Naturgy Foundation and CSIC launch the second edition of the Award for research and technological innovation in the energy field

Naturgy Foundation and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) are launching the second edition of the Naturgy Foundation-CSIC Award for research and technological innovation in the energy field, which will assign 100,000 euros to the best project in Spain developed by research groups belonging to public or private non-profit bodies.

The two institutions have renewed their collaboration to launch the second call for this Naturgy Foundation initiative, which aims to highlight innovation as one of the cores of the energy transition and advance towards the decarbonisation of the economy in our country.

CSIC will coordinate the scientific panel that will assess the projects submitted and the deadline for the call is 18 February 2024. A prestigious panel, chaired by CSIC chairwoman Eloisa del Pino, will decide the award winner next June in Madrid. Ms Del Pino said that “the energy transition is a challenge that appeals to us all, both companies and the State”.

Naturgy Foundation’s managing director, María Eugenia Coronado, expressed her satisfaction with this new edition of the award as it, “is the result of the success with which the scientific community in Spain received the first call. Today, when the winners of the first edition of the Naturgy Foundation-CSIC award are about to deliver the first results of their research, we are fully convinced of the suitability of an initiative like this”.

The winner of the first edition was a project by the Bioeconomics Institute of the University of Valladolid (IB-UVA), led by researcher Ángel Martín Martínez, which proposes the development of an innovative technology in CO₂ capture and reduction processes. Since the award was presented last June, the research project has developed favourably and the IB-UVA team will present an initial report in December.

With this second edition, Naturgy Foundation wants to continue to contribute to scientific research and development in the energy field in order to achieve the zero net emission targets set by Spain and the EU.

Unpublished projects and a prestigious panel

This recognition is aimed at projects developed by public, private or non-profit research bodies, including public and private universities (registered at the Universities, Schools and Titles Registry) and other R&D&I centres. In addition, they must be groups that carry out fundamental research or experimental development, and also have their own legal personality and tax residence in Spain.

Candidates taking part must be unpublished projects, for research in progress or recently completed, and with an innovative potential liable to be incorporated into the market or generate value for society. Research projects submitted can address the following aspects of technological innovation in the energy field: efficiency, safe supply, renewable resources and the environment.

The award panel will be comprised of Eloísa del Pino, chairwoman of CSIC; Carmen Becerril, chairwoman of the Electricity Market Operator (OMEL) and the Association of Women for Energy (AEMENER); Pedro Linares, professor at the Industrial Organisation department of the School of Engineering ICAI; Mariano Marzo, professor emeritus at the University of Barcelona and director of the UB Energy Transition Chair; and Diego Pavía, founder and CEO of KIC InnoEnergy. Other members include Jorge Barredo, managing director of Renewables, New Business and Innovation at Naturgy, and María Eugenia Coronado, managing director of the Naturgy Foundation.

Candidatures can be submitted through the Naturgy Foundation website and the winning project will be announced at a ceremony to be held in Madrid, in June 2024.

CSIC

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public scientific and technical research institution in Spain, and one of the most outstanding in the European Research Area. Attached to the Ministry for Science and Innovation via the General Secretariat for Research, the CSIC is structured into three large areas: Society, Life and Matter Its objectives include introducing scientific and technical achievements to all national and international socio-economic sectors, with the aim of ensuring they transpose into social, economic and cultural well-being for society.

CSIC’s mission is to stimulate, coordinate, develop and disseminate scientific research in order to contribute to advancing knowledge and economic, social and cultural development, as well as training personnel and advising public and private bodies on these matters.

Naturgy Foundation

The Naturgy Foundation, created in 1992, develops social action programmes to mitigate energy poverty as part of Naturgy’s Vulnerability Plan. It also encourages serious and rigorous debate on topics related to energy and the environment through seminars, publications and reports, and has an educational programme on energy and environmental matters, as well as another on Vocational Training for employability.