Professor Emilio Gómez, director of the Renewable Energy Research Institute at UCLM, and professor in the Department of Electrical, Electronic, Automatic, and Communications Engineering, as well as the School of Industrial Engineering in Albacete, presented the latest advances in "grid-forming" technology for network integration technologies using electronic converters, particularly in wind, photovoltaic solar, and energy storage systems.
The presentation of research project results in this area took place during the first Annual Forum on Energy Science, Technology, and Innovation of the Energy Platforms Committee (CPE), held on December 12 at the State Research Agency (AEI).
The event brought together key public and private sector actors who contributed their strategic knowledge and perspectives to stimulate debate and promote collaboration on significant challenges and opportunities for innovation and the energy transition. The event included representation from 12 technological and innovation platforms (REOLTEC, GEOPLAT, FOTOPLAT, PTECO2, CEIDEN, BIOPLAT, SOLPLAT, BATTERYPLAT, PTe H2, Solar Concentra, Futured, and PTe EE).
Professor Gómez Lázaro's presentation was part of the forum's first thematic block,"Research and Science to Advance the Energy Transition." He discussed the current state of "grid-forming" systems for electronic converters, both in terms of their present development and major global initiatives in research, development, and standardization. Likewise, UCLM's Research Center presented results achieved within the framework of research projects PID2021-126082OB-C21 (funded by the State Research Agency and FEDER), PRE2022-102783 (funded by State Research Agency) and SBPLY/23/180225/000226 (funded by the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha and FEDER).
Additionally, the forum featured significant institutional representation from three ministries. Representing the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, Domènec Espriu Climent, Director General of the State Research Agency, and Juan Antonio Tébar, Director of Innovation Policies at the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (Cdti Innovación), emphasized the crucial role of technological and innovation platforms as a link between administrations, businesses, and research centers. Both highlighted the critical moment the energy sector is experiencing and the need to promote innovation to ensure national and European competitiveness and to support industrialization.
Meanwhile, Jordi García Brustenga, Director General of Industrial Strategy and SMEs at the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism, underscored the event's relevance and the need for inter-ministerial coordination to address Spain's dual transition: ecological and digital. He also highlighted the role of Spanish industry not only as a driver of competitiveness, job creation, and employment traction but also as a motor of innovation, security, and resilience in the face of global challenges.
From the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Lucía Blanco Cano, Deputy Director General of Energy Forecasting and Statistics, emphasized Spain's competitive advantages, such as its renewable resources, technological talent, and solid strategic framework. She also reviewed the progress reflected in the recently updatedNational Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (Pniec) and its expected benefits in terms of climate neutrality, strategic autonomy, and socioeconomic gains.