On 16 September, the session "From Research to Application: New Pathways with Brisa" took place, organised in partnership with the Corporate Partnerships Office (NPE) and Brisa. During the event, topics such as the impact of technology on the analysis of special transports and the reduction of water footprint, the use of artificial intelligence in the circular transition, and the use of digital twins to support decisions on the maintenance, refurbishment and reuse of assets were discussed.

The session was attended by Pedro Amaral, Vice-President for Corporate Relations, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Técnico, who began by highlighting the importance of the partnership between Técnico and Brisa in implementing new solutions in the short term and sharing knowledge between academia and industry.

Next, João Portela, Executive Director at Brisa Infrastructure & Operation at Brisa, highlighted that the industry currently faces multidisciplinary challenges, reflecting the importance of technology across the company's different sectors. Cláudia Machado, representative of Brisa's Leading AHEAD: Innovation Engine for Mobility, complemented this intervention by emphasising the role of this partnership in strengthening the connection between the School and the business environment.

Beatriz Mendes, Coordinator of the Corporate Partnerships Office, began by explaining that the agreement established between Brisa and Técnico currently includes activities aimed at strengthening the connection between the company and students, including the awarding of merit prizes and scholarships, participation in career fairs and sessions such as the i.Talks, as well as involvement in Research and Development (R&D) projects, including the completion of master's dissertations in a business environment.

Following the introduction to the initiative, four main topics were addressed: technology used in special transports, the assessment and optimisation of water footprint, the use of artificial intelligence for the circular transition, and the development of digital twins for the maintenance, refurbishment and reuse of assets.

The first presentation was given by Carlos Canha, Structural Engineer & Project Manager at Brisa, and covered the regulatory framework, the software currently used to analyse special transports, and the challenges in this area. "In this context, a special transport is a road transport operation which, either because of its dimensions or its load, exceeds conventional limits. It has to be handled differently. In practice, this may involve transporting wind turbines, parts of viaduct decks or transformer poles (...). The load involved can sometimes exceed 200 tonnes," explained Carlos Canha. From a regulatory perspective, conventional vehicles can weigh up to 60 tonnes in total and up to 12 tonnes per axle, with special authorisation being required for transports exceeding these limits.

Currently, software is used that draws on data about the characteristics of the load and the route and calculates the relationship between the level of infrastructure overload and the load of the special transport. The purpose of this calculation is to contribute to carrying out the transport safely. However, this system has some limitations, as it does not take into account, for example, the condition of the structure, making an assessment by a technical expert necessary. For this reason, Carlos Canha invited the Técnico community to reflect on the challenge of incorporating this component into the process, also contributing to the collection of data on any anomalies that may exist in the infrastructure and the damage caused as a result of the transport. He also proposed further reflection on the optimisation of the calculation currently used.

A system is currently under development that will automatically populate some of the data, such as the loads and route associated with a transport request, with the process ultimately depending only on the final validation and decision of the technical expert responsible for the assessment.

The second presentation was given by Conceição Magalhães, Deputy Director at Brisa, who began by emphasising the need to adopt transparent practices that contribute to optimising water resources in response to the current water scarcity. "As part of its sustainability agenda and strategic objectives, Brisa aims to reduce water consumption by 40% by 2028, using 2022 as the baseline year. Our challenge here is to determine how we can quantify and optimise our water footprint while ensuring that we achieve reductions in both costs and the environmental impact of that footprint," she explained. The company currently quantifies its water consumption using smart meters, although water use associated with the provision of services by external partners is not accounted for. Furthermore, although there are already prospects for improving some parameters, the factors that contribute most significantly to the company's water footprint are still unknown. The main challenges therefore include quantifying total consumption, identifying areas of expenditure, improving procedures and decision-making, assessing the environmental and economic impact of new strategies, and implementing a new overall plan.

In terms of sustainability, Brisa also aims to transition towards a circular economy and significantly improve its position in this area by 2028, based on its 2022 performance. This requires assessing the management of waste resulting from the company's own activities, including waste associated with the use of infrastructure.

Conceição Magalhães invited the Técnico community to explore new strategies using artificial intelligence to support the collection and processing of data that can serve as a basis for identifying opportunities in this area. Among the potential areas for research and project development, she highlighted the digital mapping of waste, energy and water resource flows; the identification of activities involving greater waste of resources and materials; the identification of available opportunities for recovery or recycling; and the forecasting of raw material consumption and waste generation.

Finally, the speaker also addressed the use of digital twins in the context of the circular economy, particularly for the refurbishment and reuse of assets. Currently, decisions regarding the maintenance, reuse and replacement of infrastructure are based on static data obtained from periodic technical inspections. The challenges therefore include obtaining and analysing real-time data to support the assessment of asset condition and remaining useful life, incorporating circularity metrics while taking into account cost reduction and technical and economic performance.

The final presentation was given by Professor António Pacheco Pires, coordinator of the Doctoral Programme in Statistics and Data Mathematics. Over the past few years, the professor has developed projects related to the collection and provision of real-time data, statistical analysis and pattern identification in datasets, taking into account the behaviour of users of systems in different scenarios within the scope of public services.

The event concluded with a networking session among participants, fostering discussion about new initiatives that could be developed between Técnico and Brisa.