EDP Renováveis : EDPR and EDP Foundation award Spanish students with University Challenge 2016

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Madrid, 20 October 2016: EDP Renewables and the EDP Foundation in Spain have announced the winner of the EDPR University Challenge 2016 for students from Spanish universities. The awards ceremony was hosted by João Manso Neto, CEO of EDPR.

The five shortlisted groups presented their projects to the audience and the judging panel, which was formed by EDP Renewables executives such as Joaquín García-Boto, Head of Project Development in Spain for EDPR Europe, Federico Toro, EDPR Procurement Director, Kilian Rosique, Technical Director at the association for wind energy companies AEE, and Telmo Vieira, a Partner at Premivalor Consulting.

The winning project entitled Wind Energy Storage Using Hydrogen was entered by students from the University of Zaragoza, supervised by Professor Amaya Martínez Gracia. The projects awarded second and third place were Project BIRD (Bioinspired Inspection and Reparation Drone) presented by students from Rey Juan Carlos University and Project NZED (Net Zero Energy District) presented by students from the University of Seville.

As well as the three winning projects, the following two entries were also shortlisted:

• Project Desconecta: business model based on energy efficiency to drive sustainable construction, presented by students from the University of Seville, the University of Granada and Madrid's Universidad Autónoma.
• Submarine compressed air energy accumulation system in a linear flexible container, presented by students from the University of Santiago de Compostela.

The winning team was awarded a prize of 6,000 euros. The professor who supervised the winning entry was also awarded 3,000 euros. The group awarded second place was awarded 3,000 euros to be distributed among its members, and 1,500 for the project coordinator. And the group in third place was awarded 2,000 for each group member and 1,000 for the supervising professor.

This edition of EDPR University Challenge 2016 has been particularly successful, attracting over 100 university entries presented by over 280 students.

This year's event was hosted by EDP Renewables CEO João Manso Neto who said that 'we have an obligation at EDPR to play a socially responsible role in the markets where we operate, which is why we are so proud to form part of this initiative, which contributes towards training and raising the awareness of future generations about the importance of green and sustainable energies. The quality of the projects submitted this year is extremely high on a technical level, coupled with the fact that they are profitable ideas with a significant social component'.

EDP Renewables launched University Challenge in Spain in 2009, in Portugal in 2007 and this year in Poland. The company has organised this contest every year since then to support universities in the practical application of academic knowledge for the development of projects and ideas in the field of renewable energies. The objective of the Challenge is to act as a liaison between the academic and business worlds, incentivising creativity and innovation, as well as fostering knowledge on the renewable energy sector.

For further information on EDPR University Challenge in Spain, visit the website.