On the occasion of our 15th Anniversary, we held a press conference at our facilities and then a meeting between the EnergyLab team and the entities that make up our board, to whom we are very grateful for their support during these 15 years of history.
At the press conference, our president, María Landeira, and our general director, Fernando Val, shared with the attendees the most notable milestones that we have achieved since our establishment in 2008.
María began by remembering our beginnings and pointed out the importance of its role as a technological center: bringing innovation to companies, transforming applied research and technological development into value for the market, and being key in the technology transfer process in this R&D ecosystem. He also highlighted the great work of the EnergyLab team, a young and highly qualified staff, and also wanted to thank the involvement of the entities that make up the EnergyLab board, highlighting that they are very committed and that they provide the market vision necessary for success of the proyects. Furthermore, she has highlighted the role of the Galician Innovation Agency as a driving agent of the Galician R&D ecosystem, and has highlighted the importance of all the entities that have trusted EnergyLab. “I want to thank you all for making us participate in your pioneering projects, many of which we could describe as emblematic, which have contributed to creating value and knowledge with a single purpose: innovation and a vision for the future.”
To conclude, our president has highlighted the key moment in which we find ourselves, a process of decarbonization of the economy that requires a high degree of involvement of all agents in the energy sector, and has underlined “the importance of the contribution of the Galician ecosystem of R&D&i to the challenges that, as a society, we must address in the coming years. “We are very proud to collaborate in the positioning of Galicia as an energy hub through innovation, and to contribute to the creation of quality employment in our region.”
Our general director, Fernando Val, has presented the most relevant data of the center, highlighting that more than €22 million have been mobilized in 200 R&D projects in which more than 150 clients have been involved. 10% of these projects are international and approximately 60% come from private financing. Furthermore, he stressed that “we are the link between Galician SMEs and the world of R&D in energy and sustainability, with this type of company representing half of our clients.”
Fernando has highlighted that “we are the national reference technology center in the field of renewable gases, highlighting the launch of a pioneering biogas and biomethane laboratory in our facilities that has been key to our development as a technology center, the development and start-up of the first biological methanation plant in Spain for the generation of biomethane, we have been pioneers in the production of green hydrogen in a WWTP in Galicia, and currently, we are developing new lines of research around the “green hydrogen not only through the biological route but also through electrochemistry (electrolysis) and thermochemistry (biomass gasification).”
Future vision
Fernando closed his speech by highlighting that we will continue to support the circular economy in key sectors such as industry, and renewable gases, but not only in relation to biogas and biomethane, but also in delving into the different technologies for generating green hydrogen and in its possible applications, both in mobility and in the naval sector with the use of carriers such as methanol and ammonia. In conclusion, he noted that “our objective as a center is to consolidate our growth at the national level and enhance our participation in European projects, with an energy and sustainable vision, contributing from the Galician R&D&I ecosystem with the development of technologies that facilitate the decarbonization process of all sectors, and thus improve the competitiveness of the business fabric.”
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THESE 15 YEARS!
