This year, we have celebrated the fourth edition of this open innovation program in which we have focused on promoting sustainability, a key pillar in our 2021-2025 Sacyr Sustainable Action Plan.
In this year’s edition, Sacyr iChallenges received a total of 245 proposals from 25 different countries.
The Portuguese firm, Natural Business Intelligence (NBI), won the first Sacyr iChallenges prize, with a project for the valuation and management of the natural capital of projects. The German firm Heliatek won second prize.
Nuno Oliveira, CEO of NBI, says that “the most important thing about working with Sacyr is turning knowledge into something practical through their projects."
"We use satellite data that gives us geographic and ground conditions information to find the most efficient solutions," Oliveira stresses. "We look forward to finding solutions with Sacyr for projects today and in the future," he adds.
NBI's solution is a tool to be able to carry out the assessment of natural capital and the impacts on ecosystem services of our projects. Together with NBI, Sacyr will carry out a pilot project in La Palma (Canary Islands) to study the change in the terrain after last year’s volcanic eruption.
In addition, the Sacyr Foundation awarded a runner-up prize to the German company Heliatek for its organic photovoltaic solutions technology.
Aline Mueller, sales representative from Heliatek, says that working with Sacyr will help them enter the Spanish market. "It's a great opportunity for us," she remarks. "At Heliatek we always need local partners who know the market, and who have access to the buildings where to implement our solution," Mueller explains.
"We know that Sacyr is working on an energy transition, so I know we will make a great team," Mueller concludes.
The German firm works in the field of organic photovoltaics and has solutions that adapt to different building structures. Heliatek presented its solution of ultra-thin, organic photovoltaic modules capable of adhering to any surface.
More information at https://www.sacyrichallenges.com/