After signing the agreement, José Luis Bilbao commented that it “will make a powerful contribution to making Bizkaia a leader in the field of electric vehicles and sustainable transport”.
Meanwhile, Ignacio Galán expressed his satisfaction on two counts: “Firstly, we have established another parternship relation with the Provincial Authority and, of course, with the Basque country, our home. And secondly, this agreement is intrinsically linked to innovation, technology, and, consequently, our competitiveness”.
This agreement reflects the Provincial Authority of Bizkaia’s commitment to innovation as a driver of improved business productivity and as a guarantee of stable employment, now and in the future. To that end, the Authority is encouraging and reinforcing research projects of excellence and promoting the development of international benchmark centres. It is focusing especially on initiatives related to electric vehicles for their positive impact on the automotive industry, energy efficiency, environmental quality and industrial growth, within the all-important framework of sustainability.
This explains for firm commitment of the AIC, the only centre in Europe dedicated to generating value for the automotive industry, which is focusing on coordinating highly qualified, market-oriented professionals through whom it plans to set up the networks and required infrastructure to ensure the rollout of the electric car as quickly and smoothly as possible.
The signing of this agreement also underscores Iberdrola’s firm support of the wider use of electric vehicles, whether fully electric or hybrid. Iberdrola believes this will be beneficial for society, will represent an important technological development for the power and automobile sectors and will also clearly help preserve the environment by reducing emissions and by boosting the use of renewable energies, an area in which the company is a world leader.
Iberdrola is currently involved in a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging the development of the electric car, including projects related to the international standardisation and progressive roll-out of charging points, the development of smart distribution networks and the integration of this type of vehicle into the power system. The company is also one of the signatories of the memorandum drawn up by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade designed to promote the use of the electric vehicle in Spain.
Under the agreement signed by José Luis Bilbao and Ignacio Galán, Iberdrola will advise the Provincial Authority of Bizkaia and the AIC on a range of issues related to electric vehicles. The company will also share its knowledge of technological advances, new trends and the development of standards for recharging infrastructures for electric vehicles. It will also work with the AIC and its member manufacturers on the development of batteries and recharging systems, vehicle identification systems, payment methods, etc., now and in the future.
Iberdrola company will also take part in Spanish and International research projects in partnership with the AIC and selected manufacturers belonging to the AIC.
Iberdrola and the Provincial Authority of Bizkaia have also agreed to be open to the possibility of extending the agreement to include other institutions and public or private entities that wish to take part in national or international R&D projects related to the electric car.
Iberdrola, with wind energy operations in 23 countries, is world leader in its sector in both installed capacity (with nearly 11,000 MW at the end of 2009) and output (over 21,000 million kWh).
Iberdrola has become the second-largest operator in the US, with operations in 20 states and installed wind power capacity of nearly 3,600 MW –over 30% of the company’s global capacity- spread over 39 wind farms. The company, which already employs over 800 people in the US –nearly half of its total staff- has created more than 14,200 indirect jobs there since 2006.
