TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES
PLANT PRODUCTION
Horticulture: Technification and improvement in efficiency of horticultural crops
Crop protection:
- Improvement in prediction systems (production control)
- Pest and disease management
- New alternatives to chemical control
New post-harvest treatments: development of protocols that enable a product’s useful life to be extended while maintaining properties and quality
Greenhouses and vertical crops: improvement in the efficiency of production infrastructure based on technification and sustainability.
PRECISION AGRICULTURE (SMART FARMING)
Application of new information and communication technologies (ICT), sensorics, robotics and AI to agricultural tasks, to improve efficiency and reduce inputs:
- Automation of processes and mechanisation of production processes
- Development of measurement systems in agriculture and communication of data with less energy consumption
- Remote sensing for open-air crops using drones and satellites
- Improvement of productivity with mobile robots
- Design of machinery and equipment
DIGITALISATION
Development of data processing systems based on artificial intelligence and deep learning to generate high value-added information for decision making and automation of processes.
- Agriculture 4.0: systems for capturing and processing images and telecommunication systems based on data science
VALUATION
- Design of circular sustainable production processes
- Development of biomaterials based on renewable sources or the transformation of by-products into raw materials
- Reduction of losses in the field
- Development of technology to use plant fibres (hemp, maize, etc.) for textile production, construction and other industries
SUSTAINABILITY
Design of sustainable production processes under the paradigm of circularity within farming and throughout the food chain.
- Management of wastewater to reduce contamination and be able to reuse it
- Design of processes without CO2 emissions to contribute to decarbonisation
- Sources of renewable energy to generate bioenergy
- Preservation of biodiversity of cultivated plants
APPLICATION SECTORS
FOOD
AGRICULTURE AND MARINE ENVIRONMENT
DISTRIBUTION AND MASS CONSUMPTION
HEALTH
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
ENERGY
RELATED PROJECTS
- Microalgae-based wastewater treatment systems have demonstrated the ability to recover nutrients from wastewater and produce valuable biomass for agricultural applications while also recovering energy through the anaerobic digestion of residual biomass. In the Cyan2Bio project, in which the Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology (GEMMA) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is participating, an additional step will be taken in the valorisation of microalgae biomass to obtain biopolymers suitable for transformation into bioplastics alongside pigments, thereby replacing fossil-based materials.
- The energy transition is reshaping the foundations of the power grid, driven by the massive deployment of renewable generation based on power electronics and the gradual disconnection of conventional fossil-based generation. In this context, grid operators will require support systems to provide flexibility, as renewable generation is highly variable.
- Since the early 21st century, the agricultural sector has faced significant challenges, such as the increasing demand for quality products and a lack of generational replacement. In this context, the agri-food sector is compelled to follow the example of other industries and prioritise digitalisation and automation to ensure sustainability and competitiveness.
- The project, led by the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Mechanics (CATMech) research group at UPC, aims to minimise the by-product waste in hemp cultivation through the development of a competitive industrial plant, reduce energy consumption, and increase comfort in buildings through research into innovative insulation panels in bioconstruction.
