The project is focused on the design, fabrication and actuation of advanced magnetoelectric (ME) materials with tailored, on-demand properties, aiming to significantly enhance energy efficiency and enable disruptive functionalities in strategic technological sectors. It is built on two main pillars: the sustainable production of fully dense and porous ME architectures—both continuous and lithographically defined—and the development of innovative magnetoelectric actuation protocols capable of unlocking new performance levels in energy and biomedical applications. By combining advanced materials engineering with micro- and nano-structuring approaches, the project seeks to generate next-generation functional materials with controlled coupling between magnetic and electric properties.
The scientific ambition of the project is aligned with key national and European priorities, particularly those defined in the Spanish State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation and in Horizon Europe under Pillar 2. Its research contributes directly to clean and efficient energy systems, health and wellbeing, and climate action. Targeted applications include renewable energy technologies, energy-efficient devices, hydrogen production through electrocatalysis, data storage systems, and electrically active biomaterials for tissue engineering and cell stimulation. By addressing hydrogen technologies, advanced manufacturing, and nano-/biotechnology, the project integrates several Key Enabling Technologies identified by the European Commission.
Through its interdisciplinary and sustainability-oriented approach, the project aims to deliver high-impact scientific advances in magnetoelectric materials, foster resource-efficient technological solutions, and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in energy, climate, and health-related innovation domains.
CIDETEC’S role in the project:
CIDETEC Surface Engineering leads subproject 2 and within its framework will address the fabrication of porous non-conductive structures by electroless plating technology and the scaling-up of ME materials priorly developed by UAB-physics. CIDETEC will also oversee the characterization of different features of the materials developed such as their wettability and the degradation phenomena of ME materials.