The H2020 SolAqua - Accessible, reliable and affordable solar irrigation for Europe and beyond project received an Honorable Mention, in the category of 'Sustainability' in the “The Best of Technological Portugal” awards, attributed by the Exame Informática magazine.
This was the 14th edition of “Os Melhores do Portugal Tecnológico”, awarded by Exame Informática magazine, with the support of Visão magazine, which annually distinguishes the institutions, projects and individuals that most contributed to the creation of knowledge and the generation of wealth of technological base in Portugal. Exame Informática is a Technology publication, founded in 1995, available on paper, as a monthly magazine, and on the internet, in addition to having a weekly program on the SIC Notícias television channel.
The awards comprise eight categories attributed by the Exame Informática editorial team - 'National Brand', 'Computer Brand', 'Smartphones Brand', 'Product of the Year', 'Innovation', 'Sustainability', 'Volt', 'Application / Platform'- and also the 'Personality' award chosen by a guest jury, consisting of José Tribolet, president of INESC, Pedro Veiga, University of Lisbon; Arlindo Oliveira, president of Instituto Superior Técnico; and Sérgio Magno, director of Exame Informática. In each category, an entity is distinguished with the prize for that area and two honorable mentions are also given. The SolaQua project was distinguished in the 'Sustainability' area, which was won by the Windflot project, and which also recognized the company AgroGrIN with another Honorable Mention.
The awards ceremony of the 2020 edition had an online format due to the current pandemic crisis, took place on November 18th, with streaming on the websites of Exame Informática and Visão magazines, and is available on the respective websites and social media. You can also recall the journalistic report “Solaqua - Solar light in Alter do Chão” on the website of Exame Informática.
Solar energy for irrigation
SolAqua is a Horizon 2020 project (nº 952879) supported by a transnational consortium that aims to increase the share of renewable energy in Europe, through the combination of photovoltaic and hydraulic technology with high efficiency irrigation. This solar irrigation will make it possible to supply energy for irrigation with zero emissions and a cost up to 70% lower than existing fossil fuel-based solutions.
In a context where the energy model of European agriculture requires a large amount of energy to pump water for irrigated crops, with high financial and environmental costs, solar irrigation presents great potential for application, and is still unexploited for non-technological reasons, such as unawareness of existing solutions and the lack of skills in solar irrigation among irrigators, local SMEs and public authorities.
In the first phase, the project intends to produce seven key materials and tools for the adoption of the solar irrigation market, such as the definition of quality standards and methodologies for economic and environmental assessment. Later, a dissemination and communication plan will be promoted, aimed at stakeholders in Europe and North Africa, on solar irrigation and on the project's exploitation plan.
The SolaQua project consortium has 11 organizations from six countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco and Romania): Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Euromediterranean Irrigators Community (EIC), Conference des Regions Peripheriques Maritimes d'Europe (CRPM), Consiglio dell' Ordine Nazionale del Dottori Agronomi and dei Dottori Forestali (CONAF), University of Évora (UÉ), Università degli Studi di Sassari (UNISS), Institute Agronomique Veterinaire Hassan II (IAV), Gobierno de Aragón (GA), Generalitat Valenciana (GV), Consiliul Judetean Calarasi (CJC), and Abarca Companhia de Seguros SA.
