Three Lund University research projects have been selected for the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) 2026 list, which highlights Swedish research with the potential to benefit society.
Previously known colloquially in Sweden as the "100 list" and published annually between 2019 and 2024, IVA's list returns in 2026 in a renewed and more selective form, highlighting around 30 ongoing research projects in Sweden that are judged to have strong potential for real-world impact.
This year the list features a diverse range of projects from Lund University, spanning cyber security, criminal investigation, and food science, but each applying university research to a specific real-world problem.
"IVA's list highlights some of the most exciting and innovative research in Sweden. A place on it is recognition that this work has the real potential to make a difference to society, and that's something to celebrate," says Niclas Nilsson, Director of Innovation at Lund University.
Scattered on purpose: NodeX Cloud's decentralised data storage
One of the selected projects, NodeX Cloud: Europe's First Post-Quantum Secure Decentralised Cloud Storage Solution, is a research-based approach to secure data storage that addresses vulnerabilities in current systems.
Encryption methods in widespread use today are expected to become vulnerable as quantum computing develops. Additionally, recent ransomware attacks have highlighted the risks of centralised data storage - illustrated by the August 2025 attack on Swedish IT supplier Miljödata, which affected more than 200 municipalities and compromised data belonging to around 1.5 million people.
The proposed solution distributes and encrypts data across multiple European locations, and is designed around data sovereignty, decentralisation, EU compliance, and quantum-resistant encryption. It is designed to ensure that if one part of the system is compromised, the remaining data is still secure and available.
"Recent hacks have shown the immense costs and risks of keeping everything in one place. This solution presents an alternative, by spreading data across Europe," says Rohon Kundu, PhD candidate in cyber security at Lund University.
The research is rooted in over four years of doctoral work at the Department of Electrical and Information Technology at the LTH Faculty of Engineering, Lund University.
Now in a commercial phase, the startup has been built around the research alongside Alberto Butera (Politecnico di Torino) and Professor Roman Beck (Bentley University).
Surfaces have memories: microbiome profiling for forensic investigation
Forensic investigation of major crimes involving explosive devices and firearms faces a recurring challenge: conventional analysis depends on human DNA or fingerprints, are often absent, degraded, or uninformative when there is no suspect already on record. An innovative research project led by Eran Elhaik, Associate Professor at Lund University's Department of Biology proposes an alternative - one that could apply to forensic analysis more broadly - combining environmental DNA, microbiome profiling, and artificial intelligence.
Rather than relying on human DNA, the approach draws on the broader range of biological traces found on objects, people, and locations. By identifying genetic markers across many different organisms, the research seeks to generate usable forensic information even where traditional evidence is missing or degraded.
One area of particular use is explosive devices and firearms, which accumulate environmental traces - dust, soil, residues, and microbial material - during handling, storage, transport, and deployment, traces that current methods largely overlook. Analysing them could allow investigators to infer likely environmental origins and movement histories, potentially supporting the identification of manufacturing sites, storage environments, transport routes, and operational locations.
Letting enzymes and microbes do the heavy lifting: enriching plant-based foods
The third selected project, Safe Biotechnology for Plant Protein Valorisation, addresses how plant-based foods could be made healthier. Led by Associate Professor Javier Linares-Pastén, the research team uses enzymatic and probiotic fermentation to enrich bioactive compounds in plant-based ingredients.
The focus is on GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a naturally occurring compound linked to potential health benefits such as stress reduction and improved sleep but usually present only in low concentrations in plants. The team has developed a method to enrich GABA in ingredients such as lupin beans - a popular snack in the Mediterranean, South America, and the Middle East - as well as potatoes derivatives. The same methods have also increased GABA levels and soluble essential amino acids in quinoa seeds, which could improve their functional value.
"We see the potential to make plant-based foods healthier, using these food-safe methods that industry can realistically scale," says Associate Professor Javier Linares-Pastén at the Department of Process and Life Science Engineering at Lund University.
The research team includes Javier Linares-Pastén (Associate Professor, principal investigator, and main supervisor), J. Mauricio Peñarrieta (assistant supervisor), and postdoctoral researchers Gabriela Ibieta and Jimena Ortiz.
