Madrid, 25 September 2020: EDP Renewables (Euronext: EDPR), a global leader in the renewable energy sector and one of the world's largest wind energy producers, has announced the results of the EDPR University Challenge 2020, aimed at students from Spanish universities. The award ceremony was held online this morning and was hosted by Rui Teixeira, Acting CEO of EDP Renováveis.

This is the twelfth consecutive edition of the EDPR University Challenge, which was first organised by the company in Spain in 2009. Over its history, 1,700 students and 350 tutors have taken part from more than 310 Spanish universities, as well as from other countries. As a result, more than 800 innovative projects in the areas of marketing, business administration and engineering have been assessed by the esteemed professionals in the field of renewable energies who have made up the judging panels over the years.

This latest edition is the second year in a row where the EDPR University Challenge has included include entries from universities in other European countries, representing 30 different nationalities, in addition to candidates from Spanish institutions.

In the 2020 edition, the projects were assessed by a panel of top-level judges, made up of: Enrique Doheijo, Manager of Risk, Energy and Utilities at Deloitte Spain; Ignacio Huici, Business Development Officer at InnoEnergy Spain; Telmo Vieira, Managing Partner at PremiValor Consulting; Joaquín García Boto, Development Director of EDPR Spain and Luis Manuel Santos, Innovation Director of EDP Spain.

The winning project was entitled Exploitation of mine water for energy generation and storage, carried out by students from the University of Oviedo, tutored by Prof. María Almudena Ordóñez Alonso. The team received a prize with a gross value of €6,000, and the tutor coordinating the project was awarded €3,000.

The projects awarded second and third place, respectively, were: VitriWind – The use of vitrimers on recyclable wind turbine blades, presented by students at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid and E.Connect, presented by students of KU Leuven in Belgium. The students were awarded prizes worth €3,000 and €2,000, respectively, and the coordinating tutors received €1,500 and €1,000, respectively.

In addition, the three winning groups will have the opportunity to participate in the global University Challenge, taking on the winners of the Portuguese and Brazilian editions at the end of October in Lisbon. The winning group of the global edition will receive a journey to Silicon Valley.

Rui Teixeira, Acting CEO of EDP Renewables said: “We are committed to helping the societies where we operate to drive the transition to more sustainable economic models. The University Challenge helps us to generate interest in renewable energy among future generations, while helping us to rethink our ideas and bringing forward new views and initiatives.”

For more information on the EDPR University Challenge in Spain, visit the website: http://generationedpr.edpr.com/universitychallenge/es