Project description
Layered materials offer new future for energy storage and spintronics
Layered materials are solids consisting of multiple layers of atoms; in such solids, two-dimensional sheets are strongly bonded, but only weakly bonded to adjacent layers. Industry has shown interest in such materials for creating high-performance semiconductors, conductors, superconductors, ferromagnets and antiferromagnets for various applications. The EU-funded FUNLAYERS project will apply layered materials in energy storage and spintronics. The project aims to strengthen the research capacity of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Braga, Portugal. To this end, it will organise training sessions, knowledge-sharing activities and exchange of good practices, in addition to offering access to advanced facilities.
Objective
Radical technological transformation in the last one hundred years have been based on the understanding electronic properties of materials that has enabled their application in electronics, energy harvesting, among others. There is no doubt that the solution to the new challenges of our time will also come from the understanding of materials and their applications. In this context, layered materials are very promising on account of their broad range of electronic properties, including insulators, semiconductors, conductors, superconductors, ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, that can lead to a variety of applications. FUNLAYERS will focus on two types of applications, energy storage and spintronics.
The exploration of layered materials is such a vast enterprise that requires the engagement of an army of different institutions. There is a huge effort, worldwide, and if Europe wants to remain competitive and be a major player in this incoming revolution, it is essential to strengthen the capabilities of institutions everywhere, most notably in widening countries. FUNLAYERS will bring together three partners to march together in this direction, two consolidated research institutions with outstanding scientific reputation, MPG and ALBA-CELLS, and INL, in Portugal. Taking advantage of incipient collaborations in layered materials, this twinning exercise will put INL to speed in this blooming research field and will benefit all partners thanks to their complementary strengths.
FUNLAYERS will identify weak points in INL research capacity, and provide training, knowledge sharing, exchange of good practices and access to facilities to address these points. It will engage the three partners in collaborative research aiming at high impact results, and lay the foundations to sustain this collaboration and the positive impact of the project over time and bring concrete solutions to our greatest challenges, namely, climate change and low energy consumption.
Fields of science
- social sciencespolitical sciencespolitical transitionsrevolutions
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicsspintronics
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssuperconductivity
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support ActionsCoordinator
4715-330 Braga
Portugal