense as the best technology transfer project, the NECADA program as the best invention or work for its application in the market and the Process Talks spin-off as the best technology-based company. The Nimble Diagnostics spin-off has also received a special acknowledgement.

• Unite! Seed Fund for students, researchers and professors: call for applications open until 20 March

  The 2025 Unite! Seed Fund offers financial support to students, researchers and professors who wish to initiate joint initiatives between at least three Unite! universities. The deadline for all submissions is 20 March.

• Fractus and the UPC create a technological hub to develop deep tech solutions

  Fractus and the UPC have agreed to create the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, a research centre where deep technologies will be designed and improved so as to develop disruptive technological solutions based on scientific challenges with great potential and social impact. Fractus is one of the first spin-offs that emerged from the UPC.

• The new space mission by the UPC NanoSat Lab for Earth observation RITA/ 3 Cat-6 successfully launched

  The payload RITA/³Cat-6 is now in orbit. It has been developed by doctoral students at the UPC NanoSat Lab and integrated into the Arab nanosatellite ALainSat-1. The UPC’s space payload carries instruments to gather data on sea salinity and soil humidity, and to measure vegetation status.

• International award for a UPC project to pave the way for the shipyard of the future

  Coordinated by Xavier Martínez Garcia, a professor at the UPC’s FNB and a researcher at CIMNE, FIBRE4YARDS is developing new composite material manufacturing technologies that enable a redefinition of shipyards, aiming to minimise environmental impact, improve vessel quality and reduce construction costs. The initiative has won the Maritime Transportation & Shipbuilding category of the JEC Innovation Awards—prestigious awards recognised as a benchmark in the field of advanced materials.

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