UPTEC presents ten innovative projects in afternoon dedicated to sustainability

On 22 July, from 2.30 pm, UPTEC is organising the Community Gathering: Sustainability Edition, in partnership with Google Cloud. The event will feature pitches from the ClimateLaunchpad finalists, a round-table discussion on entrepreneurship in the age of sustainability with representatives from B Corp Portugal, APDL and Savearth, and will conclude with an interactive networking session with partners.

To kick off the programme, ten projects will take to the stage to present their cleantech solutions to the jury and the audience, in a competition supported by MEXT, the Portuguese Engineers’ Association, Prio and Santander X. Gaia has created a platform that uses artificial intelligence and satellite data to assess the risk of forest fires and issue early warnings, whilst VannVakt offers a monitoring tool that detects anomalies in water well output. Ray Sense Technologies, meanwhile, has developed a portable sensor that measures energy losses caused by dirt on solar panels, and FungiFoam offers carbon-negative, fire-resistant insulation panels grown from fungal mycelium. Safe Mesh has created an autonomous, solar-powered network that keeps communities connected during climate emergencies.

Also showcasing its work will be TeciMax, which transforms textile waste into thermal and acoustic insulation panels free from toxic compounds. BiosphereX has developed ELYSIA, a modular urban infrastructure that purifies the air and combats heat islands using moss biofilters, whilst Forest Farmers seeks to give syntropic agriculture the recognition and funding currently enjoyed by other agricultural crops, and Latent Energy Systems presents a thermal storage solution that converts renewable electricity into industrial heat available on demand. Finally, SIION reaches the final with a proposal for the next generation of forest firefighting.

The afternoon will also feature a roundtable discussion on entrepreneurship in the age of sustainability, moderated by journalist Luísa Correia and featuring Laetitia Arraghi de Casanova, director of BCorp Portugal; Luís Monteiro, Head of the Environment and Energy Efficiency Division at APDL; and João Machado, founder of Savearth, the start-up that won the previous edition of Climate Launchpad.

Following the competition, there will be an outdoor networking session with a cocktail bar, a DJ set and interactive themed areas run by partners such as Google Cloud, the European Innovation Academy, ScaleUp Porto, InvestPorto and Porto Business School, offering various ways to network and bringing together innovation, community and sustainability in a single space.

The event, which is free to attend, kicks off at 2.30 pm on 22 July at UPTEC Baixa, and registration can be completed via the dedicated webpage.