Examples of these activities include the Blau de Prússia podcast and several outreach actions held at public events across the territory, where the ICIQ team brought hands-on chemistry and scientific knowledge to a broad audience.
ICIQ has been awarded support from the 2025 call of the Diputació de Tarragona, a programme that strengthens research centres that generate projects contributing to territorial development through scientific, technological and innovative initiatives. The call also promotes actions that enhance cultural, scientific, economic and social capacities, while supporting effective knowledge transfer across the Tarragona region.
The funded project, New Carbon Chemistry: Impact on the Territory (Nova química del carboni: impacte al territori), ran from January 2024 to June 2025. Its main goal has been to lay the foundations for new research and innovation initiatives within the framework of industrial decarbonisation and a circular and sustainable economy across the Tarragona, Terres de l’Ebre and Penedès regions.
The project focused on four key action areas:
1. Developing new chemical systems featuring advanced catalysts and strategies for molecule valorisation
2. Innovating in materials and processes for green hydrogen use as well as converting converting CO₂ into fuels and high-value products using waste, industrial gases and water as feedstocks
3. Exploring new synthetic routes for pharmaceuticals and chemical sensors, including approaches that enable the recovery and valorisation of critical metals from urban and industrial waste
4. Promoting scientific education and outreach to bring sustainable chemistry closer to citizens, students and socioeconomic agents
To advance these objectives, ICIQ worked closely with local institutions and organisations, including the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, research centres such as IPHES, ICAC and IISPV, the Eurecat technology centre, and several companies across the territory.
The project also included a communication and outreach dimension. Activities developed in collaboration with local media, including Més Tarragona, Diari de Tarragona and Ràdio Tarragona, and with town halls and public administrations such as those of Tarragona, La Canonja and the Port of Tarragona, have helped bring ICIQ’s research closer to citizens. These efforts have reached communities across Tarragona, Reus, Valls, El Vendrell, Falset, Cambrils, Salou, Sant Carles de la Ràpita and other towns, inspiring scientific vocations among students participating in ICIQ’s educational programmes.
With the support of €96.433,74 from the Diputació de Tarragona, the project “Nova química del carboni: impacte al territori” strengthened ICIQ’s commitment to advancing research that contributes to a more sustainable and competitive future for the region and its citizens.
Amb el suport de la Diputació de Tarragona.
La entrada ICIQ awarded funding from the Diputació de Tarragona to advance sustainable carbon chemistry in the territory se publicó primero en ICIQ.