The Regional Government of Andalusia and Abengoa launch the Soland Center

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B), the company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, and the Innovation and Development Agency of Andalusia (IDEA), part of the Regional Ministry of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment, today opened their new solar Research, Development and Innovation (R&D+i) center at the Soland Center building in the Soland business innovation park in Sanlucar la Mayor, Seville. The center was opened by Jose Antonio Grinan, president of the regional government of Andalusia, and Felipe Benjumea, chairman of Abengoa, in front of representatives from various institutions related to and interested in the project. During the ceremony, Abengoa and IDEA signed an agreement to formalize their collaboration.

Those attending the event were able to visit the center and see the state-of-the-art facilities in its laboratories as well as the innovative infrastructures that will be available to researchers to develop solar technology projects.

This new center will bring together numerous human and material resources from Abengoa in the area of R&D+i. This is an important investment for developing sustainable solar products and technology that will help solve today's energy requirements, as well as being a key piece of infrastructure in Abengoa's growth and expansion that will accelerate the development and commercialization of new solar technologies.

Furthermore, this new technology infrastructure offers new capabilities in solar, optical, chemistry and electronics laboratories, the classification of materials and reliability, as well as a pilot plant for developing photovoltaic solar technology. It therefore facilitates the whole process from the research stage through to operating and commercially maintaining the technology, including the technological development and validation stages.

The new infrastructures and their strategic location will enable multidisciplinary teams to work in an integrated way, collating and sharing useful data and information, and reducing learning and commissioning times of new solar technologies.

The Soland Center building covers 3,500 square meters over three floors and a basement. In addition to the new R&D+i center, part of the building's basement will house the permanent headquarters of the Soland Foundation, the technology agent for the park, which will include space to offer support to technology-based companies.

The Soland Center required a total investment of €3.2 million, including direct incentives and financial support from the Regional Ministry of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment through the Fund for Generating Productive Spaces and the Global Innovation-Technology-Enterprise Subsidy 2007-2013, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), both of which are managed by IDEA.

This agreement between Abengoa and IDEA is driving the development of solar power and strengthening Andalusia and Abengoa's respective positions in this sector. This center will further consolidate Abengoa's commitment to R&D, as well as its position as a world leader in solar technology research.

Soland Enterprise Innovation Park

This park, created as a space for technological excellence to support companies and institutions in the field of renewable energy, is jointly promoted by IDEA and Sanlucar la Mayor town council. The park also attracts private entities through the Soland Foundation, which consists of the developers of the park itself, IDEA and Sanlucar town council, as well as organizations such as Red Electrica de Espana, Abengoa, Abengoa Solar, Green Power, CTAER (Renewable Energy Advanced Technology Center) and Caixabank.

The park also forms part of a "technology opportunity area" covering a total of 200 hectares defined in the Territorial Zoning Plan of Urban Seville (POTAUS). The project will create around 2,500 jobs and required public investment of €20.2 million.

About Abengoa

Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B) applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, generating electricity from renewable resources, converting biomass into biofuels and producing drinking water from sea water.

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SOURCE Abengoa