CITEEC achieves outstanding success in the Knowledge Generation Projects call

According to the provisional resolution proposal for the 2025 call for Knowledge Generation Projects and associated predoctoral researcher training grants awarded by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI), the University of A Coruña (UDC) has secured €6.3 million in funding for 46 research projects and 11 predoctoral contracts. These figures double those of the previous year, when the University obtained more than €3 million to support 27 projects. This represents a 70.4% increase in the number of funded projects and an 88% increase in funding compared with the 2024 call, placing UDC well above any previous record.

The Research & Innovation Centre on Civil Engineering and Building (CITEEC) at the University of A Coruña has strengthened its position as a benchmark for research excellence following the award of 11 Knowledge Generation Projects, funded under the 2024–2027 State Plan for Scientific, Technical and Innovation Research. Three of these projects also include funding for predoctoral research contracts.

Transforming non-recyclable textile waste into high-value cement mortars and panels with thermal and acoustic insulation properties is the objective of MORTEX, a project led by Diego Carro López from the Construction Group (gCONS).

The Water and Environmental Engineering Group (GEAMA) will lead two projects. José Anta Álvarez will head CON4SUDS, which focuses on developing a new generation of permeable concrete pavements to reduce the risk of urban flooding and improve sustainable stormwater management. Meanwhile, Andrea Muñoz Ibáñez will lead T-FRACT, a project investigating how tensile fractures form and propagate in rocks subjected to pressure, temperature and fluid conditions similar to those found in the subsurface.

In the field of structural engineering, José Ángel Jurado Albarracín Martinón, from the Structural Mechanics Group (GME), will advance new methodologies for the aeroelastic optimisation of long-span bridges. At the same time, Pablo Guindos Bretones, from the Architectural Structures Group (GEA), will develop a more sustainable, stronger, more cost-effective and efficient composite floor system combining timber, steel and concrete.

Road engineering research will also be represented through the Roads, Geotechnics and Materials Group (CGM), led by Ana María Rodríguez Pasandín, which will develop bio-binders derived from waste bio-oils to replace the asphalt bitumen used in bituminous mixtures.

Another funded project is ACHILLES, led by Xesús Nogueira Garea from the Numerical Methods in Engineering Group (GMNI). The project will focus on the simulation of complex physical phenomena, a key technology for advancing more sustainable and competitive models in sectors such as energy and transport.

The Analytical Chemistry Group (QANAP) secured funding for three projects. Among them is BIOANALOMIC, led by Javier Terán Baamonde, which will develop an innovative methodology combining advanced bioanalytical techniques with omics technologies to assess the impact of exposure to micro- and nanoparticles on human health and the environment. In addition, Soledad Muniategui and José Manuel Andrade will focus on assessing the chemical risks associated with plastic materials through their AMANTE project, which combines advanced analytical characterisation techniques, artificial intelligence tools for predictive computational toxicology, and experimental ecotoxicological studies. The third project, CEFUS-ER, led by Jorge Moreda and Purificación López, will develop new analytical methodologies to improve air quality monitoring and establish a scientific basis for both regulated and emerging pollutants, in line with Directive (EU) 2024/2881.

Finally, OLIGOLIFE will reconstruct the ecosystems that existed in Galicia between 34 and 23 million years ago through the study of vertebrate and plant fossils from different Galician sedimentary basins. The project will be led by Blanca Moncunill-Solé and Alejandro Blanco, researchers from the Environmental Change and Palaeobiology Research Group (GRICA-BIOpast).

With this funding, CITEEC further consolidates its leadership in securing competitive national research funding and continues to promote research focused on knowledge transfer, innovation and the development of solutions that contribute to a more sustainable, safer and more competitive society.