UniversidaddeCádiz

The University of Cadiz and the multinational Sika have signed a new agreement to cooperate in the fields of concrete protection, building facades and industrial processes. The agreement was signed this morning by the rector of the UCA, Francisco Piniella, and the head of Sika’s Innovation and Sustainability Office, Patricia Heidtman, at a ceremony held at the El Olivillo Business Transfer Centre on the Cadiz Campus. This cooperation is the result of the successful relationship already existing between both entities for the development of innovative techniques focused on the conservation of concrete structures. On this occasion, the UCA and Sika are pooling their knowledge to extend these technologies to other areas of application and open up new potential markets.

The UCA-Sika partnership was formed in the context of InnovaConcrete, a Horizon 2020 project of the European Union’s research and innovation funding programme, led by the UCA, with the participation of up to 29 partners from 11 different countries (including Sika). It focused on the development of innovative techniques for the conservation of monumental heritage in 20th century concrete and was recognised by the European Commission’s Innovation Radar. The innovative technologies, designed by the ‘Nanomaterials’ research group at the University of Cadiz, led by Professor María Jesús Mosquera, were developed specifically for the treatment of reinforced concrete, together with complementary techniques for all types of cementitious substrates, and tested in different monuments and buildings across Europe.