Out of solidarity, and out of necessity, the Portuguese aerospace industry has been proactively adapting to the vicissitudes of the current pandemic context.
There are already countless cases of entities joining efforts to combat the expansion of the Coronavirus, both in the production of medical and protective equipment, and in the provision of the most varied support services.
Among the more than 80 associates that the Cluster brings together, there are dozens of collaborative initiatives that have already allowed the production of thousands of individual protection visors/masks.
In this context, the collaborations in Porto, between INEGI, INESC TEC, FEUP and ISEP, and in the Leiria region, through Grupo Iberomoldes and CODI, have been of the utmost importance, enabling the large-scale delivery of this protective equipment to hospitals and health professionals.
There is also a serious commitment to the production of ventilators, in which Universities and Engineering and R&D Centers have played a fundamental role, with the prototyping of easy-to-make and low cost fans.
Within this context, it is noteworthy the CEIIA‘s work. Involving a group of strategic partners (such as EFACEC), they developed a ventilator – “Atena” – entirely Portuguese and its production may reach 10,000 units.
Additionally, several associates have adapted their products and services to help not only hospitals, but other companies and organizations. It is the case of ISQ, that is now conducting compliance assessments for medical devices and personal protective equipment, or of Valispace, that is making its project management software available, free of charge, to companies that are involved in the manufacture of quick installation ventilators, within the framwork of an international innovation challenge – the CoVent19 Challenge.