For three years, multifunctional TEG-enabled structural composite materials have been developed for the Aeronautics sector.

The HARVEST project, which, for the last three years, has been working on the development of new materials for thermoelectric systems in the Aeronautics sector, held its last meeting on 29 September, in which the latest progress was presented along with the steps to be taken for the completion of the project in November.

During the meeting, the partners responsible for work packages 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, together with those responsible for each task, demonstrated and presented in detail the results obtained and the conclusions reached.

IVW, with the collaboration of UOI and CIDETEC Surface Engineering, presented the work developed in WP5 in relation to efficiency in thermoelectric energy generation (TEG), mechanical properties, multifunctionality, durability and repairability of the materials developed in the project, with CIDETEC’s 3R technology (repairable, recyclable and reprocessable).

For its part, AIRTIFICIAL, alongside TELETEL S.A. and IVW, shared the technical progress made in the development of an electronic circuit and the interconnections with the TEG board. The experts indicated that the experimentation with TEG elements and energy harvesting electronics has been a success.

In WP 7, “Aeronautics Demonstrators: Validation & Optimisation”, led by Sonaca, progress was presented on demonstrator design, durability and validation of parts in different simulated environmental conditions. BT Composites and UOI presented the results and shared the findings in detail. Within this package, R-Tech also described the status of the LCA and LCC studies.

CIDETEC Surface Engineering presented WP8, summarising the latest activities in communication, dissemination and exploitation of the project results. We must mention the collaboration of the whole consortium in achieving the positive results, especially the University of Ioannina, Università degli Studi di Padova and R-Tech.

Finally, R-Tech explained the study developed around the project’s risk management, and the UOI project coordinator then closed the meeting with a review of tasks pending to complete the project in November 2021.

HARVEST has been a professional challenge for the entire consortium, which is undoubtedly being overcome thanks to the collaboration, professionalism and hard work. The results of the work carried out will soon be available.