At the Materials for Energy Unit (UME), the main activities carried out are R&D, Technological Assistance and Support to Sate and Society, in the development of new materials and the study of their functionality, performance and durability, in energy conversion and storage applications.

The activities are oriented according to the following strategic principles:

• Contribution to the promotion and development of renewable energies and energy transition – conversion, storage and energy vectors;
• Innovative materials for strategic sectors of the economy;
• Alignment with the issues of criticality of materials: substitution, second-life, recyclability;
• Valorizing endogenous resources, in line with national strategies.

The Materials for Energy Unit is organized into several areas of competence and research topics, namely:

• Development of materials for renewable energies
  • Materials for solar energy technologies such as solar thermal conversion and photovoltaics, as well as wind and ocean technologies.
  • Materials for thermal energy storage technologies.
• Materials for Hydrogen and Battery Technologies
  • Development of new materials for hydrogen technologies, namely the production by electrolysis, the H2 storage, and the fuel cells.
  • Prospective studies on the application of Hydrogen as an energy vector.
  • Battery technologies, such as the study and development of material components, as well as tests of stability, durability and cyclability.
• Extraction and Recycling of Materials for Energy Technologies
  • Processes for extraction, refining and metallic recovery from primary and secondary resources, focusing on materials for energy technologies, and others considered critical and strategic in the national or European context.
• Durability, Corrosion and Anticorrosive Protection of Materials
  • Behavior and durability of materials, as well as corrosion evaluation and anticorrosiove protection, used in technologies of renewable energy storage and conversion. Activity developed in the Materials and Coatings Laboratory.