Emtech Spain is being held in Europe for the second time (it has seen twelve editions in the United States, held to coincide with the magazine’s award ceremony in Cambridge Massachusetts) and over 600 scientists, researchers, businesspeople, entrepreneurs and investors were invited with the common goal of “transforming ideas into solutions that meet the emerging needs of a changing world”.
Followed by the whole world, this congress, which became a trending topic on Twitter, featured representatives of pioneering Spanish innovation companies, researchers from prestigious universities such as Oxford and political representatives concerned with sustainability in the country and its cities.
The publishing director of the MIT Technology Review, Pedro Moneo, was charged with giving the first conference, ‘Cities of the Future: energy and services’, with the assistance of the mayor of Malaga, a city committed to sustainability, Francisco de la Torre; and the secretary of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society, Víctor Calvo Sotelo who has emphasized the need to seek “suitable policies for the development of new services that would be unimaginable today”, amongst others.
The editor of the MIT Technology Review, Jason Potin spoke to attendees via a videoconferencing system. “Spain is currently experiencing a stage in which business opportunities are plentiful”, he said before highlighting the role of Spanish entrepreneurs. And the president of Malaga Valley – the club of some of the most important Spain-based technology companies working in innovative fields –, Javier Cremades noted that the event was being held in Malaga, “a European technological hub” thanks to initiatives such as Emtech Spain. “Malaga is a laboratory for ideas and concepts: it is a leading city in innovation and sustainability.”
Intelligent meters to measure energy use of electrical appliances in the home
The director of the Energy and Power Group at the University of Oxford, Malcom McCulloch, gave a talk on the importance of energy and services in the cities of the future. He stated that “Spain is well-developed. There is a good quality of life. But the challenge for the 21st Century will be to achieve better quality of life and allow other countries to do their job properly. We must balance the energy supplied and used as there will be a major population increase. We have to make more intelligent appliances that use less energy at a reduced voltage with intelligent meters that measure their use and efficiency in each home.”
The vice-president of Acciona, Juan Ignacio Entrecanales, explained that “we have to build more efficiently, respecting raw materials. CO2 emissions will grow and there is less room to maneuver but today we have to seek out measures to change the energy supply. Water is wasted and if we continue as we are in 2050 we will need 2.3 times the resources of the earth. Today we already use 1.5 times to maintain our quality of life. Cities must reduce their emissions: they must become more sustainable.”
Planning, Development and Awareness
“Management must be done efficiently: the success of smart cities depends on planning, technological development and awareness… In Spain, Vitoria and Malaga are examples of cities committed to sustainability,” said Entrecanales.
After him, the President of the State Ports, José Llorca noted the importance of “global connectivity between territories”, that “is fundamental for intelligent cities… In a technological society, improvements to connectivity are fundamental to the development of a country. They require innovative policies and open and transparent markets.”
Intelligent Integration and Partnership
Finally, the President of Ferrovial, Joaquín Ayuso, spoke about the practical consequences of mass growth in cities: “Cities will age. There will be traffic jams that eat up 3 per cent of GDP and buildings emitting tons of CO2… 60 per cent of Spanish homes do not meet efficiency requirements,” he warned. “We must integrate urban services using intelligent integration methods. Intelligent cities must become a reality now… We must change today’s mentality and evolve the concept of partnership from the short to the long term… The collaborative city must include the role of the citizen, who must be involved.”
