On November 6, BOSCH's facilities in Lisbon hosted the Intermediate Public Session of the ILLIANCE Agenda: "The ILLIANCE Agenda and the Impact of Innovation in Building a Sustainable Future".

The event began with the opening session, led by Cláudia Ribeiro da Silva and Javier Pareja from BOSCH, and Ricardo Banha from the Recover Portugal Mission Structure. During the opening, Javier Pareja highlighted the important role Bosch plays in the market and its initiatives to promote environmental sustainability in its processes and products. Ricardo Banha, in turn, mentioned the role of the Missão Recuperar Portugal in the governance of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), in which the ILLIANCE Agenda is integrated.

Next, Nelson Ferreira, from Bosch Home Comfort, presented the ILLIANCE Agenda, highlighting its technical and financial evolution, in order to demonstrate the positive progress of the work in progress. Following this line, Vitor Gregório, also from Bosch Home Comfort, reaffirmed the company's commitment to leading initiatives that promote a sustainable future, with an emphasis on responsible innovation and the development of products with less environmental impact.

After these interventions, the panel "The Impact of Innovation in Building a Sustainable Future" followed, moderated by Alexandra Vilela from ANI – National Innovation Agency. The panel was attended by Maria Teresa Martins (Amorim Cork Composites), Jónio Reis (Bosch Home Comfort), Victor Ferreira (Sustainable Habitat Cluster), Catarina Brandão Araújo (DST - SGPS), Pedro Almeida (Smart Energy Lab) and Romeu Vicente (University of Aveiro).

Alexandra Vilela (ANI – National Innovation Agency) opened the panel by highlighting the relevance of innovation for sustainability and the challenges of productizing R&D results. Maria Teresa Martins (Amorim Cork Composites) highlighted the importance of renewable raw materials, such as cork, to promote sustainable innovation in new products.

Jónio Reis (Bosch Home Comfort) highlighted the role of the ILLIANCE Agenda in companies, highlighting its contribution to sustainable processes and products that balance quality, performance and economic return.

In this sense, Victor Ferreira (Sustainable Habitat Cluster) highlighted the focus on the green and digital transition, emphasizing partnerships as essential collaborations for the decarbonization of products, systems and manufacturing processes.

Catarina Brandão Araújo (DST - SGPS) reinforced the importance of modular construction as an example of a construction model oriented to the circular economy, with optimized processes and environmental impacts quantified by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies.

Pedro Almeida (Smart Energy Lab) addressed the development of solutions focused on consumer needs for energy management, towards the decarbonization of built environments.

Closing the panel, Romeu Vicente (University of Aveiro) reaffirmed the role of academia in developing practices that encourage companies to adopt passive constructive solutions for decarbonization.

The closing of the event was in charge of Carla Branco Santos, from IAPMEI, who highlighted the support for the collaborative role within the ILLIANCE Agenda, demonstrating the importance of the articulation of all partners in the development of smart buildings and healthier and more sustainable spaces.

The event culminated in the Technological Demonstrator Space, where a networking moment was held between the co-promoters of the Agenda and the other participants in the session.

In this space, it was possible to learn about some of the products, processes and services that are being developed under the ILLIANCE Agenda, by partners such as Amorim Cork Composites, Bosch Home Comfort, CeNTI, CITEVE, Maxiplás, Microplásticos, OLI, Smart Energy Lab and the University of Aveiro. These products will allow, among other factors, to improve the energy efficiency of built spaces.

Next year, the Public Closing Session of the ILLIANCE Agenda is scheduled to take place on September 24, 2025, at the University of Aveiro. At this event, all the progress made to date and the results of this Agenda will be disclosed.