UC Davis faculty and staff recently joined Spanish business leaders and researchers for a workshop on renewable energy, the first “showcase” of the kind envisioned by the university and the Madrid regional government in an agreement signed by Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter in mid-2013.

Levine, left, and Dodd

The UC Davis School of Education and Office of Research organized the workshop in partnership with the Madrid Network, comprising more than 750 businesses large and small, research centers and universities. The innovation-focused network represents the Madrid region’s government, Comunidad de Madrid, in the agreement with UC Davis.

Dean Harold Levine of the School of Education leads the UC Davis side of the agreement, which aims to increase intellectual, academic, scientific, business and cultural relations between UC Davis and Comunidad de Madrid.

“This first workshop was an extraordinary success, highlighting the cutting-edge basic and applied work that is done at UC Davis on energy renewables and energy policy,” Levine said. “We look forward to working with the Madrid Network on our next showcase, planned for late spring.”

Levine and Paul Dodd, associate vice chancellor, Office of Research, gave opening remarks at the workshop, held Dec. 9-10 in Madrid.

“The development of new international research partnerships is a key element in growing UC Davis’ global profile,” Dodd said upon his return. “Renewable energy research is a recognized strength at Davis, and this first workshop has highlighted a number of opportunities to partner with Madrid-based academic and commercial research groups.”

The program comprised five themed sessions:

• Overview of renewable energy research at UC Davis — Presented by Anthony Eggert, executive director, Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy.

• Key challenges and future trends in the energy sector (grids, energy storage, smart meters, big data, smart cities, etc.) — Benjamin Finkelor, executive director, Energy Efficiency Center, addressed this topic from a California perspective, while Javier Dufour, associate senior researcher, Energy Institute, Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies, offered the European perspective. Eggert then moderated a discussion on future trends in the energy sector, and Finkelor was among the panelists, joining representatives of these Spanish companies: Factorverde, N2S, Enel-Endesa and Repsol.

• Solar energy — Carlos del Cañzo, director, Solar Energy Institute, Polytechnic University of Madrid, spoke on the present and future of photovoltaic electricity; Gergely Zimanyi, physics professor, spoke on photovoltaic research at UC Davis; and Pieter Stroeve, distinguished professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, spoke on UC Davis’ California Solar Energy Collaborative (he’s the co-director) and hybrid photovoltaic systems at UC Davis West Village. Zimanyi and Stroeve then joined a solar energy panel discussion with representatives from three global energy companies, all doing business in Spain; and Manuel Romero, deputy director, Energy Institute, Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies.

• Wind Energy — With talks by Case Van Dam, professor and chair, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, on the UC Davis-based California Wind Energy Collaborative; and Jose Marín, general manager, Solute Ingenieros, a Spanish engineering company, on Madrid wind energy. Van Dam then joined a panel discussion with Santiago Arnaltes, professor of electric engineering, Carlos III University (Madrid); Mauro Villanueva, director of technology development, Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica of Spain; and Alberto Orejana, investment manager, Taiga Mistral, a Madrid-based private equity management company.

• International funding opportunities in all areas (solar, wind, biomass and policy) — Levine served as the moderator of this discussion, and Dodd was among the panelists, joining Diego Diaz, head of new ventures for the global energy company Iberdrola, based in Bilbao, Spain; Rebeca Frias of the Center for the Development of Industrial Technology, a Spanish public organization, under the Ministry of Science and Innovation, whose objective is to help Spanish companies to increase their technological profile; and Miguel Lizaso of KPMG, a global audit, tax and advisory firm.

Earlier coverage: “UC Davis establishes research presence in Madrid,” news release (June 3, 2013)

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