bLOSSom

GRADIANT leads the first and only EIC Pathfinder Open project coordinated by a Galician technology centre, designing photonic systems capable of feeding off their own light losses and reducing energy consumption by between 100 and 1,000 times compared to current solutions.

The bLOSSom project —Sustainable Photonic Systems through Autonomous Loss Harvesting— is part of the EIC Pathfinder Open programme under Horizon Europe, with a total budget of €2.99M funded 100% by the European Commission. The consortium, led scientifically by Gradiant, brings together 25 high-level researchers from four countries: the Łukasiewicz Research Network-Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics (Poland), Energius and CiTIUS-USC (Spain), the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (Portugal) and F6S Innovation (Ireland).

The central proposition of bLOSSom is to harness parasitic energy —the light losses inherent to integrated photonic components— to power those same components, drastically reducing their dependence on external energy sources. To this end, technologies such as polymer-plasmonic electro-optic junctions, traditional PN junctions, 2D materials such as graphene, and synthetic photosynthetic complexes are being explored, integrated with power management units (PMUs).

As a first notable result of the project, Gradiant has developed a self-sustaining photonic neuron —currently in the process of being patented— capable of operating without external energy, collecting and converting its own light losses into functional energy, and autonomously deciding how to distribute it to activate its processes. This innovation opens up direct applications in artificial intelligence —reducing the high energy consumption of model training and operation—, telecommunications, the aerospace sector, and remote or extreme environments where external energy supply is not feasible.

The leadership of bLOSSom strengthens Gradiant’s capacity to coordinate high-complexity projects at a European scale and contributes decisively to positioning Galicia as a hub for innovation in disruptive photonic technologies, driving new lines of research, attracting qualified talent, and generating technology transfer opportunities.