The initiatives selected from the call for energy transition were presented

PRESS RELEASE from the Secretary of Energy of Argentina
9 de noviembre de 2022

13 projects from 25 public and private institutions were awarded for 1,170 million pesos to promote the structural change of the national energy system. The event took place at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires and was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Daniel Filmus, the Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royon, the President of the R&D Agency, Fernando Peirano, among other authorities.

Last Monday, the results of the call for Strategic Projects for the Energy Transition were presented at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires, a financing instrument that seeks to strengthen local scientific, technological and innovation capacities that contribute to the national energy transition process. The event was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Daniel Filmus; the Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royón, the President of the I+D+i Agency, Fernando Peirano; the National Director of FONARSEC, Laura Toledo; the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of the UBA, Alejandro Martínez, and the National Director of Strategic Projects of MINCyT, Érica Carrizo.

Authorities and representatives of the selected projects also participated, both in person and virtually.

In his speech, Filmus explained that “the Ministry of Science and the R&D Agency serve to support development. The different problems that we face, such as health, environment and energy transition, have the same central axis: sovereignty. There is a tendency towards primarization and for our countries to export products without added value, that is why our mission is to foster the conditions to develop our own technologies, which is what generates work, well-being and allows a growth model that at the same time produces wealth, distributes them”.

The Minister of Science highlighted that “this call by the Agency achieves different types of articulations: at the federal level; between a model of technological development of the State and the private sector and, also, between basic research and application capacity. The articulation, at different levels, and the formation of networks, are fundamental to promote our own vision for development based on our own capacities”.

For his part, Royón pointed out: “When we think about how Argentina should develop the energy transition process, the path is with Argentine technology. We have built-in know-how in our petrochemical and metalworking industry, and in its scientific-technological system, this places Argentina in a privileged position with respect to what we can provide from our country to the world in terms of renewables, gas, lithium and biofuels. Our aspiration is that this process be increasingly with greater participation of national components”.

In his turn, Fernando Peirano underlined the importance of setting up a work table between the institutions that are part of the selected projects: "There are 25 key actors with the capacity to decipher the energy transition so that our country can be a producer and not just a user of the new technologies". And he added: “This call reflects the conviction that we can develop our own capacities and solve challenges that the world poses, such as the proper use of natural resources, with a new development model, more federal and with new environmental perspectives and of genre".

For her part, the Director of FONARSEC, Laura Toledo, elaborated in detail the characteristics of this call that convened projects that contribute to the strengthening of local scientific, technological and innovation capacities to achieve structural change in the national energy system.

In addition, the event was attended by representatives of IMPSA, which received different support from the R&D Agency, including the creation of the Technological Center for Renewable Energies in the Cuyo region, aimed at making visible the provision of technological services, the development of human resource training activities and promoting research and the generation of scientific and technical vocations.

The selected projects of this call were the following:

1 - Platform for the evaluation of solar thermal drying and agronomic-environmental use of industrial mud, from Tecsan Environmental Engineering and the UBA.

2 - National Center for Lithium Batteries for the Storage of Renewable Energies and Mobility Solutions (CENBLIT), of INTI and ADIMRA.

3 - Development of experimental platforms and technologies for maximizing wave energy conversion in the Argentine Sea, by QM Equipment SA and CONICET.

4 - Standardized system of electricity generation from biogas of low and medium power connected in parallel with the network, of the National University of Rafaela (UNRaf), Integral Agropecuaria SA and Bounous Hermanos SA.

5 - National development of a high-power electrolyser, for the production of green Hydrogen, by YPF Tecnología SA and CONICET.

6 - Technological development for the national production of electrolyte for lithium batteries "ElectroLitAr", by YPF Tecnología SA, CLORAR Engineering SA, National Atomic Energy Commission ( CNEA ) and CONICET.

7 - Solar thermal concentrator for generating process steam for industrial use, owned by Santa Fe Gas and Renewable Energies SAPEM ( ENERFE ), Fimaco SA and CONICET.

8 - Development of generators based on solid oxide fuel cells fed with hydrogen produced from traditional fuels, from Santa Fe Gas and Renewable Energies SAPEM (ENERFE), the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and CONICET.

9 - Isotope separation of lithium for uses in nuclear technology with high added value, from the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), INVAP and Nucleoeléctrica Argentina SA.

10 - Platform for the validation of catalytic processes, adding value to the oleochemical chain, from CONICET, Varteco Química Puntana SA Santa Fe Gas and SAPEM Renewable Energies (ENERFE).

11 - Energy management through integration into the network of lithium batteries, pilot experience in the Armstrong Cooperative, the Cooperative for the Provision of Limited Public Works and Services of Armstrong (CELAR), the UTN and the National University of General San Martin (UNSAM).

12 - Development, Manufacture and Implementation of the first real-scale Argentine device for harnessing wave energy, by UTN and ASECON SRL.

13 - Design and implementation of a small-scale pendulum wave energy collector for application in beacon buoys in the Bahía Blanca estuary, by the UTN, the CONICET and the Bahía Blanca Port Management Consortium (CGPBB).