Nematia, which was accelerated by the Entrepreneurs Fund, is taking part in a business consortium that has received €5 million in funding from the European Commission to work on a project that aims to create new materials and architectures for solar thermal energy.
The European Commission has awarded H2020 – IN POWER funding to a consortium of businesses whose participants include Nematia, which developed the Reflexis project, which was selected in the second call of Fundación Repsol’s Entrepreneurs Fund. The leaders of the project visited the office the Regional Government of Andalusia in Brussels (Belgium) to talk about the funding they had received and describe the progress made on their technology for polymeric mirrors.
As Alejandro Donaire, CEO of Nematia, explained, «Eight years ago we embarked on the technological challenge of developing a new idea for a solar reflector. Our goal was to create an alternative to the glass mirrors that are currently used at solar thermal power plants. At this point we are working on scaling the mirror and implementing the technology and its applications«. Donaire also commented on the main features of the Reflexis technology, which was developed during the two years it was accelerated by the Entrepreneurs Fund, and the general guidelines of the European H2020 project.
Francisca Pleguezuelos, representative of the Regional Government of Andalusia in Brussels, and Roberto Jiménez, Entrepreneurs Fund acceleration manager, also spoke at the event. Jiménez presented Fundación Repsol’s funding programme for entrepreneurs and answered questions about participation in the sixth call, which is currently accepting applications. Other attendees included Rafael López Revuelta and Fernando Pedruelo Nuche, two tutors from Fundación Repsol who provided guidance on the Reflexis project during the two years it was being accelerated by the Entrepreneurs Fund.
Many of Nematia’s technology partners in the European project were also at the event, along with several representatives of Spanish governmental delegations in Brussels.
Horizon 2020 is the EU’s largest research and innovation programme, with almost €80 billion of funding available over a seven-year period (2014-2020). It aims to promote the development of laboratory research, so that their fruits may reach the market. Horizon 2020 funding is provided through work programmes that last several years.
Other projects accelerated by Fundación Repsol’s Entrepreneurs Fund, such as the SME Instrument – Horizon 2020, have also received European funding.