Iberdrola launches a contest to find companies that develop more sustainable electricity networks

MADRID, 6 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Iberdrola, through its international startup program Perseo, has called a contest for innovative companies to propose new materials, designs, manufacturing methodologies and construction of electrical substations and very high voltage lines, the company reported.

The energy company chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán pointed out that this initiative is part of its commitment to combat climate change and promote sustainability.

Specifically, the objectives of the initiative are to optimize the cost of materials and methodologies currently applied, reduce the environmental impact of the construction of new assets in electricity networks, optimize the cost and time associated with civil works and assembly and increase safety and risk prevention in assembly processes.

The challenge is launched within the framework of the new center for innovation in smart grids, the Global Smart Grids Innovation Hub, intended to be a world reference in smart grids, through open collaboration and 'coworking' between technicians from the company electrical distribution of the Iberdrola group (i-DE), suppliers, startups and different organizations from all over the planet.

Thus, Iberdrola will seek new formulas for its extensive network of transmission and distribution power lines, with 1.2 million kilometers distributed in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Spain.

The group's network is made up of more than 4,500 high to medium voltage substations and more than 1.6 million medium to low voltage distribution transformers that serve more than 32 million electricity supply points.

Proposals that optimize the use of project materials -for example, in metal structures- and civil works, formulas that replace the use of current materials with more sustainable ones, that reduce vegetation suppression, that contribute to the improvement of soils and the safety of operations by reducing human intervention, among other initiatives.

In addition, the company could offer the participant the opportunity to scale up the solution, adopting it through commercial agreements or even investing in the participating company. The registration period for the challenge will end on June 12, and the winner will be announced throughout July.

Since its creation in 2008, Perseo has invested more than 100 million euros in startups that develop innovative technologies and business models, focusing on those that allow improving the sustainability of the energy sector through greater electrification and decarbonisation of the economy. .