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08/01/2015
Ice under investigation: ICN2 and ICMAB sign an agreement with SnowWorld
The Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2) and the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) are two reference research centers in the field of materials located in the campus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). The Barcelona Synchrotron Park (BSP) has an agreement with these two institutes that affords BSP companies a privileged access to their facilities and their science and technology services.

Dr. Albert Verdaguer from ICN2 is a specialist of a very common but relatively unknown material: ice. This researcher is behind the agreement signed in December between SnowWorld, ICN2 and ICMAB that allows the creation of a research laboratory on ice forming in the future winter sports complex that SnowWorld wants to build in the Barcelona Port Free Zone. This complex would take advantage of the refrigeration effect due to the gasification of the liquid gas imported by tankers.

Water is a so familiar material that it might be thought everything is known about it but it is not true: above different open questions, the liquid-solid transition can be mentioned (how external conditions lead to one kind of crystals or another, etc.). This question is an important issue in weather forecast, industry or sport with the production of artificial snow or ice.

This original research laboratory might allow progress in a better understanding of the natural water freezing mechanisms and therefore in the production of on-demand types of snow with less water, less energy and in a more nature-like process.
 

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