CIDETEC Surface Engineering develops omniphobic coatings for buildings to repel water and dirt

The I-climabuilt project brings the emission-free building closer thanks to the development of water-repellent cement, windows to which dirt does not adhere or photovoltaic cells integrated into the buildings.

CIDETEC Surface Engineering’s omniphobic coatings are an essential part of the I-climabuilt project, the aim of which is to bring the emission levels of new buildings close to zero. To this end, just over halfway through the total duration of this project, which began in March 2021, the partners are making progress in the development of different prototypes to test the research carried out.

The project has created, among others, a glass that repels dirt, a cement that does not get wet and omniphobic photovoltaic cells that can be integrated into buildings. CIDETEC Surface Engineering is responsible for formulating and optimising the omniphobic coatings used in these elements, which will be tested on a real scale, once they have been successfully applied in the paint booth of the Gipuzkoa-based centre.

The different prototypes coated with the development optimised by CIDETEC for each case will be tested in real conditions in different climates where the livings labs installed for the project are located, ranging from the northern climate of Trondheim (Norway) to the Mediterranean climate of Amposta and Manresa, passing through rainy Dresden in Germany.

As part of this process, CIDETEC Surface Engineering has already coated a 3 m2 glass surface with an omniphobic formulation in the paint booth.

Once this and the rest of the prototypes developed within the I-climabuilt project, which has a budget of €16M and a consortium of 16 leading research centres and 11 SMEs, have been tested, their energy efficiency will be evaluated and compared with existing solutions to demonstrate their effectiveness.