TX ACTIVE di ITALCEMENTI sul podio degli European Inventor Award

Assegnato l'AWARD europeo per la categoria INDUSTRIE alla ricerca sulla tubercolosi. 

Ha vinto l'Award Koen Andries, Jérôme Guillemont, Imre Csoka, Laurence F.F. Marconnet-Decrane, Frank C. Odds, Jozef F.E. Van Gestel, Marc Venet, Daniel Vernier (Belgium, France, United Kingdom) per una ricerca dal titolo "Drug against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis"

Sul podio Luigi Cassar con il TX ACTIVE, il cemento mangia smog.

TX Active è stata l’unica nomination italiana per il 2014 e questo deve essere motivo di orgoglio per il nostro Paese, anche se non abbiamo vinto. Eravamo in finale con due settori, quello farmaceutico e quello delle telecomunicazioni, che investono ingenti risorse e sono dei colossi nel campo della ricerca – ha detto Luigi Cassar – Essere arrivati ad un passo dalla vittoria finale è riconoscimento ad un materiale come il cemento che può veramente trasformare la vita delle nostre città rendendole più pulite e con meno smog. E questo è un segnale importante anche per le generazioni future. Io stesso ho voluto con me i miei nipoti in questa giornata speciale. Poi voglio dire grazie anche a Italcementi che ha creduto nell’importanza della ricerca e dell’innovazione per l’evoluzione del settore delle costruzioni all’insegna della sostenibilità”.

Il principio attivo TX Active brevettato da Italcementi nel 1996 e disponibile sul mercato dal 2006 dopo 10 anni di studi e ricerche, ha già trovato molte applicazioni in Italia e nel mondo.

E’ stato utilizzato da diversi architetti per progetti di particolare rilevanza tra cui la Chiesa Dives in Misericordia a Roma e i.lab il centro ricerca e innovazione di Italcementi di Bergamo entrambi progettati dall’architetto americano Richiard Meier e sarà utilizzato per la realizzazione di Palazzo Italia, destinato a essere luogo-icona di Expo 2015. La nomination agli European Inventor Award 2014 conferma il ruolo di primo piano della ricerca italiana nell’innovazione nei materiali per le costruzioni e di Italcementi nella messa a punto di materiali innovativi protagonisti dell’architettura.

Di seguito riportiamo la scheda degli EUROPEAN INVENTOR AWARDS dedicata al Self Cleaning Concrete di ITALCEMENTI.

• Category: Industry
• Sector: Construction
• Company: Italcementi S.p.A.
• Patent number: EP0946450, EP2242806, EP2282203
• Invention: Self-cleaning concrete

Thanks to an invention from chemist Luigi Cassar, building exteriors can now not only stay cleaner longer but also help neutralise pollutants and improve air quality. Just a thin layer of an innovative cement coating combined with sunlight enables cleaner facades – and cleaner air in the cities that surround them.

Together with his team at the Italian cement manufacturer Italcementi S.p.A., Luigi Cassar developed an innovative new cement mixture that is self-cleaning and purifies air. The cement uses sunlight to break down pollutants into less harmful substances. This way, it not only lastingly prevents the effects of pollution; it also combats pollution itself.

Cassar and his team achieved this breakthrough by enriching cement with titanium oxide minerals, which oxidise with sunlight to break down pollutants before they can bind with the surface and cause discolouration. The photocatalyst compound can also be incorporated into mortar, paint, plaster, and even roads .

Societal benefit

Walls covered in the self-cleaning cement cut levels of NOx – a collection of nitrogen compounds that are harmful to human health and create low-lying smog – in the surrounding air by as much as 80%. They also reduce other known toxic substances, including lead, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. And because Cassar’s compound keeps buildings’ facades clean and bright, it improves not only the physical health but also the mental wellbeing of urban citizens.

Economic benefit

Italcementi Group is the fifth largest cement producer in the world. The Group companies combine the expertise, knowhow and cultures of 22 countries in 4 Continents, boasting an industrial network of 46 cement plants, 12 grinding centres, 6 terminals, 420 concrete batching units and with an overall staff of about 18,500 people. In 2013 Italcementi Group sales exceeded 4.2 billion Euro.

One of the major drivers for the cement market is steady and consistent growth in construction industry. Strong prospects in the construction industry of emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil are expected to increase the demand for cement. Asia Pacific is the largest consumer of cement market followed by North America and Europe . The ‘Key Trends and Opportunities to 2017’ research report says worldwide market value for concrete and cement industry was US$ 324.4 billion in 2012.

L'altro finalista era:

• Erik Dahlman, Muhammad Kazmi, Robert Baldemair, Stefan Parkvall, George Jöngren, Henning Wiemann, Johan Torsner and Magnus Stattin (Sweden, Austria, Germany)

Mobile network communication standard LTE 

About the award

Celebrating the spirit of invention

The driving force behind the innovation process is people - people with a passion for discovery. Without their inquisitive minds, their quest for new ideas and their creativity, there would be no inventive spirit and no progress. As one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind, the European Inventor Award pays tribute to the creativity of inventors the world over, who use their technical, scientific and intellectual skills to make a real contribution to technological progress and economic growth and so improve people's daily lives.

Launched by the EPO in 2006, the award gives inventors the recognition they deserve. And, like every competition, it acts as an incentive for other potential winners. It helps to protect ideas and encourage innovation.

About the trophy

Winners of the European Inventor Award are presented with a trophy in the shape of a sail. An enduring symbol of exploration and human ingenuity, the sail recalls how an inventive idea can propel humankind to uncharted shores. The trophy was conceived by German industrial designer Miriam Irle and is crafted with new materials every year, highlighting the ever-changing nature of innovation.

For 2014 the trophy has been elegantly fashioned by KPM – the Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin – which has been designing high-quality porcelain ornaments for over 250 years. Renowned the world over, the KPM sail will provide the winners with a memorable souvenir of the Award Ceremony in Germany’s capital.

TAG: European Inventor Award, TX ACTIVE, ITALCEMENTI,