PIEP

The Centre for Innovation in Polymer Engineering (PIEP) is a private association, with a technological and scientific matrix and a business management model.

Founded on December 13, 2000, by the initiative of the industry and in collaboration with the Department of Polymer Engineering of the University of Minho (DEP-UM) and the Support Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation (IAPMEI), PIEP intends to provide a prompt response in the delivery of products and services, oriented to the R&D+i needs of companies in the plastics and related sectors, through innovation activities, technology transfer, technical-scientific consultancy, and services provision.

In general, PIEP acts in terms of the provision of testing services and failure analysis, the development of new materials and products, processing technologies, and productive tools, based on the promotion of the principles of sustainable development (Circular Economy and Environment).

PIEP also contributes to training, supporting the development of human resources with capacity and experience in industrial innovation in the field of polymer engineering.

History

2000

PIEP was established by industrial initiative, in collaboration with the University of Minho and the National Government represented by IAPMEI.

2001

Started activity in April.

2003

Infrastructure Project, with the granting of a financial incentive to the PIEP project, as a technological infrastructure dedicated to industrial innovation and technological development for the plastic sector.

First international project: MRI, inserted in INTERREG III - Portugal-Spain cross-border cooperation.

2004

Participation in a consortium to develop the reference project “Pluma”.

2005

“Spirit of Conquest” award from the JEC Innovations Composite Awards Program.

2007

First ESA (European Space Agency) project with the participation of the PIEP - “NACO - Non-conventional matrix / Carbon Nanotubes Reinforced Composite for Applications in Space”.

2008

The PIEP team moves to the new facilities located at the University of Minho, in Guimarães. With 3,000 m2, the new building brings together conditions of excellence for R&D activities with companies.

2009

PIEP participates in the consortium for the development of unmanned aircraft (UAS) for forestry and coastal observation missions, in the Portuguese Aerospace Industrial Consortium, with the support of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

PIEP facilities were inaugurated by the Prime Minister José Sócrates.

2011

First PIEP patent as an inventor: EP2347879 patent - AN INJECTION MOULDING DEVICE FOR MAKING ARTICLES FROM TWO INJECTION MOULDED PARTS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SUCH ARTICLES Date of publication: 27.07.2011 Bulletin 2011/30; Application number: 10382009.8; Date of filing: 20.01.2010 Azenha João; Alexandre Sónia; Viana Júlio; Ribeiro Carlos; Teixeira Dario

2012

Start of PIEP's participation in the Embraer KC-390 reference project, the largest aeronautical project ever created in Portugal.

International patent “REAR HANDLE FOR MOTORCYCLE”, nº WO2012169918 Publication Date 13.12.2012; International Application No. PCT / PT2012 / 000009; International Filing Date 16.03.2012 Freitas, R., Figueiredo de Sá, R., Ribeiro, C., Teixeira, D., Leite, J., Ribeiro, C., Rei, C.

2013

Beginning of the first ESA project with a fully Portuguese consortium “cTPS - Design of a Crushable TPS for the ERC”.

European project ECOplast dedicated to the investigation of new biocomposite materials based on renewable materials for application in the automotive industry.

2014

Approval of investment project FIT@PIEP (ON2, CCRN) that promoted the acquisition of state of the art technologies and complementary to existing ones.

2015

Organization by PIEP, DEP and IPC of the first “Polymers” days with the objective of bringing together industrialists, technicians, researchers, students and teachers who develop their activity in the field of Science and Engineering of Polymers and Composites.

2016

Prize for the Hybridtec project at the JEC Innovation Corner (at the JEC fair, with PIEP being the first national entity to exhibit in the “Planet” area of this fair).

National patent “CAPSULE TO MAKE COFFEE AND /OR INFUSIONS”, PT108929A; Freitas, R., Pontes, A., Vieira, J., Almeida, A .; VMY José Maria Vieira, Sá.

International patent “METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN INJECTION-MOULDED MULTI-MATERIAL PRODUCT, ARTICLES AND USES THEREOF”, WO 2016/092505 Al; Publication Date 16.06.2016; International Application No. PCT / IB2015 / 059520; International Filing Date 10.12.2015 Vilela Pontes, António José; Azevedo Magalhães, Rui Miguel; Duarte Mendes Oliveira, Nélson.

2017

at the initiative of ESA, PIEP was selected to develop a filament in electrically conductive material for the 3D printing of CubeSat Structures (Microsatellites).

International patent ”Conductive Polymeric housing for electronic component.”, Nº WO / 2017/001888; Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal and Universidade do Minho; Publication Date 05.01.2017 International Application No. PCT / IB2015 / 054879; International Filing Date 29.06.2015 Freitas, R., Sá, ricardo, Gomes, M., Carneiro, F., Pitães, A., Gonçalves, N., Rocha, A., Simões, C., Campos, R., Martins, L., Pinto , R., Bernardo, P., Ribeiro, C., Ponte, A., Viana, J.

2018

Approval of the Interface Program by the National Innovation Agency, SA (ANI), under the FITEC - Fund for Innovation, Technology, and Circular Economy.

Organization of international conference “Tech Transfer - Plastics for Future” within the scope of the Tech Transfer Project.

2019

Organization of the international event "Innovation Ecosystems for Plastics in a Circular Economy" in partnership with ECP4 - European, Composites, Plastics, and Polymer Processing Platform.

PIEP is recognized as a Technological Interface Center in the field of Materials and Nanotechnologies by the National Innovation Agency, S. A. (ANI).

Patent submission: Double chamber syringe. Patent application No. 20192000899107; ESEnfC, Muroplás, PIEP. Parreira, P., Oliveira, A., Cruz, A., Sousa, L., Marques, I., Roque, A., Fernandes, T., Ferreira, J., Cortez, S., Coelho, A., Maia, A., Carneiro, F., Silva, B., Freitas, R., Marques, A., Bastos, L., Marques, R., Vale, B.

2020

Integration, as a founding member, of the Portuguese Pact for Plastics (PPP) which aims to accelerate the transition to the circular economy for plastics. Led by the Smart Waste Portugal Association and with the support of the Portuguese Government, the PPP belongs to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global network of Plastics Pacts, placing Portugal in the group of countries that intend to lead this transition.

Participation in the “Plasticity - A History of Plastics in Portugal” exhibition, winner of the “The Dibner Award for Excellence in Museum Exhibits”, from the Society for the History of Technology. On display at the Leiria Museum the pieces: Pluma gas bottle and cTPS space capsule.

Approval of investment project ICT@PIEP (Innovative Competencies and Technologies@PIEP), within the scope of application to the Norte2020 Program - technological infrastructures of the North Region: CIT, from CCDR-N, which will promote an increase in response, in terms of state-of-the-art installed capacity, to the needs of the industry in terms of services and innovation projects.

Signature of a memorandum of understanding for the creation of the Tech Alliance - a collaborative network of innovation, science and technology in the north of the country, constitued by entities dedicated to repair efforts for the development of new products and services with added value, in areas such as health, mechanics and polymers (DTx Colab, CEiiA, 4LifeLab, CCG, DONE Lab, PIEP, ICVS, Academic Clinical Center).

2021

Integration of ELCA: European Lightweight Cluster Alliance. With this integration, PIEP becomes the first Portuguese partner to operate in this European network.

PIEP obtained NP EN ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management) and NP 4457:2007 (Research, Development and Innovation Management) certification.

2022

Integration of the INCM (Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda) Innovation Network - a collaborative network whose main objective is to transfer the results of academic and scientific activity to society and the real economy.

The SeaRubbish2Cap project wins the Inova+ Award, in the Business Excellence category, in the sustainability of natural resources and ecosystems.

Start of work on the European project VITAL to develop innovative processing solutions for microcellular foams from bio-based Thermoplastics (b-bTPs) and bio-based chemical blowing agents (CBA).

2023

Development of the transforming project POLARISE - Innovation in Polymer Engineering for a Circular and Digital Environment, approved by ANI - Agência Nacional de Inovação, as part of the strategy of the PRR - Recovery and Resilience Program, in the Investment and Innovation component.

Start of European project Sustronics - Sustainable and green electronics for circular economy.

Membership of 3-D MID, making PIEP the first Portuguese partner to operate in this worldwide network.

2024

Launch of the PIEP Academy - an innovative initiative to develop human potential for the future.

Organization of innovation FORUM - Innovation for a Smart and Sustainable Society - Innovation Hub event to promote synergies between academia, industry and the public sector.

Start of work on the european project ANALYST, for the transition to a safer and more sustainable industrial value chain, to better guide the innovation process for chemical products and materials.

PIEP is recognised as a certification body for RecyClass Recyclability Certifications.

...

Some of our clients

Membership in technological partners

Strategic positioning

University of Minho – Polymer Engineering Department

CENTIMFE – Technological Centre for Molds and Plastics Industry

AED – Portuguese Association for the Aeronautic, Space and Defense

PRODUTECH – Association for the Sustainable Production Technologies

POOLNET – Association for Competitive Engineering and Tooling

HCP – Health Cluster Portugal

Smart Waste Portugal – Association for the Circular Economy and Environment

ECP4 – European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform

DTx – Digital Transformation CoLAB

PFP – Portuguese Railway Platform

ECH2A – European Clean Hydrogen Alliance

APIP – Portuguese Association of the Plastics Industry

ELCA – European Lightweight Cluster Alliance

EFFRA – European Factories of the Future Research Association

SDAM Alliance – Secure Distributed Additive Manufacturing

INCM – Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda Innovation Network

SPM – Portuguese Materials Society

BIKINNOV – Bike Value Innovation Center

3-D MID – Research Association Mechatronic Integrated Devices 3-D MID e.V.

AENEAS – Association for European NanoElectronics ActivitieS

RecyClass – Plastic Future is Circular

NAFEMS – National Agency for Finite Element Methods and Standards

SPR – Portuguese Society of Rheology

BLUEBIO ALLIANCE – The Portuguese Network for Marine Bioresources and Biotech

Convert ideas into products

Since it's genesis, PIEP aimed to "Convert Ideas into Products”, developing its activity in several vectors where the application of polymer engineering is relevant

What we do

Why PIEP?

We transform ideas into products, accompanying companies from the beginning to the end of the product development cycle, and technology transfer.

We have state-of-the-art facilities and equipment at your disposal.

We promote the connection between the academic, the scientific, and the industrial world.

We offer access to a research environment with highly qualified human resources.

We are a young and multidisciplinary organization with a wide range of services and solutions.

We organize training tailored to the needs of our associates, partners, and clients.

We operate in a friendly environment where every person matters and contributes to success.

PIEP is NP EN ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management) and NP 4457:2007 (Research, Development and Innovation Management) certified by SGS – Portugal, S.A.

We offer special conditions to our associates to promote industry and society, towards innovation, sustainability, and efficiency.

Organization Chart

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