Having recently launched its I’MNOVATION open innovation program in Chile, ennomotive has attracted the support of Canada’s Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) in furthering ACCIONA’s sustainable and renewable energy goals with the project.

ACCIONA has been present in Chile for over a decade and has more than 3,000 professionals that develop large infrastructure, water, industrial, and service projects.

The goal of the I’MNOVATION program is to transform the mining, energy, and construction industries to become more sustainable in Chile, according to CEMI. In this sense, eight challenges have been identified in areas with big potential for growth for ACCIONA, related to digital transformation and the fight against climate change in Chile, CEMI said.

One key area of this program is sustainable mining, where ACCIONA intends to provide solutions for Chile mining companies to make their operations safer and more environmental-friendly.

The second area is renewable energy where there are many ongoing projects in Chile and ACCIONA is one of the global leaders in this sector, according to CEMI. The company is looking for solutions to improve the efficiency of distributed generation grids, optimise the operation and maintenance of thermal solar plants and scale up renewables to isolated construction works to reduce the carbon footprint.

The third area focuses on Smart Cities and mobility, the use of electric vehicles in big cities and airports like the one in Santiago de Chile.

ACCIONA is looking for startups to provide technological solutions to solve these challenges. The best proposals will be awarded $25,000 to build a real-life pilot on site in Chile, with such pilots executed in collaboration with ACCIONA and going on for a three-month period.

Under the renewable energy challenges, ACCIONA is looking for management and network stability services through the control of consumption and renewable generation; energy sustainability in temporary, isolated construction works; and efficiency in operation and maintenance of a CSP and solar power plant using real-time weather and market data.

Its sustainable mining challenges include one around the efficiency and digitalisation of the copper leaching process; safety and health monitoring for on-site workers; and monitoring of piping systems for both tailings and copper concentrates.

The deadline to participate in the challenges is the October 28. See www.ennomotive.com/startup-competitions-mining/ for more details.