Science for society: a 60-year legacy of research that makes a difference

Driving to a pump and filling the tank with hydrogen could soon be a reality for many. In mid-2024, oil and gas company Shell and FAPESP, the São Paulo Research Foundation, plan to open a pilot plant that converts ethanol into hydrogen. The facility will produce 4.5kg of hydrogen hourly to fuel three buses running on the University of São Paulo campus.

If all goes well, this cost-effective, environmentally friendly technology will be available to consumers, who could pull in for a tank of hydrogen that was produced on-site

“We have a very strong programme in energy transition,” says Marcio de Castro Silva Filho, a plant geneticist and scientific director of FAPESP. In fact, the foundation supports a range of transitions focused on creating renewables in Brazilian society, from energy and education through to innovation and the environment.

A spectrum of advances in energy

As well as the ethanol-to-hydrogen converter, FAPESP is involved in various renewable-energy projects, including ones based on wind and solar power. “These projects can contribute to sustainable economic development in Brazil by reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse-gas emissions,” says Niels Olsen Saraiva Camara, professor of immunology at the University of São Paulo, and advisor to the scientific director at FAPESP.

In some cases, unexpected applications for renewable energy can emerge. One project funded by FAPESP produced solar-powered nanocomposites, which are materials comprising two or more substances, at least one of which has nanoscale dimensions, that can be used to purify water¹.

FAPESP also supports research on existing forms of energy, with some scientists at the FAPESP-supported Center for Research, Technology, and Education Center (CeRTEV) working on new materials for electrochemical energy storage, which can be used in batteries².

In the Amazon and beyond

Brazil’s largest renewable resource, however, is the Amazon rainforest. In Brazil, about 30 million people inhabit the Amazon, which includes regions in nine states. To enhance research on this ecosystem, FAPESP created the Amazon +10 Fund in 2021. FAPESP describes this fund as “a joint initiative by São Paulo and nine other states — Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins — to develop science, technology and innovation in Amazonia.” This programme is being run in 24 states and the Federal District.

In 2022, FAPESP ran an online workshop to explore ways to enhance the funding of Amazon +10 through international collaborations. Participants represented a variety of global groups, including United Kingdom Research and Innovation, the German Research Foundation, the Dutch Research Council and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Although research projects funded by Amazon +10 are just getting started, the goal is to address the region’s bioeconomy, biodiversity, conservation, climate change, and protect the people. “The scientific community does lots of research on the Amazon that tends not to involve Amazonian researchers or the Amazon people,” says Concepta McManus, head of international collaborations at FAPESP. “In Amazon +10, all research in the Amazon must involve Amazonian researchers, and the results must benefit the Amazon.”

As a result, the approach to research on the Amazon will evolve. In the past, most of the research on the region took place above the canopy, “It should be below the canopy as well,” says McManus. “You must involve social sciences and the people who live there.” Consequently, projects funded by Amazon +10 should reduce some of the past inequities of science in the region by looking above and below the canopy to study animals, plants and people — the entire ecosystem.

The Amazon attracts attention far beyond Brazil. Filho recalls, “Just yesterday, I talked to people from Norway. They are really interested in joining this programme, and so are other agencies all over the world.” Other countries can use a similar approach to manage and preserve their forests and biodiversity, all while including the people who live there.

“Saving the Amazon is a world problem,” Filho says, “not just limited to Brazil.”

A history of funding

FAPESP has supported innovative science and technology since its inception in 1962, when it was established to provide long-term funding for research. “The vision was that if we foster research, we will create the best conditions for economic, technological and social development of the state of São Paulo,” says Camara.

By law, FAPESP receives 1% of the state taxes in São Paulo, and through this continual financial support, McManus notes, it’s able to fund projects for 5 to 10 years, instead of the two years of most grant-based initiatives.

In 2022, FAPESP funded nearly 20,000 research projects after investing about €380 million. The resulting projects covered a wide variety of topics, from biodiversity and bioenergy to climate science and transportation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, FAPESP supported the study of mass vaccination impact in a small Brazilian town, Serrana. The scientists concluded: “The evaluation of the COVID-19 clinical outcome revealed that most cases were mild, regardless of the infecting variant, and that vaccination was responsible for reducing the death toll rate³.”

FAPESP also plays a fundamental role in the education of scientists. “FAPESP offers scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students to support the education and training of future researchers and professionals,” says Camara. In 2021 more than one-third of FAPESP’s budget funded 11,469 scholarships.

Innovation and application

In many ways, FAPESP helps scientists explore the unknown. “For the past 10 years or so, we’ve invested in innovation,” says Filho. “People need to establish new concepts and ideas, to avoid stagnation, and, in the end, we’ll probably generate more revenue.”

FAPESP encourages innovation through various channels. One of those comes from funding 17 Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs), which receive support for up to 11 years. As FAPESP notes: “Each RIDC is expected to establish a hub of excellent research in its focus area and must actively seek out and develop opportunities to have its research results contribute to commercially and/or socially relevant high-impact applications, as well as contributing to education and dissemination of knowledge.” Currently, FAPESP’s RIDCs focus on food and nutrition, functional materials, inflammatory diseases, mathematics, and more.

Sometimes, mathematics can be used to create new technology inspired by nature. In one such study that benefited from FAPESP funding, scientists at the University of Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, used mathematical models of owl wings to develop aircraft wings that produce less noise.

In addition, McManus points out FAPESP’s Engineering Research Centers. “These are funded equally by FAPESP and a private company,” she explains. “It starts off 50-50, but at the end of 10 years, the centres intend to be wholly financed by themselves.” One example is the FAPESP and IBM-financed Artificial Intelligence Center (C4AI) at the University of São Paulo. C4AI researchers explore topics from advancing AI algorithms to applying them. One team of FAPESP-funded scientists developed an AI-based method to collect information about the Brazilian government’s changes to environmental policies⁴.

There is, however, no impact for society unless the technology reaches the market. “FAPESP actively promotes the transfer of technology and knowledge from academic research to industry, by facilitating collaboration between universities, research institutions and businesses,” says Camara. “This has resulted in the creation of startups, the development of new technologies and increased competitiveness in various sectors.” For example, FAPESP’s Innovative Research Small Business Program (PIPE) provided start-up funding for MVisia, a São Paulo-based company that uses AI to develop better computer-vision systems for industrial applications.

Overall, FAPESP’s support of innovation and technology transfer drives the economy of all Brazil in many ways: Camara mentions enhancing global competitiveness, economic diversification, improvements in productivity and more, including global collaboration. “Innovation often involves international collaboration, fostering connections with researchers, businesses and investors from around the world,” Camara says. “This can bring foreign investment and expertise into Brazil, contributing to the country’s economic development.”

Connecting with society

Overall, FAPESP strives to reach all parts of society, largely by broadcasting successes in science, as well as the challenges.

“If we don’t communicate about the research, people don’t believe in it, because they don’t see the results,” McManus explains.

Nonetheless, “communication is not necessarily a skill with scientists,” McManus says. “We know how to write scientific papers and give talks in congresses and scientific meetings, but we might not know how to communicate with the public which is on a different level.”

FAPESP takes on this communication challenge. “FAPESP promotes science dissemination as part of its mission to support and advance research in the state of São Paulo,” Camara explains. FAPESP’s website hosts a series of free publications to communicate research results to the public, and hopes to do more

Although research funding from Brazil’s government goes up and down, FAPESP continues its 60-year legacy of increasing science funding and reporting the results to the world. As McManus says, funding from FAPESP “gives a lot of stability to the system and ensures that people can actually do better science.”