- This is the largest entrepreneurship event in Southern Europe
- The company has participated as jurors in several of the startup competitions and round tables
- The eleventh edition of the event focuses on sustainability
Ferrovial participated this week in the eleventh edition of the South Summit. The event, which took place in La Nave, Madrid, between the 7th and 9th of June, is the most impactful meeting dedicated to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and innovation in Southern Europe. The company has been one of the major multinationals involved in the conference since its inauguration in 2012.
Ferrovial has had a broad participation of its employees, present both in the juries of some of categories of the competition, as well as in round tables on the future of the energy transition, the challenges of startups in their work with construction companies, and the role of large corporations in innovation.
Gonzalo Nieto, CEO of Ferrovial’s Energy Infrastructure and Mobility division, and Aránzazu Rodríguez, manager of the Center of Excellence for Sustainability and Energy, participated on Wednesday 7 in the panel “Energy Transition as an Opportunity,” where experts discussed regulatory aspects, investment strategies, and the development of energy infrastructures to create a more sustainable future.
“There is a need to create new opportunities in energy solutions and to involve new actors,” said Gonzalo Nieto. “Innovation is a must in order to move the energy transition forward in an affordable way.”
On the second day of the conference, Manuel Martinez, manager of open innovation, participated in the panel discussion “The Role of Companies in the Creation of Cutting-Edge Technology”, and Luis Amorim, director of open innovation at Ferrovial Construction, moderated the debate “Challenges ConTech startups face when trying to develop a long-term partnership with a general contractor”.
“The construction industry is still understanding what open innovation means”, said Luis Amorim. “We know it’s critical for general contractors to innovate, but we’re still figuring out in what ways. The industry is going to change a lot in ten years.”
In this tenth installment, South Summit has set its focus on the sustainability goals committed to for 2030 and the progress made and pending in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The organization has featured innovative initiatives that combat climate change from the latest technological advances. Among many other collaborations, Ferrovial presented its project to reuse second-life batteries to generate electricity for public lighting, together with the Spanish startup BeePlanet, and Ikongreen, its green energy generation solution for construction sites.
