The European R&D project NEXTOWER, funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme, has won the prestigious Standards+Innovation award presented by the European standardization organizations CEN and CENELEC.
These awards recognise the important contribution of research and innovation to standardisation, as well as the work of researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs. The awards are granted to outstanding projects and individuals that have been nominated by national members of CEN and CENELEC, including the Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE.
NEXTOWER project, which won the award from all the European candidates, and was nominated by UNE, which is one of the19 European companies that form part of this consortium. UNE is the standardisation body with the largest presence in European R&D&i projects, contributing to nearly 80 projects.
The consortium, coordinated by the Italian research agency ENEA, also includes other Spanish companies such as CIEMAT (Research Centre in Energy, Environment and Technology), the University of Burgos, the International Centre for Advanced Materials and Raw Materials of Castilla y León (ICACCyL) and the company R2M Solution.
NEXTOWER develops innovative materials to advance the performance of concentrated solar power systems (CSP) based on atmospheric air, to make them commercially viable. It has made two main contributions to the standardisation of advanced ceramic materials: the development of a European CWA regulatory document and the modification of the international standard ISO 18755. These activities are a strategic tool to increase the impact and recognition of project results in the industry and boost the implementation of CSP technology.
NEXTOWER has won the award thanks to its "extensive contribution to standardisation activities, both at European and international level, and because of its use of standardisation for making commercially viable a new innovative technology which will help to increase the efficiency of renewable energy sources."
The award was announced today during the "Standards+Innovation Awards 2020" webinar, organised by CEN and CENELEC, in which Javier García, Director General at UNE and Vice-President Technical of CENELEC, and Vincent Laflèche, President of CEN, participated.
During his presentation, Javier García presented the CEN-CENELEC Innovation Plan and explained how R&D projects have strategic allies in standardization and standardization organizations to make their results reach the market faster and more effectively.
In this year's edition, UNE put forward two H2020 projects as candidates for the awards: WiseGRID, coordinated by the Spanish company ETRA I+D and NEXTOWER, as well as Joan Guasch, Director of International Development and Public R&D&i Programmes at the EURECAT Technology Centre.
