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Iberdrola España and the University of Alcalá will work together to develop more efficient, sustainable and secure electricity grids
- The agreements signed between the organisations will allow UofA researchers to work on the search for new technological solutions for smart grids within the framework of the Global Smart Grids Innovation Hub and the Innovation Data Space promoted by i-DE, Iberdrola España's distribution company
Signing of the agreement between the University of Alcalá and Iberdrola España
The University of Alcalá (UofA) and i-DE, Iberdrola España's distribution company, signed an institutional agreement today under which both organisations will work together on innovation projects in smart grids, which will enable them to face the challenges that the system will see in the coming years.
The partnership will take place within the framework of the Global Smart Grids Innovation Hub, the international centre for innovation and knowledge in this area inaugurated by the energy company in 2021 with the support of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and now joined by the UofA, and the Innovation Data Space in which, through artificial intelligence (AI), the aim is to speed up and enhance the extraction of value from data to continue improving the quality of service to customers.
In this way, the academic institution joins this innovative ecosystem, which already includes more than 110 partnering organisations and companies. These include manufacturers, startups, small, medium-sized and large companies, technology centres and universities from all over the world with a common goal: to develop disruptive solutions to hook demand up with renewable generation, the integration of storage systems, electric vehicle penetration and self-consumption, the electrification of heat and the new uses of energy to gain efficient, safe, resilient, sustainable and digitised grids.
As stated in the agreements signed, the University of Alcalá will work with Iberdrola España and the rest of the GSGIH ecosystem to apply the latest technologies, such as AI, augmented reality, digital twins, the use of drones, infrastructure monitoring robots and the latest advances in cybersecurity in electricity grids. Since the creation of the GSGIH, more than 120 innovation projects have been identified that could offer future solutions that could be applied to smart grids.
During the signing ceremony, the Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer of the UofA, Javier de la Mata, said, ‘We are grateful to Iberdrola España for having committed to the University of Alcalá through the GEISER group, which is one of the University of Alcalá's main research groups in terms of productivity. The possibility of accessing this innovation hub is very important for us, because the energy transition is one of the great challenges facing today's world and we have recently seen the consequences of not managing it well. This type of agreement between the university and the company seems to me to be vital’.
Estíbaliz Goñi, Director of Processes and Technology at i-DE, said that ‘it is a great honour for Iberdrola España to be able to count on a university with the prestige that the University of Alcalá has at the Global Smart Grids Innovation Hub. The future is electric and partnering between companies and universities is essential to make progress in electrifying the economy. At our centre we are committed to young talent to innovate together and build the electricity grids of the future. Grids are the cornerstone of the energy transition’.
The agreements signed today by the UofA and i-DE not only allow both organisations to work together to develop new products, materials and technological solutions for distribution networks but also to work together in the transfer of knowledge, through conferences, networking and developing specific talent projects, among other activities.
Innovation Data Space (i-DS), the data ecosystem applied to electricity grids
Both organisations also signed a specific partnership agreement that will allow the UofA to join the Innovation Data Space, the data ecosystem created within the framework of the GSGIH.
The i-DS laboratory is a virtual collaborative innovation space where advanced algorithms applied to the electricity grid are developed and validated based on the secure exchange of data between i-DE and its ecosystem of partners, of which the UofA and its research group GEISER (Electronic Engineering Applied to Renewable Energy Systems), through which the university is developing this work, will now form part.
The centre currently has six ongoing use cases and 39 partners, including tech companies, research centres and universities. The i-DS is driving projects that address key challenges such as demand forecasting, identifying non-technical losses and automating grid asset inventory through AI.
The laboratory incorporates a specific line of work (i-DS Research), aimed at secure data sharing to develop research projects to further explore new technological capabilities for the future.
The strategic information in this space can only be accessed by partners of i-DE, Iberdrola Group, who work with the latter in the search for AI applications to speed up and enhance the extraction of value to improve the service provided by the distribution grids.
Iberdrola España is the world's leading private energy company in terms of investment in R&D&I (research, development and innovation), according to the European Commission. After investing €402M in 2024, the company has set itself the target of reaching €4B by 2030. It aims to improve its processes, the operating conditions and safety of its facilities, as well as reduce its environmental impact.
I-DE manages and maintains more than 265,000 kilometres of electricity distribution lines, which extend across 10 Spanish autonomous communities and 25 provinces, covering an area of approximately 200,000 km². It also has more than 99,000 transformation centres in service and 1,185 substations to offer the best service to its 11.4 million customers. I-DE invested more than €40M in innovative projects in 2024.
The University of Alcalá is one of the oldest universities in Spain and one of the five universities in the world declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is recognised by the most important international rankings as one of the best universities in the world. It is also an inclusive and open university committed to society, which contributes to the advancement of knowledge and the comprehensive training of people through quality teaching, excellence in research and promoting ethical and socially responsible attitudes.
