ACCIONA presents the first zero-emissions electric car for the Dakar Rally at Conama

In this edition of the Spanish National Environment Conference (Conama 2014) ACCIONA is presenting its new “sustainable challenge”, the first electric car to compete in the Dakar only powered by clean energy. With this zero-emissions car, ACCIONA completes the trilogy of 100% EcoPowered vehicles it began back in 2011 with the rocket-powered sled that reached the South Pole, continuing with its participation in the 2012 edition of the Vendeé Globe with a yacht that went round the world without making stopovers or using fossil fuel. ACCIONA, which will be on stand 51 BIS in the Palacio Municipal de Congresos de Madrid, is providing visitors with detailed information on the technology used in the vehicle. Research work has been done for over two years, based on a high-efficiency synchronous electric motor, four removable ion-lithium battery packs and a system of photovoltaic panels.

In this edition of CONAMA, whose theme is the Low-Carbon Economy, ACCIONA’s stand will also showcase the company’s main environmental magnitudes, which accounted for 42% of sales and 85% of its EBITDA from activities defined as “Green Economy” by the United Nations Environment Programme. These measures avoided the emission of more than 24 times the C02 generated by the company’s productive activity.

ACCIONA will also take part in a number of work sessions on the relationships between companies and biodiversity, and on energy efficiency measures applied to buildings.

In the field of biodiversity, ACCIONA will be present in the “Empresas y Biodiversidad” [1] work group on 27 November, where it will explain the photo-trap project carried out by its Environment and Biodiversity Unit. It consists of placing cameras in and around its facilities (wind farms, treatment plants, desalination plants, roads, vineyards…) that are automatically triggered by movement, so they allow research into the behavior of local wildlife. The approximately thirty cameras installed by the company have taken more than 19,000 photographs and videos of 80% of the carnivorous mammal species present in the Iberian Peninsula, plus several non-carnivorous species of mammals and birds. This demonstrates that the facilities do not cause a “vacuum effect” and leads to major findings from the scientific and environmental points of view about the behavior and geographical distribution of animals such as wolves, bears or wildcats.

The firm will also inform about progress in some of its research projects in the area of energy efficiency for buildings during the working session titled “Soluciones tecnológicas para la edificación [2]” on 25 November. Staff from ACCIONA Infraestructuras’s R&D Center will speak about the following research projects: Messib (Multi-source Energy Storage Systems Integrated in Buildings), NANOPCM ("New Advanced Insulation Phase Change Materials") and StorePET, all aimed at maximizing insulation in homes. These solutions include incorporating phase change materials (PCMs) to block thermal transfer, i.e. they stop cold or heat passing inside buildings, thus reducing energy consumption and improving thermal comfort.

[1] Companies and Sustainability

[2]Techonological solutions for buildings