Last week, the TOP-Crete consortium partners held the project kick-off meeting at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona.

TOP-Crete is a M-ERA.NET project, coordinated by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), which aims to design and develop new bendable thermoplastic rebars to improve the durability and sustainability of high performance reinforced concrete structures. Thanks to a direct funding from New-Aquitaine region Council, CANOE will be in charge of the sustainability-based assessment and optimization of thermoplastic (TP) fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars.

The first day of this meeting was dedicated to introducing the participants, followed by an overview of the project and presentation of the work packages and tasks. The day ended with a visit to Sagrada Familial and a delicious social dinner that allowed the partners to soak up the local culinary flavors. Everyone enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and the conversation.

The second day was just as productive, with further presentations of work packages and tasks, including WP4: Sustainability-based assessment and optimization of the TP FRP rebars, led by CANOE. The material recycling and durability section was introduced by Sandrine André, project manager at CANOE.

The day ended with a discussion of next steps, activities and upcoming meetings.

Everyone enjoyed this fruitful kick-off and looks forward to seeing each other again in June 2024 at CANOE in Pau (France).