Projects
Publicly funded research and innovation projects.
Bright Spark develops technology within publicly funded research and innovation projects.
In collaboration with knowledge institutions, industry partners and governmental bodies, we work on solutions for complex technological and environmental challenges.
The projects below provide insight into ongoing research activities and the support received from European and regional funding programmes.
PROJECT: DEVELOPMENT OF PFAS DESTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY
PFAS are substances that occur worldwide in the environment and are associated with harmful health effects. PFAS molecules are hardly degradable, and current remediation methods are costly and energy-intensive; PFAS are usually filtered from soil or groundwater and subsequently incinerated elsewhere, without true degradation. Bright Spark aims to fundamentally change this.
In a valorisation project, supported among others by Wetsus, we are developing and testing a new patented technology that enables PFAS to be completely broken down. The principle has been proven at laboratory scale and, within the framework of this project, will be demonstrated in practice for several different PFAS variants. Because degradation takes place directly on site, transport and incineration are no longer required. As a result, the approach is cleaner, more efficient, more energy-efficient, and more cost-effective — a promising step towards sustainable PFAS remediation.
This project is co-financed by the European Union.
PROJECT: MULTIFUNCTIONAL AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT
Bright Spark receives a grant for the following activity(ies):
In private/recreational aviation, the required flight logs are kept manually in analogue form. However, the exact times of take-off and landing must be precisely recorded (as they are partly determinative for maintenance planning/costs), but are currently often noted afterwards based on the pilot’s estimation. This can lead to small deviations which, cumulatively, may result in larger discrepancies and therefore significant differences between the actual moment when maintenance is required and when it is actually carried out.
Within the framework of this project, the applicant aims to develop a solution that operates on a battery and records the G-forces (acceleration) of the aircraft, on the basis of which the exact moment of take-off and landing can be determined through data readout.
A side benefit of measuring acceleration is that “misuse” of rental aircraft — in the form of undesirable/extreme flight behaviour — which can lead to overloading of the aircraft, reduced aircraft lifespan, and premature maintenance/repairs, becomes visible.
The idea is to integrate a carbon monoxide sensor into the solution under development (to detect exhaust gases), which must detect rising carbon monoxide levels in the cockpit at an early stage and trigger an alarm.
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
Bright Spark strives for transparency in its research activities and public collaboration. Project information is updated in accordance with applicable subsidy and reporting obligations.