10-12-2025
All three finalist projects of the “Let’s give banknotes a second life” competition, promoted by the Bank of Portugal, bear the signature of NOVA FCT.
This initiative challenges the national scientific community to find sustainable solutions for the treatment of euro banknote residues, contributing to circular economy principles and environmentally responsible innovation practices.
Among the ten submitted proposals, involving more than 50 students and researchers,the jury selected three finalists, all originating from the Caparica Campus.
The ReNote project team, from NOVA FCT, proposes transforming the residues into functional materials to produce complex security elements with low counterfeiting risk.
The €coCard project, also from NOVA FCT, aims to reuse banknote residues to create biodegradable bank cards, reducing the environmental impact of conventional plastic.
The third finalist, CleanNote, was developed by AlmaScience, one of NOVA FCT’s nine CoLabs, and uses the residues to produce photocatalytic membranes applied in air and water purification.
Public voting to choose the winning project is open until 19 December. The final result will combine the jury’s evaluation with the public vote. The NOVA FCT community is invited to take part and support the Faculty’s projects by voting through the form available here.
The competition “Let’s give banknotes a second life”, launched by the Bank of Portugal, aims to engage society in developing sustainable solutions to reuse euro banknotes that are no longer fit for circulation. The finalist teams received support from the Bank of Portugal in developing their prototypes — an initiative that brings together science, innovation, and sustainability.
