PRESS RELEASE

THE WINNERS OF THE 4TH SACYR INNOVATION AWARDS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED The Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, presided over the award ceremony, held yesterday in Madrid

Madrid, 11 April 2014.- The award ceremony of the 4th edition of the Sacyr Innovation Awards was held yesterday, presided over by the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, and the Chairman of Sacyr, Manuel Manrique.
A special mention was also given to Dr. Carmen Andrade and the staff of Sacyr who are working on the Panama Canal project, for their innovative contribution to the third set of locks within the Panama Canal expansion project.
Carmen Andrade expressed her gratitude for the mention and stressed that "in Sacyr's participation in the production of concrete, the site team showed themselves to be highly skilled in assimilating and implementing innovative proposals".
The Sacyr Innovation Awards, now celebrating their fourth edition, grant public recognition to those who, individually or collectively, carry out research and work on innovative, creative and pioneering projects, developments and ideas, broached as ambitious challenges in moving forward and building on knowledge.
The awards included a 6,000-euro prize in each of the three categories, whose winners on this occasion were:

• Rafael Aparicio Sánchez from Valencia, for the project "Harnessing of energy from the sea waves with a design that imitates the flamingo's beak", in the category

Technological and Environmental Innovation.

The team of architects Langarita-Navarro from Madrid, for the adaptation project of the old Belgian Sawmills for the Medialab-Prado arts centre in the category Construction Project.

Métode magazine, for the monograph: "The Strength of the World. Energy in the

Post-Industrial Age" in the category Technological and Economic Journalism. The finalists in the three categories were:

1. Technological and Environmental Innovation:

Raquel Gracia Fernández, for the project "Development of a power source for the capture and use of thermal body energy";
Leandro Victoria Navas and Aurelio Arenas Dalla Vecchia, for the project "Sound- absorbing screens to be applied to road and railway layouts".

2. Construction Project:

Elena Robles, Miguel Cabanes, Pedro Gambín from the architectural firm MACLA, for the Refurbishment Project of the old San Juan de Dios hospital to convert it into the María Moliner Public Library and History Archive in Orihuela in Alicante;
The architectural firm Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, for the Social Housing Block in
Barajas, Madrid.

3. Technological and Economic Journalism:

Elena Sanz Pérez de Guzmán with the report "Ten Major Challenges for Science" from the magazine Muy Interesante.
Manuel Ansede Vázquez with the article "Cancer Has Industrial Applications" from the website Materia.
The Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, closed the event thanking the finalists and prize-winners for their commitment to innovation, especially in these difficult times, emphasising that this involves committing to the future of Spain and its competitiveness. She also wished to highlight Sacyr's tremendous work in the Panama Canal expansion works, in which the company has overcome the building challenges that arose. Finally, she wished to draw attention to the work of the group chaired by Manuel Manrique in its firm commitment to innovation.
During the award ceremony, Manuel Manrique declared that: "at Sacyr we use innovation to give impetus to our strategic plan: the opening of new international markets, the forging of alliances and the consolidation of our main businesses are some of our cornerstones. For this reason, we decided to establish these Sacyr Innovation Awards which see their fourth edition".
In this edition of the Sacyr Innovation Awards, we have chosen the three winning entries from among almost one hundred candidates. As in the first three editions, the awards have once again been a resounding success, both in terms of the number of entries and the exceptionally high quality of the candidate projects.
The fourth edition of the Sacyr Innovation Awards has been graced by an expert panel of judges led by Manuel Manrique Cecilia, the Chairman of Sacyr, along with external experts who include: María Luisa Castaño Marín, General Director for Innovation and Competitiveness at the Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness; Rafael de La-Hoz, director of Rafael de La-Hoz Arquitectos; Álvaro Ibáñez, editor of the specialised website Microsiervos; Jacinto García Santiago, Expert in Construction R+D; and Enrique Coperías Jiménez, sub-director of the magazine Muy Interesante and secretary of the panel of judges.

distributed by