Founded in 2009 by Gustavo Dias and Júlio Viana, both professors from the Department of Polymer Engineering (DEP) of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho (EEUM), Critical Materials is already a success case in Portugal. The company has recently been recognised by the European Commission as an example of good practices in applying funding received from the European Fund for Strategic Investments and the European Investment Bank. This distinction guaranteed Gustavo Dias a presentation on the “Entrepreneurship Fair of Europe Day”, which took place at the Champalimaud Foundation, in Lisbon, on the 9th May 2017. This initiative also counted with the presence of Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation. “The European Commission is looking for a few cases across Europe that can be highlighted for the good use of European funds, and we were identified as a leveraging company of these funds. I believe that this distinction arises from our good work on these concepts and instruments that Europe provides us, which allows companies like ours to flourish”, Gustavo Dias, CEO of Critical Materials and professor of the DEP of the EEUM explains.
The main product of Critical Materials is PRODDIA, a software system that will be upgraded to version 3.0 at the end of the month. This system aims to evaluate the structure’s health, materials condition and structural integrity. This software is applied in cases where the assets are of high cost, such as military vehicles, aircraft or wind turbines. PRODDIA is an operating system which aims to analyse the structures when they are operating and works mainly on three levels: it removes and manage the sensor’s data which are installed in the structures; in a second step, this information is sent to be evaluated by algorithms generated by the system itself. Finally, these results are placed in a database, and the costumer is able to see the state of its system anywhere in the world, as long as he has an Internet connection. “We are talking about a large-scale system, which is used to treat entire wind parks or fleets of aircraft. It is not something done to treat a specific structure. PRODDIA’s competencies are even multidisciplinary and extended”, Gustavo Dias reinforces.
Critical Materials has its headquarters in AvePark – Science and Technology Park of Caldas das Taipas, in Guimarães, it is constituted mainly of engineers from the EEUM and counts with a strong connection to the Pole for Innovation in Polymer Engineering (PIEP). Focused on the industry and defense sectors, the company has been collaborating with internationally renowned entities such as the European Space Agency, Boeing and Airbus. Gustavo Dias states that these entities “are aware of companies like ours, smaller ones, that have technologies that are disruptive and for this reason are able to make some difference in a more complex ecosystem. The message here is that it is not impossible to work with these companies having our head office at AvePark”.
Critical Materials registered a growth of 12% annually, reaching a turnover of around one million euros in 2016.
