Sacyr iLabs is our innovation lab. A place where we launch pilot projects to check for their viability in the shortest time possible, in a flexible way and providing the maximum value to our businesses. It is the umbrella that encompasses all of Sacyr's innovation projects.
Last June iFriday, we got an update on the progress of some of the innovation projects focused on sustainability that Sacyr has executed in the past year. Solutions that allow us to answer to our challenges and in our endeavor of changing the world. We talked with Ana Benavent, Optimization, Improvement, and Innovation from Valoriza Medioambiente, David Comellas, AEInnova, Daniel Muñoz, Geothermics and Energy Efficiency Sacyr Engineering and Infrastructures, Jesús Palma, Electrochemical Processes Unit IMDEA, Pedro Parrilla, Setas de Sevilla Sacyr Concesiones, Tapio Rosenius, Skandal Technologies.
Sacyr iLabs, the place where our projects come true
At Sacyr, creativity, teamwork, and, of course, innovation, are present in each project we tackle. We are constantly searching for new ideas that help us overcome challenges, collaborating with the best talent from inside and outside our company.
Sacyr iLabs is the area where we carry out all our innovation projects. Real projects that allow us to answer challenges, favoring our activities improvement and promote business growth.
At Sacyr iLabs we work hand in hand with our different business units and the most disruptive innovation agents in the market. All of it with the common goal to guarantee these new solutions are applied at Sacyr and create the maximum value for our company.
Battery Less-Sensor, IoT to predict breakdowns
“Battery Less Sensor” is a project consisting of advanced industrial sensorization to predict averías and deviations from industrial processes in the field of energy by measuring temperature and vibrations without using batteries and communicating through long-range wireless networks.
An initiative that represents a great improvement of our industrial processes and where the confluence of different technologies has been very present. According to Ana Benavent, Optimization, Improvement, and Innovation from Valoriza Medioambiente, “Innovation lays on how these sensors generate electricity and self-supply without the need of a battery. We are using new technologies like IoT or Data Analytics to predict patterns that will help us minimize production stoppage and anticipate any potential stoppages that make us less efficient”.
A project that we are developing with startup Alternative Energy Innovations (AEInnova) and reinforces our bet on promoting collaboration with the innovation community. “We are aware that the relationship with big companies is not always easy. Processes tend to be complex, long, and complicated. In the case of Sacyr, it’s not like that, thanks to the fact that the people behind the company have always been collaborative and open to help. All of this has facilitated the progress of this project”, points out David Comellas from AEInnova.
GeoBATT, thermic energy for more sustainable buildings
GeoBATT is an initiative which goal is to develop a new energy technology that supplies climatization systems in buildings, based on hybridization of thermal energy underground storage (low-enthalpy geothermal energy) with storing electric energy through flow batteries.
A solution that revolves around geothermic energy, unknown to many. “When we speak of geothermic energy it's sometimes confusing. It simply is the study of stored heat and created inside the earth. It is classified by enthalpy, which is the most like temperature. When we have a high temperature, it can produce steam and we can use that steam to power turbines and produce electric energy”, points out Daniel Muñoz, Geotermia y Eficiencia Energética Sacyr Ingeniería e Infraestructuras.
GeoBATT is a project that represents the collective effort of the greatest talent from inside and outside our company. An initiative where we have worked for hand in hand with the Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA), facing different challenges and solving the different needs that came up throughout the development of the project. According to Jesús Palma, Unidad de Procesos Electroquímicos de IMDEA, “Normally, whenever companies face an inconveniente they tend to not have a plan B. In the case of Sacyr, there is not only one plan B, but there are also two, three, four options, and each one is better than the last”.
Aurora, Smart lighting for a unique experience
Aurora is a smart lighting project that we are carrying out in Las Setas de Sevilla jointly with startup Skandal Technologies. “With Aurora, we have created what we consider to be one of the largest immersive shows in the world. It is a live experience that changes with temperature, the wind, and through very natural patterns. We have installed movement sensors, sound on every walkway and software that can control the show remotely”, affirms Pedro Parrilla, Setas de Sevilla Sacyr Concesiones.
Aurora uses the most innovative technologies and advanced LED design and image recognition software to create a new concept of immersive lighting that makes this space a special place. According to Tapio Rosenius from Skandal Technologies, “the lights are constantly changing, moving, but in a natural way. We use biometric algorithms to create these movement patterns. We have hundreds of parameters that affect the visual appearance and allow us to create a unique experience”.
Apart from Aurora, we have put a series of improvements in place to expand the offer of Las Setas de Sevilla, such as a deep renovation of the website, the immersive room Feeling Sevilla, or the launch of an innovative app that includes augmented reality resources to explain the city’s main touristic landmarks. The presentation of these new experiences took place last July 15, coinciding with this singular asset’s tenth anniversary.
