SUINK
Context
The industry’s demands to reduce the weight and volume of components in order to increase productivity and energy efficiency have led to the development of embedded functional electronics solutions.
The Sustainable Development Goals balance the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
SUINK will focus on the sustainability indicators along the entire value chain (design, manufacturing, use and end-of-life).
The main objective of SUINK is to design and implement sustainable, flexible and printable self-charging power systems (SCPS) able to supply power to a wide range of sensors.
The SCPS will be formed by sustainable elements:
- a piezoelectric energy generator to harvest electrical energy from mechanical vibrations based on piezoelectric PLA,
- a rectifying system as a connection circuit with
- a fully printed biobased supercapacitor as energy storage component.
The overall solution will be based on the proper combination of biobased conductive, dielectric, and piezoelectric inks that will be applied by inkjet printing, a high throughput and easy-to-implement process, on biobased flexible substrates.
The printed substrates will be implemented in the following elements:
- a PLA seat (temperature sensor)
- a PLA bracket located inside the car, specifically in the windscreen of the car (temperature/humidity sensor)
- a thermoset composite (strain sensor). The foils will be used for the creation of in-mold structural electronics through
- plastic injection over moulding
- one-shot hybrid textile and
- autoclave/sheet moulding processes, towards the development of multifunctional components meeting the requirements of the automotive.
SUINK will consider not only the sustainability during the design, manufacturing and use, but also will promote the circularity at the products end of life implementing new recyclability and reusability protocols.
SUINK leaflet
Developing innovative green solutions to power autonomous sensors for the automotive industry
©SUINK - estibaliz.gomez@tekniker.es
SEM image
This electron micrograph shows strong, intact high-tenacity PLA textile fibers embedded in molten low-melting PLA resin—creating a tough, single-polymer material.
© 2026-06-25 Centexbel
Consortium
Co-ordinated by Tekniker, SUINK brings together 11 partners from 5 countries across Europe:
- Spain: Tekniker, Universidad del País Vasco, Oribay.
- Belgium: Centexbel, Greenovate! Europe.
- France: Dowel Innovation, Institut Mines-Télécom.
- Finland: Kaira Clan, Tampere University.
- Italy: Gemmate Technologies, Centro Researcher Fiat.
Acknowledgements
The SUINK project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101070112.
