There is no path to protecting the climate without dramatically changing how we produce and use electricity. Several energy storage and harvesting solutions have recently emerged as an alternative for a smaller environmental footprint.

PRODEF students have the opportunity to develop research in this area by working at IFIMUP, INEGI, MatER and other research centers.

One of the main thematic vectors in IFIMUP is Advanced Energy Materials which directly engages the Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy societal challenge. The objective is to develop disruptive technologies to harvest environmental (thermal, triboelectric and solar) energy, which will be key for the ongoing Internet of Things (IoT) revolution. On this, IFIMUP further aligns with regional and national economy-needs, collaborating with both Portuguese and World companies. The two main research activities aligned with this thematic vector are: Energy harvesting systems in remote and harsh environments and Integration of plasmonic and concentration systems in photovoltaic cells.

At INEGI one of the research and development group is Energy, Environment and Sustainability where the goal is to find solutions for a range of issues connected to energy, environment and sustainability. Research topics include: Renewable Energy, Ocean Storage and Harvesting Energy, Structural Batteries, Technologies for Energy Conversion, Indoor Environmental Quality in Buildings and Industry, Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer.

MatER research group is focused on the development of materials for high energy density and low cost rechargeable solid state batteries. Among the different architectures of these batteries are thermal energy storage systems with possible coupling to renwable energy sources and hybrid systems, with applications in electric mobility and structural energy storage systems.