AlmaScience (Collaborative Laboratory for Smart and Sustainable Functional Cellulose-Based Electronics), in which i3N is a key strategic partner, has once again demonstrated the real-world impact of Portuguese research. The laboratory’s latest breakthroughs were recently featured on SIC Notícias' segment, "Futuro Hoje", highlighting two disruptive paper-based solutions: Petritag and a fast-cooling smart label.
Developed at the Almada laboratories, these technologies leverage cellulose - a highly sustainable raw material with deep roots in Portuguese industry - to address critical challenges faced by both businesses and consumers.
Petritag is a smart paper tag designed to detect the presence of bacteria in real-time. Featuring a central indicator that changes color based on the product’s freshness (for instance, showing green for immediate consumption or a darker shade when the food is no longer fresh), the tag acts as an instant visual safety check.
Before hitting supermarket shelves on products like fresh fish, Petritag is poised to revolutionize industrial logistics, optimizing supply chains and actively reducing food waste.
The second innovation stems from a strategic partnership between brewery Super Bock and paper manufacturer Navigator. It is a pioneering label that, once hydrated, mimics human skin "sweating." By releasing moisture in a cold environment (such as a refrigerator), the label draws heat away from the bottle, drastically speeding up the cooling process.
Laboratory tests show a reduction of up to 40% in cooling time, cutting the wait down from 1 hour and 20 minutes to just around 50 minutes. This solution offers not only convenience for home consumers but also significant energy and logistical efficiency for the HORECA channel (hotels, restaurants, and cafés).
From Lab to Industry
The next major milestone for AlmaScience is scale and industrialization: adapting these technologies so they can be manufactured at the high speeds required by industrial filling lines, while ensuring both economic viability and environmental sustainability.
These inventions reinforce the positioning of both the CoLAB ecosystem and i3N at the forefront of Smart Green Electronics and the circular bioeconomy, proving that the future of technology lies in eco-friendly materials and academic knowledge transfer.