IMDEA Energy offers undergraduate and Master students the possibility of paid internships in companies in areas related to
renewable energies and low carbon footprint energy technologies.

Students will be integrated in IMDEA Energía’s research units in a dynamic working environment which will allow them to start their training in the field of R&D in the field of renewable energies and low carbon footprint energy technologies.
training in the field of R&D in the energy sector.

Application and selection process

Applications will be sent exclusively to the e-mail address indicated in the respective research line. Each candidate can only submit one application to the program. The application must include the following information:

Curriculum Vitae
Proof of being enrolled in an official Bachelor’s or Master’s degree program.
Academic transcript of the degree
Letter of motivation

Places will be awarded on the basis of the following criteria:

• Academic record
• Motivation
• Knowledge of English
• Other merits

Deadline for applications: 5 February 2024

Requirements and eligibility criteria

• Be enrolled in a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree program.
• Have a residence permit in Spain for the duration of the internship.

Conditions of the grants

The internship has a maximum duration of 350 hours.

Financial aid:

• Undergraduate internships: up to 2,200 € (depending on the number of hours completed).
• Master’s Degree Internships: up to 2,500 € (depending on the number of hours completed).

ACCEDE AQUÍ PARA VER TODAS LAS PLAZAS DISPONIBLES 

A recent study, the result of collaboration between IMDEA Energía and the University of Alcalá de Henares, has enabled type III wind turbines (one of the wind turbine technologies currently in use) to advance in their ability to form electricity grids.

Currently, one of the main problems of renewable generators (mainly wind and solar) is that they depend on an already formed grid to connect, thus limiting their large-scale penetration. However, new generation wind turbines must be able to form the grid. Several countries, including the UK, have recently adopted grid codes that outline the requirements and tests that must be performed on any device to be considered ‘grid-forming’. Meeting the grid code with a wind turbine is a challenge, as it requires detailed tuning of all its controls.

In this context, the innovative work in which IMDEA Energía’s Power Systems Unit has participated, demonstrates that, with an appropriate selection of control parameters, a wind turbine has a great capacity to help form the electrical grid, thus verifying that it is possible to comply with the UK grid code with a type III wind turbine.

Based on the results, a design guide has been produced for the controls that regulate the injection of power into the grid when the grid needs support and it has been verified that the current can be limited in the event of grid failures. It has also been verified that the wind turbine operates correctly when connected to a grid consisting of multiple generators.

This study opens the door for wind turbines to help shape the electricity grid in the future and thus increase the penetration of renewable energies by having them not only connect to the grid, but also contribute to its formation and ensure stability.

Prof. Patricia Pizarro, coordinator of BIOCTANE project funded by the European Union, has participated in the HE Cluster Meeting for aviation/maritime fuels and biomethane projects organized and held at CINEA (Brussels) last October 15. During that meeting,  there was the opportunity to receive information about relevant policy frameworks as well as to exchange and identify potential collaborations between related projects.

IMDEA Energy’s Deputy Director, Manuel Romero, has been awarded the prestigious ‘SolarPACES Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his 40-year career achievements in the development of concentrating solar power technologies. The award was presented during the SolarPACES 2024 congress held in Rome from 8 to 11 October.

The award, which he shared with Prof. Dr. Aldo Steinfeld of ETH Zürich, highlights their personal contributions to the successful development and implementation of concentrating solar power systems and their application to solar fuel production over their long careers, as well as their achievements and recognised leadership in this field of research and long-term commitment to promoting international cooperation.

SolarPACES (Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems) is one of the International Energy Agency’s technology collaboration programmes, involving 16 countries, aimed at the development and commercialisation of concentrating solar power systems (also known as solar thermal systems).

IMDEA Energía has eleven of the most relevant scientists in the world, according to the latest ‘World’s Top 2% Scientists’ reference list, compiled by Stanford University and the academic publishing house Elsevier.

The ranking lists the most cited scientists on the global scene in various disciplines based on bibliometric information from the Scopus database, divided into 22 major scientific areas and 176 sub-subjects, and takes into account the number of citations of each person to determine their relevance.

The ranking, which with 223. 152 entries lists the most cited people in 2023, reflects the international prestige of the scientific work of the Institute’s different disciplines, such as thermochemical processes (David Serrano and Javier Fermoso), photoactivated (Víctor de la Peña) and electrochemical (Rebeca Marcilla); electrical systems (Milan Prodanovic), biotechnology (Elia Tomás and Cristina González, associate researcher, University of Valladolid), advanced materials (Patricia Horcajada), concentrated solar power (Manuel Romero) or systems analysis (Javier Dufour, associate researcher, University Rey Juan Carlos and Diego Iribarren).

The full list can be found here.

As in previous editions, Institute IMDEA Energy has participated in the different activities of the ‘Smart Energy Congress SEC 2024’ held at the IFEMA North Convention Centre, Madrid, on the 2nd and 3rd of October, organised by the enerTIC Platform, of which it is a collaborating entity. The event brought together various firms, many of which are part of IMDEA Energía’s collaboration network, such as companies from different sectors related to energy, mobility, engineering, information technologies and communications, together with local administrations, research centres and universities, among other participants, to share innovative technologies and knowledge.

Institute IMDEA Energy is a collaborating entity of the Smart Energy Congress, forming part of the institutional collaboration network of enerTIC together with other foundations, research centres and universities that are the representatives of ‘knowledge’ in the Platform.

The discussions held by Félix Marín, Head of Technology Development and Transfer, at the matchmaking business rounds allowed Institute IMDEA Energía’s activities and technologies to be shared with interlocutors from various companies interested in collaboration opportunities in joint R&D projects and the business possibilities offered by the results of the Institute’s lines of research, the technologies developed and the patents in portfolio within the areas of interest defined in each of the business rounds.

Patricia Horcajada, head of the Advanced Porous Materials Unit at IMDEA Energy, has been awarded the Ada Byron Prize of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Deusto in the senior category.

An expert in the design of new multifunctional materials for application in energy, health and the environment, Horcajada is a leading scientist in the field of Materials Science. Her highly multidisciplinary activity focuses on the design and synthesis of new porous materials for their application in strategic fields. She has pioneered the application of MOF-type structures in drug delivery, oral detoxification and agriculture. With a wide network of collaborations, she has realised more than 70 new MOF structures and is an internationally recognised researcher.

Dr. David Serrano, Director of Institute IMDEA Energy and Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Rey Juan Carlos University, has been appointed corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain, and will be responsible for the ‘Energy Transition and Circular Economy’ area.

In 2007 Serrano was appointed director of Institute IMDEA Energy, a position he has held since the foundation of this research centre until the present day. Recently, with his leadership, IMDEA Energía has achieved the prestigious accreditation as a María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Its most relevant scientific contributions have focused on the development of catalysts with applications in circular economy, hydrogen production and advanced biofuels and CO2 valorisation. His achievements include the development of new strategies for the synthesis of zeolites with hierarchical porosity and high accessibility, being one of the leading international researchers in this line. He has recently won a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant in which he has proposed a disruptive concept of zeolites with a dendritic nanostructure with potential applications in a wide range of fields. His research group has also pioneered the use of zeolitic and mesostructured catalysts in chemical recycling processes of plastic waste, contributing to reduce its environmental impact and promoting its circularity.

In 2023 David Serrano was awarded the ‘Miguel Catalán’ Research Prize of the Community of Madrid in recognition of his scientific achievements, his contribution to the training of researchers and the creation of a school and the national and international repercussion of his work throughout his professional career.