Researcher Nuno Correia was a finalist in the 2022 European Inventor Award

LAETA's researcher Nuno Correia and his team were nominated for the European Inventor Award 2022, by the European Patent Office (EPO), for their mooring system for floating solar farms that track the sun by rotating the island and tilting its photovoltaic panels. 

The dynamic nature of their floating solar farm system makes it possible to maximise the solar energy captured and increase panel efficiency by up to 40% compared to stationary solutions. With the global shift towards carbon neutrality, interest in floating solar farms is growing because they don’t take up land that could be used to grow crops, which is becoming scarce worldwide due to factors such as pollution and erosion.

Nuno Correia, who is also in charge of INEGI – Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Composite Materials and Structures area, and his team are jointly nominated as one of four finalists in the "SMEs" category, which recognises exceptional inventors in small businesses with less than 250 employees and an annual turnover of less than €50 million.