Universidade Nova de Lisboa will inaugurate on Thursday a Sino-Portuguese laboratory in Macau focused on “sustainable energy, next-generation displays, and smart devices,” announced scientist Elvira Fortunato.
The new institution brings together the Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodeling, and Nanofabrication (i3N) at UNL and the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).
The Sino-Portuguese Joint Laboratory of Optoelectronics will combine expertise in optoelectronics, nanotechnology, and advanced materials from both countries. Optoelectronics studies electronic devices that generate, detect, and control light, enabling innovations such as future computers operating with light rather than just electronic transitions.
Fortunato emphasized that the lab will provide a collaborative space for researchers from Portugal, China, and other countries to work on common challenges, including sustainable energy, cutting-edge displays, and smart devices.
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“Macau, with its unique history as a bridge between East and West, is a natural location for this type of collaboration,” said Fortunato, former Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education (2022–2024).
The lab marks the culmination of a long-standing partnership between the two universities, formalized in a new cooperation agreement at the end of 2025, with support from the Macau government and funding from the region’s Science and Technology Development Fund. Fortunato noted that this demonstrates Macau’s commitment to building world-class research capabilities and translating scientific discoveries into real-world impact.
Elvira Fortunato and her husband, Rodrigo Martins, head of the European Academy of Sciences since 2018, are known for inventing electronic paper in 2008, the first transistor made from paper. Martins, coordinating i3N-NOVA, highlighted another joint project with MUST on advanced functional materials for energy.
Alongside the lab opening, MUST will host a three-day forum on optoelectronic materials in collaboration with Suzhou University, eastern China. MUST emphasized that this is the first lab of its kind in Macau and the first China-Portugal joint research lab dedicated to optoelectronics, aligned with China’s 15th Five-Year Industrial Development Plan.
