The LIFE MINOx-STREET project is co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE 2012 programme, in which Ineco participates as the coordinating partner, along with entities such as the City Council of Alcobendas, CIEMAT (Energy, Environmental and Technological Research Centre) and CEDEX (Centre of Studies and Experimentation of Public Works).

Air pollution in large urban centres is an unresolved problem that has many consequences, among which are concerning issues, particularly those that affect the health of citizens. The LIFE MINOx-STREET project has two general objectives aimed at managing air quality in the urban environment through the monitoring, on one hand, and the modelling, on the other, of the efficiency of photocatalytic materials in the reduction of NOx in the atmosphere.

There is currently a wide range of materials in the market that incorporate titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a photocatalytic element for the reduction of urban air pollution due to the presence of nitrogen oxides (NOx). Its effectiveness has only been verified in controlled laboratory tests but it does not show evidence of this behaviour in the real environment.

This is the starting point of the project whose actions are structured along three main technical work lines: preparatory actions, real implementation actions and the evaluation of the repercussions of the project (technical, environmental and socioeconomic). They are complemented with two cross-cutting task packages of monitoring and control (project management) as well as the structuring, exchange and diffusion of the information generated, a vitally important aspect in the LIFE calls.

With the results obtained, the local authorities will be offered a guide focussed on the viability and optimal protocols for use of photocatalytic materials with de-polluting properties as part of an integrated evaluation of the strategies for controlling urban air pollution.