"FEDER ARMOR" ARMOR - ADVANCED RESEARCH INTO DURABILITY AND FIRE REACTION OF BIO-MORTARS DEVELOPED WITH PLANT WASTE DESCRIPTION The ARMOR project is an initiative to support the sustainability of the construction sector and the local bioeconomy based on the advanced development of mortars reinforced with plant-based fibers. These fibers originate from the recovery of industrial waste from Arundo Donax, or common reed, a plant species abundant in the Valencian Community and closely linked to its culture. After falling into disuse, it has become an invasive species that generates high disposal and cleanup costs for local ecosystems. The advanced development of bio-mortars at ARMOR is based on deepening their long-term durability and performance under fire conditions, to mitigate the uncertainties that both aspects generate when applying these materials in real-world environments. Due to their extensive use and high degree of exposure to environmental stresses, mortar durability is a key factor in construction sustainability, particularly in terms of maintenance costs and waste management. Furthermore, one of the most critical and destructive situations a material can face is fire, and therefore, this factor should be assessed by default in any innovative construction material or solution. The project's innovation lies in applying a bio-mortar development strategy based on combined actions on both the biomaterial's most critical component (fibers) and its environment (cementing matrix), in order to promote synergistic effects between the two that enhance performance. Long-term environmental performance will be assessed using accelerated aging tests. OBJECTIVES The overall objective of the ARMOR project is to advance the development and knowledge needed to effectively and functionally apply masonry mortars reinforced with plant fibers from local waste, investigating strategies that enhance their performance and durability for use by companies in the Valencian industrial sector. Specific objectives of the project would be: - Valorizing a native industrial waste product from the Valencian Community as a secondary raw material for the development of bio-mortars. This promotes wealth creation in the region through improved utilization of its natural resources, support for the circular economy, and the creation of synergies between SMEs based on family businesses and large corporations. Furthermore, the valorization of a fast-growing plant species in riverbeds can be useful in preventing future floods. - Modify the treatment of plant fibers and their addition processes to make them favorable for industrialization and bagging. This objective is based on a new, simple, scalable, and economically and sustainably resource-based treatment developed by AIDIMME in a previous project (MOTOVEGI, IMDEEA/2023/46). - Improve the composite's long-term performance and durability by acting synergistically on the fibers and the inorganic matrix. This improvement will be evaluated by applying accelerated aging procedures and analyzing the strength loss index over time (%) and the water absorption rate (% per unit of time). - Correlate the properties of fibers and their treatment with their durability. To do this, the degree of fiber degradation will be analyzed visually or with microscopy techniques. - Simulate the thermal behavior of bio-mortars in relevant scenarios involving temperature gradients, which will expand the information on the practical functionality of the material in terms of its thermal insulation properties. These simulations will be based on the experimental determination of properties such as heat capacity and thermal conductivity. - Generate new scientific knowledge about the fire behavior of bio-mortars, which will allow us to establish their added value in passive protection applications for structural elements. Project Number: 22500052 Grant Agreement: IMDEEA / 2025/14 Duration: From 01/07/2025 to 30/06/2026 Coordinated at AIDIMME by: DIAZ GOMEZ, MARÍA PILAR R&D line: BIOECONOMY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION PUBLISHED NEWS general broadcast https://actualidad.aidimme.es/2025/12/18/aidimme-present (...) Technical dissemination, transfer https://actualidad.aidimme.es/2025/10/07/armor-presenta- (...) GRANT 190.625 € "This project is supported by the Valencian Government's Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, through IVACE+i, and is funded by the European Union, through the Valencian Community FEDER Programme 2021-2027. Programme: R&D projects in collaboration with companies." TARGET AUDIENCE AND IMPACT MEASUREMENT 1812 Access to the project website 378 Access to news published on own websites. Total Accesses: 2190 Objective Sectors by CNAE CNAE: 2351 - Cement manufacturing - Number of target companies: 10 (5 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 2361 - Manufacture of concrete elements for - Number of target companies: 26 (9 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 2363 - Manufacture of fresh concrete - Number of target companies: 9 (3 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 2364 - Manufacture of mortar - Number of target companies: 5 (2 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 2365 - Manufacture of fiber cement - No. of target companies: 1 (0 in the Valencian Community) CNAE: 2369 - Manufacture of other concrete products - Number of target companies: 17 (9 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 3811 - Non-hazardous waste collection - Number of target companies: 30 (19 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 4299 - Construction of other engineering projects - Number of target companies: 33 (19 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 4329 - Other facilities in construction works - Number of target companies: 90 (45 in the Valencian Community) CNAE: 4339 - Other finishing of buildings - No. of target companies: 52 (34 in the Valencian Community) CNAE: 4613 - Intermediaries of the timber trade - Number of target companies: 231 (92 from the Valencian Community) TRACTOR COMPANIES Thanks to its support and signature of the "declaration of participation" the project has been funded. PILCANS, SL CEMENTS LA UNION, SA MEDITERRANEAN MORTARS, SL ZUBI CITIES, SL COMPANIES DIFFUSION R&D PROJECTS They want to know first-hand the evolution of the project, and its progress to the final result. COMPANIES TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE They will implement technologies, develop strategies or look for new models based on the results.