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

Started activity in April.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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).

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.

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.