The University of Naples Federico II has featured the European project BEYOND, highlighting the contribution of SQuIDS Lab to the development of more efficient, reliable, and sustainable heat-pump technologies.
Heat pumps are central to Europe’s energy transition, but even minor faults can gradually reduce their performance and increase energy consumption. BEYOND addresses this challenge by combining physical models, artificial intelligence, and digital twins to detect faults and determine their type and severity—including cases in which multiple anomalies occur simultaneously.
Within this multidisciplinary effort, the Software Quality and Intelligent Data-driven Systems (SQuIDS) Lab, coordinated by Professors Sergio Di Martino and Luigi Libero Lucio Starace, is responsible for developing the artificial-intelligence algorithms and software platforms needed to process experimental and simulated data rapidly and reliably. The Lab’s work supports the translation of advanced diagnostic methods into robust and scalable software components suitable for industrial application.
The project is coordinated by Professor Alfonso William Mauro of Federico II in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia. It has received €1.25 million in funding from the European Innovation Council under the Pathfinder Clean and Efficient Cooling programme and will run from 2024 to 2028.
At Federico II, BEYOND brings together the Department of Industrial Engineering, which develops the thermodynamic models underlying the digital twins; the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, where SQuIDS conducts the AI and software-engineering activities; and the CESMA Advanced Metrology Services Centre, which supports technology transfer.
Beyond its scientific goals, the project aims to deliver practical tools for predictive maintenance, reduce energy waste, extend equipment lifetime, and facilitate technology transfer through an international patent and a prospective academic spin-off.
Source: University of Naples Federico II, “BEYOND, Federico II leads the European project for more efficient and sustainable heat pumps”, 28 July 2026. https://www.unina.it/it/w/beyond-la-federico-ii-guida-il-progetto-europeo-che-rende-le-pompe-di-calore-pi%C3%B9-efficienti-e-sostenibili