Barcelona, 8 May - On Tuesday 8 May, ICFO -The Institute of Photonic Sciences and the Sorigué business group formalized a framework collaboration agreement to undertake activities of mutual interest to both parties.  Those in attendance at the signing of the agreement on behalf of ICFO were Lluís Torner, Director of ICFO; Silvia Carrasco, Director of the Department of Technology Transfer; Valerio Pruneri, leader of the research group in Optoelectronics; and Alba B. Rosado, as manager of the portfolio of graphene projects. Those attending the signing on behalf of Sorigué were Ana Vallés, in her role as President of Sorigué, as well as the Director of Innovation, Joan Pons, and the company’s Managing Director of Engineering and Construction, Manuel Delgado.  

The collaboration between the two organizations aims to launch projects where the use of photonic technology and materials may contribute to Sorigué’s production activities. Photonics, which uses new high-performance materials, has a multitude of applications including, for example, making sustainable energy buildings or improving the efficiency and reducing the cost of desalination plants to increase access to safe drinking water.

Furthermore, the agreement promotes the planning and completion of R&D&i activities and programs while also encouraging research in areas of mutual interest. 

Ana Vallés, President of Sorigué, has expressed her satisfaction with this agreement: “Collaborating with ICFO means strengthening an alliance with a first-rate international research center in order to jointly develop differential tools for our industrial group, with high social impact. This partnership will promote and facilitate the transfer of knowledge between the world of industry and the science and technology developed by ICFO.” 

Lluís Torner, Director of ICFO, commented that “Creating links with a company with the foresight and abilities that Sorigué possesses is a source of pride for us. It opens up a great opportunity to translate innovations in areas of shared interest into the market.” 

ICFO and Sorigué will be able to undertake collaborative projects and activities through any institution and/or business that belongs to the corporate group. 

The two organizations will form a joint committee with the goal of planning, evaluating and monitoring all activities that fall under this agreement. The agreement will last for three years and may be extended by mutual agreement.

About ICFO

ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences, a member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) is a research center located within the Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia [Mediterranean Technology Park] in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Currently 400 people work at the institute and have been organized into 26 research groups and 60 top-of-the-line laboratories with the latest experimental advances, supported by top-rate facilities for nano-manufacturing, characterization, imaging and engineering.

The Severo Ochoa distinction, awarded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, 15 ICREA [Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies] professors, 31 grants from the European Research Council (ERC), 7 Nest Fellows from the Fundació Cellex Barcelona, and a constant presence at the top of the world rankings for excellence in research demonstrate the center’s dedication to cutting-edge research. With regard to industry, ICFO actively participates on Photonics21, a European technology platform, and is also proactive in promoting business activity as well as creating spin-offs.  The center participates in incubation activities and seeks to attract venture capital investment. ICFO runs the Corporate Liaison Program, which aspires to create collaboration and contacts between the industry and ICFO researchers. To this day, ICFO has helped create six successful start-ups.

About Sorigué

Sorigué is a business group that was founded in 1956. It serves as a leader in the water technology and engineering, service, construction and materials sectors. Sorigué is firmly committed to innovation and giving back to society. The company has offices in all of Spain’s main cities, and has a workforce of around 3,500 employees.

Sorigué has a multi-disciplinary Innovation Department that aims to focus the business group’s efforts on innovation-based projects; the creation of synergies, both internal and with national and international institutions and organizations; the modernization of processes; and the active search for new business.