Spoke 2 and its research at A&T 2025 - from research to enterprise: innovation and sustainability in materials for industry and construction
At the A&T 2025 exhibition, held on 13 February at the Lingotto in Turin, researchers from UNITO's Spoke 2 NODES, in collaboration with CNA, the Confederazione Nazionale dell'Artigianato e della Piccola e Media Impresa, presented an innovative approach to the use of waste materials, demonstrating how research and business can converge for concrete and sustainable solutions.
The meeting of research, tradition and innovation
During the talk, researchers Giovanna Antonella Dino, Francesca Gambino and Susanna Mancini from the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, together with Elio Padoan from the Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, illustrated a project that aims to reuse waste materials from the mining and agricultural industries to create innovative and sustainable products.
The meeting with Master Craftsman Nino Longhitano made it possible to combine academic expertise and craftsmanship, developing a product that is completely natural and free of chemical additives.
The importance of time and collaboration
One of the most fascinating aspects of the project is the rediscovery of the value of time in research and production. As the researchers pointed out, in the modern industrial world, there is often a tendency to favour speed at the expense of quality and sustainability. However, collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises has shown that it is possible to adopt sustainable processes, rediscovering traditional techniques in an innovative way.
As Francesca Gambino stated, this project functioned as a true research and development laboratory for small businesses, demonstrating that the encounter between academia and craftsmanship can generate innovative and replicable solutions on a larger scale.
Towards a more sustainable future
The speech concluded with a reflection on how the synergy between universities, businesses and institutions is fundamental for the transition towards a real and concrete circular economy model. Elio Padoan, an expert in organic waste and biomaterials, highlighted how there are tons of unused biodegradable materials in agriculture that could instead be reintroduced into production cycles with environmental and economic benefits.
This project demonstrates once again that the future of sustainability lies in collaboration between research and business, bringing together different competencies to create responsible and lasting innovation.
