This past Thursday, September 28, the Tecnológico de Costa Rica (TEC) announced to the country the opening of the first Central American laboratory specialized in measuring the environmental footprint of products and services.
The Laboratory, which is the first of its kind in the entire Central American region, has the official name: Life Cycle and Circular Economy Laboratory. Its official launch was at the Park Inn Hotel in San José.
Measure environmental impact
“This laboratory will allow us to measure the environmental impact of products and services that are generated in our country. For example, we will be able to measure the impact of producing a kilogram of pineapple or coffee. In reality, it can be applied to analyze any good or service,” explained the director of the laboratory, Luis Valerio.
According to Valerio, with this information, the consumer will have input to make decisions when purchasing and will be able to analyze whether or not the purchase they are making has a low impact on the environment.
The launch of this Laboratory is thanks to the contribution to the MiTransporte Program of the German Cooperation (GIZ), a company from the Federal Republic of Germany that is dedicated to international cooperation worldwide. GIZ donated to TEC the software that will allow scientists to obtain results on the carbon footprint.
SimaPro
“What we donated was software called SimaPro, which is internationally recognized software, probably the best, for carrying out life cycle analysis of products and services. This is a single professional license in perpetuity with 40 licenses for students,” said Federico Corrales, advisor to the German GIZ Cooperation.
In total, GIZ donated about 20 thousand dollars to TEC with the purchase of the software, which was acquired in Switzerland. “What we were looking for was for the TEC to have an installed capacity that would benefit many,” said the advisor to the German GIZ Cooperation.
First results
In this case, during the event, the first results of a study carried out by TEC researchers were presented, which sought to determine the carbon and water footprint of the first lithium battery recycling plant in Latin America of the FORTECH company.
”In this first study, it was determined that the environmental impacts were much lower than those that could be had by obtaining Lithium in a natural way,” summarized the director of the new TEC laboratory.
For Guillermo Pereira, general director of FORTECH, a study of this level is important for his company since it allows us to conclude that its process generates minimal emissions compared to traditional mining.
“And the fact that TEC is our ally is of great significance, especially since our intention is to put Costa Rica on the innovation map around everything that is renewable energy, storage and electric mobility in general,” he pointed out. Pereira.
The laboratory will be available to private and public companies that want to improve the environmental performance of their products and services. Likewise, it will allow the TEC to continue training world-class professionals who contribute more in research, science and knowledge.
“And in this case, it opens the possibility for students to reinvent new products that reduce the environmental impact,” concluded the director of the new TEC laboratory.
https://resonancecr.com/retreats/