At IMDEA Materials, we continue to promote the transfer of scientific knowledge from the laboratory to industry and society.

Researchers Prof. Dr. De-Yi Wang and Dr. Xiang Ao have recently participated in The Collider’s Opportunity Validation programme, an initiative by Mobile World Capital Barcelona that acts as a “venture builder” to transform research results into market-ready solutions.

Their project, EVSHIELD, proposes a new generation of lightweight, fire- and ablation-resistant casings for electric vehicle batteries, made from advanced polymer composites.

This innovation was born through IMDEA Materials’ internal proof-of-concept programme, Materialise 2025, and is already protected by a European patent application.

Over the past seven weeks, The Collider has provided intensive training, mentoring, and support to help the researchers explore the commercial potential of this technology and define its next steps, including the possible creation of a spin-off company.

The programme concluded with a Demo Day, where Dr. Ao presented the project’s progress.

This marks the second IMDEA Materials project to participate in The Collider, following SOFTGLASS, developed by Marcos Rodríguez and Dr. María Teresa Pérez Prado. The Institute currently has four scientific entrepreneurship ideas in development, covering areas such as 3D printing of metallic glasses and Nitinol, among others.

At IMDEA Materials, we remain committed to research excellence while fostering innovation and scientific entrepreneurship as key tools to amplify the impact of our work.