ACCIONA has participated in the first hackathon held at the ALBA Synchrotron, a unique scientific infrastructure in Europe located in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona). The ALBA Synchrotron accelerates electrons to reach high energy levels and emit synchrotron light, which enables scientists to visualize the atomic and molecular structure of matter and study its properties.

During the first ALBA Hackathon — organized by the Cerdanyola del Vallès City Council, the Research Park of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (PRUAB), and the ALBA Synchrotron, with support from the Barcelona Provincial Council — innovation was promoted in strategic sectors such as water, waste, and energy. The intensive event brought together nearly a hundred students from various Spanish universities and technology centers, who formed multidisciplinary teams to tackle real-world challenges proposed by companies such as ACCIONA. The proposed solutions, in addition to using synchrotron light, were required to include an implementation plan for real business environments.

ACCIONA’s challenge focused on finding innovative solutions for the regeneration of adsorbents saturated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water treatment plants. The goal was to overcome current limitations, which include high regeneration costs, significant energy consumption, and a large carbon footprint in existing commercial alternatives—making them environmentally unsustainable.

The winning team for this challenge was “Critical Carbon,” which proposed an in-situ regeneration of granular activated carbon saturated with PFAS in a closed-loop system using supercritical CO₂.
In addition to receiving a cash prize, the winning team will have the opportunity to further develop their solution in collaboration with the ALBA Synchrotron and ACCIONA’s Innovation Department.