ACCIONA receives a prize from the University of Cantabria for its contribution to R&D+i at university level

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ACCIONA has been awarded the XIV Premio Fundación Torres Quevedo a la Colaboración-Empresarial for its work with the University of Cantabria (UC), of which the Foundation is a part. The prize recognizes ACCIONA’s track record with the university’s research groups and has the fundamental objective of highlighting the importance of university-company cooperation in the field of innovation.

In his speech, ACCIONA Vice-president Juan Ignacio Entrecanales, who received the award from the University’s Rector, José Carlos Gómez Sal, highlighted the close relationship between the Company and the University of Cantabria (UC) for over fifteen years. The result has been a number of innovation projects in civil engineering and energy (roads, railroads, new materials…) and technical consultancy work, laboratory studies applied to business, doctoral theses and research grants.

ACCIONA was nominated for the prize by the Construction Technology Research Group of the UC with the support of its Materials Engineering Science Division Laboratory and Environmental Hydraulics Institute. The company has worked with them all on many projects in recent years.  

The award ceremony, which took place today in the Faculty of Law and Economics of the UC, was presided by Ignacio Diego, President of Cantabria, and was also attended by the University’s Rector, José Carlos Gómez Sal.

The Fundación Torres Quevedo a la Colaboración-Empresarial awards, bestowed by the Leonardo Torres Quevedo Foundation for the last fourteen years, aim to stimulate and disseminate scientific research within the framework of the Universidad de Cantabriaand also encourage cooperation with the business world to bring innovation closer to society. Prizewinners in previous years have been Telefónica I+D, Dragados, Grupo Santander, Fagor or Ineco-Tifsa.

The Leonardo Torres Quevedo Foundation is a non-profit organization whose main objectives are to stimulate and disseminate scientific and technical  research in the University of Cantabria’s International Excellence Campus, accredited by the Spanish Government. This involves attracting external resources for R&D, training courses for technology professionals, and consolidating the UC’s Technological Development Center as a facility and model for cooperation between research groups and companies to generate new technology-based companies.

ACCIONA stands out for its efforts in innovation. In 2013 – the last year for which figures are available – it spent 173.2 million euros in the field, 5% more than the previous year, putting the company in 447^th position in the Booz & Company index of enterprises with the highest level of activity in innovation worldwide. Innovation helps ACCIONA improve its competitiveness and it has been a key factor in achieving CO2 reduction objectives and improving its water footprint.