ATuAire, an Iberdrola España company, and BASQUENERGY Cluster will help install heat pumps in industry and buildings in the Basque Country
This morning, the Iberdrola Tower in Bilbao hosted the kick-off meeting, at which the working group (WG) on ‘Promoting Heat Pumps’ was set up, coordinated by ATuAire, an Iberdrola España company, with the participation of 12 Basque companies and value chain drivers.
Energy efficiency and electrification are fundamental to the decarbonisation of energy consumption. In this scenario, heat pumps are emerging as a key technology for replacing fossil fuels with renewable electricity in heat generation, both in building air conditioning and in industrial processes. Although this is a mature technology that is available on the market, its deployment has not yet reached the pace necessary to meet the desired objectives.
In line with this challenge, and at the proposal of the company ATuAire, BASQUENERGY Cluster set up the working group ‘Promoting the decarbonisation of energy consumption in the Basque Country based on heat pumps’, which aims to encourage adoption of heat pumps as a solution for the decarbonisation of key sectors in the Basque Country by identifying the main barriers and adopting measures and actions to help overcome them. This will facilitate the development of pilot projects to verify the effectiveness of the measures implemented.
The WG is led by ATuAire, a company specialising in aerothermal energy that Iberdrola España launched in early April to promote this solution. Its goal is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels by electrifying heating and hot water consumption.
Asís Canales, Iberdrola España's representative in the Basque Country and global director of Resources and Services for the Iberdrola Group, opened the session by highlighting that ‘Iberdrola España is actively involved in the economy’s decarbonisation, from the generation of electricity from renewable sources, to distribution grids, to the electrification of consumption, where we have a powerful public electric vehicle charging network. Electrified air conditioning provided by ATuAire is another milestone in Iberdrola's portfolio and its commitment to energy efficiency, security of supply and the fight against climate change’.
Pablo Collado, managing director of ATuAire, explained that 'aerothermal energy turns spending on energy into a profitable investment from day one’ and added that ‘given that 41% of final energy consumption in Spain is for heat, its electrification is essential to achieve total decarbonisation. With ATuAire, Iberdrola España is deepening its climate commitment, offering heat pump solutions that are accessible and adapted to the real needs of businesses and homeowners' associations’.
The WG's actions will also seek to position the Basque industrial ecosystem as a benchmark at the national level, both in the implementation of heat pumps and in the development of the necessary technologies. In the words of José Ignacio Hormaeche, Managing Director of BASQUENERGY Cluster, ‘through this working group, we will seek to identify business opportunities in products and services associated with heat pumps and encourage the participation of Basque companies in their development’.
In addition to the coordinating company ATuAire, this WG brings together 12 Basque companies: AIRLAN, BOSLAN, EKIENERGY, ELDU, GIROA VEOLIA, MARGUBE, ORKLI, SENER, TECNALIA, TELUR and TKNIKA. The Basque Energy Agency is also participating. This diverse composition guarantees a broad perspective and relevant contributions to the technological, industrial and market aspects of heat pump implementation.
ATuAire, focused on the tertiary, industrial and residential sectors, designs tailor-made turnkey solutions combining the most efficient technologies with each customer’s needs. To do this, the ATuAire team of experts analyses the existing infrastructure, energy consumption and comfort requirements and provides a solution that makes the most of existing facilities to avoid any unnecessary work that would drive up the investment.
To facilitate the transition to this technology, the company advances the investment and finances 100% of the project with special conditions from Iberdrola España. It also handles existing grants and subsidies and purchases the energy savings obtained at a competitive price to transform them into energy saving certificates, maximising the return on investment.
In addition, the company is responsible for designing and implementing a tailor-made solution for each customer, including permits, execution and commissioning. Once the installation is operational, the company is also responsible for maintenance and offers a 100% green electricity plan, which includes individualised proposals and offers access to products previously intended for large customers, such as clean power purchase agreements (PPA), so a stable price can be set for supply.
During the kick-off meeting, the WG’s objectives were specified and a joint work plan was agreed upon, setting out the actions to be carried out in the coming months.
You may also be interested in aerothermal:
