Organization honors Units and researchers for their relevant performance in the development of industrial innovation in Brazil
Innovation is the permanent construction of the future and considering the efforts that contribute to this was the premise of the Embrapii Unit Recognition Award. Held for the first time by the Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation, the award considered the Embrapii Units and their researchers who, through projects, commitment, results and performance, played a fundamental role with the organization in promoting innovation in Brazil and in the facing the country's economic and social challenges. The winners were announced, in Brasília, this Wednesday (13), during the Annual Meeting of Embrapii Units, at SESILab.
“Embrapii will not be greater than the sum of the Units. In fact, they are the heart, arms and legs of our institution. The award is a way of recognizing them, a way of thanking them for the efforts they make, participating in our ecosystem and bringing innovation to the industry, thus helping Embrapii to fulfill its mission. The award is also a way of encouraging them to improve their performance; It is a sign that we give of appreciation and provocation, so that the Units always aim for more advanced goals, because the country is the winner.”, said the president of Embrapii, Chico Saboya.
The award has six categories: Embrapii Partner Unit for Micro and Small Companies; Embrapii Revelação Unit; Embrapii Unit Outstanding Researcher. Most Innovative Project; Embrapii Unit ODS Highlight; and Embrapii Unit with Outstanding Performance. Each category was established in order to recognize Embrapii Units and researchers for their outstanding performances and deliveries. A technical committee of the institution was created to analyze the success stories submitted.
The winners will be able to contribute to the production of apparatus for the SESI Lab museum.
In a decade, the institution structured an innovation network that provides knowledge and infrastructure to the production sector to overcome technological challenges. There are 10 thousand employees, 7.3 thousand of whom are researchers who form the Embrapii ecosystem. With 96 Units distributed across the country, the organization has already supported 2,343 industrial innovation projects in partnership with 1,597 that resulted in 717 intellectual property requests and enabled R$ 3.45 billion in investments.
Winners
The winner in the Micro and Small Business Partner Unit category was the Federal Institute of Ceará. The Unit stands out in prospecting and contracting micro and small business projects, performing excellently in the strategic partnership program between Embrapii and Sebrae. Within its technical competence “Embedded Systems and Digital Mobility”, in the year 2023, 80% of projects were carried out with MSEs. Since its accreditation in 2015, the Unit has contracted a total of 106 projects.
In the Revelation Unit category, the Embrapii MOVE Unit, belonging to the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), was awarded. Operating in the area of Mobility Machines and Equipment and operating focused on the Rota 2030 Program, in just two years of accreditation it has already contracted 11 projects with 10 different companies, totaling almost R$ 12 million. In the Operational Maturity Program, it showed excellent progress in its management processes and EMBRAPII indicators, reaching 89% in terms of achieving goals.
The outstanding researcher award was given to Dr Mario Murakami, who built a career of excellence in both basic and applied research, including the development of biotechnological routes for biofuels. One of its Embrapii projects aims to develop an integrated biotechnological route for the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), the results of which can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With several recent studies published in the journal Nature, in the last two years Dr. Mário filed 11 patents and was responsible for developing the first Brazilian enzyme cocktail for the production of second generation ethanol.
In the most innovative project category, Embrapii chose to honor three initiatives that solved real industry challenges, generating impact for the sector. Firstly, the project “Research and Development of Neural Sensor”, from the Embrapii Unit at the National Telecommunications Institute (Inatel), was awarded. The initiative, a pioneer in the field of medical technology, consists of an implantable, battery-free device that acts as a neural sensor in patients with prostheses or nerve injuries.
In second place was the project “New Perspectives on the Use of Forestry Waste”, from the Embrapii Fibras Florestais Unit at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV). And, in third place, the research “Algorithms for Detection of Agricultural Crops in Rural Properties”, by the Senai Institute for Innovation in Embedded Systems, was recognized.
Embrapii also awarded the Instituto Federal Fluminense (IF-FLU) as an outstanding Unit within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN). The research center was accredited in 2015 in the area of Technologies for Cleaner Production, with the lines of “Energy efficiency and renewable energy sources”, “Waste reduction, treatment and reuse” and “Rational use of water resources”. Several of the Unit's projects directly contribute to the advancement of the SDGs in Brazil, such as an initiative to optimize a building water saving system and an intelligent system for the reverse logistics of cooking oil.
Finally, Embrapii recognized the Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence at the Federal University of Goiás as a unit with outstanding performance. CEIA-UFG was accredited in 2020 to develop Artificial Intelligence projects. During this period, it exceeded all established goals, with notable performance in contracting projects and in the volume of resources raised, in addition to excellent results in evaluations. Although it is a young Unit, it has already contracted 67 projects with a total value of more than R$ 100 million in different areas and financing modalities. Recently, the research center was selected to undertake one of Embrapii's most challenging and ambitious programs, leading the Competence Center for Immersive Technologies.
Democratization of knowledge
SESI Lab is one of Embrapii's major partners with the aim of democratizing knowledge and bringing technologies developed for industry closer to society. The museum connects art, science and technology in an unprecedented space, where the public can interact with equipment that explains, in practice, different concepts, natural and social phenomena. The proposed experiences lead to reflection on new possibilities for the future, through fun.
“In this spirit of innovation for the future of the industry, Embrapii, by solving complex problems to increase the competitiveness of the sector, can delight children in awakening scientific curiosity to train the scientists of the future.”, said the Director of Operations at Embrapii, Marcelo Prim
