The Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) has awarded funding to two ICIQ initiatives under the 2025 Proyectos de Prueba de Concepto call, a programme aimed at accelerating the transfer of knowledge and research results toward market-oriented applications and generating tangible value for society.
The selected projects are HYAVOP, managed by Prof. José Ramón Galán-Mascarós, and MAC-EDIT, led by Prof. Rubén Martín. Both initiatives will run for two years beginning in February 2026 and build on research results previously generated through “Generación de Conocimiento” projects, with the aim of advancing them toward greater technological maturity and potential industrial deployment.
HYAVOP: Full-cell Electrolysers for green HYdrogen generation with Added-Value Oxidation Products (Ref. PDC2025-164909-I00)
The transition to green hydrogen produced from renewable energy is essential to meeting Europe’s decarbonisation goals. However, its generation through water electrolyser technology remains costly, limiting large-scale deployment.
HYAVOP proposes an innovative solution: replacing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode with selective electrocatalytic oxidation processes that will produce added-value chemicals, instead of valueless oxygen. This dual-output approach improves the overall techno-economic viability of electrolytic hydrogen, helping to reduce the cost of green hydrogen and accelerating its market adoption.
Building on the NEWBOUND project, ICIQ researchers have developed low-cost electrocatalysts capable of selectively performing strategic anodic reactions. The project will scale the preparation of these catalysts and integrate them into membrane-based full electrochemical cells, with the goal of validating the technology at TRL4. Demonstrating these dual-output electrolysers will support the definition of an initial business case and advance the concept toward industrial deployment.
MAC-EDIT: Photoinduced Macrocyclic Skeletal Editing (Ref. PDC2025-164904-I00)
Macrocycles are increasingly valuable in drug discovery thanks to their exceptional molecular recognition with improved pharmacokinetic properties, target affinity, potency and selectivity when compared to small molecules. Yet their widespread use remains limited: existing synthetic routes for preparing macrocycles are lengthy, complex and resource-intensive, limiting their potential.
MAC-EDIT introduces an unconventional, photoinduced catalytic strategy that enables direct skeletal editing of macrolactones through an atom- and step-economical transformation in which CO₂ is the only by-product. This method allows the incorporation of multiple substitutents into the macrolactone skeleton in a single operation, achieving excellent site-selectivity even at late stages and in complex intermediates. The approach simplifies operations and opens access to architectures that are difficult or impossible to obtain using conventional methods.
The initiative establishes a modular, flexible platform for the tailored design of macrolides, substantially expanding the available chemical space for medicinal chemistry. By streamlining the preparation of intricate macrocycles, the project has the potential to accelerate drug discovery campaigns and facilitate the development of next-generation therapeutic agents.
Through these two Proof-of-Concept projects, ICIQ strengthens its commitment to bridging research with real-world applications while promoting sustainable innovation.
Projects PDC2025-164909-I00 and PDC2025-164904-I00 funded by MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033
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