The event, held at Saft Batteries' headquarters in San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid), was attended by more than forty executives and representatives from the business world. Also present were the Councilor for the Environment of the San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council, Jorge Calderón; the Deputy Director of the Industrial Batteries Division of the Saft Group, Frederic Hapiac; and the President of the Association of Business Owners of the Northern Zone of Madrid (ACENOMA), Miguel Ángel Rivero García.
During the event, Joaquín Chacón, CEO of Saft Baterías, pointed out that this Technical Center is “one of the first internationally to combine existing knowledge and experience in the battery sector to find potential solutions to our society's energy needs.” Among these needs, Chacón highlighted the debate on how to store electrical energy, an issue that was largely unexplored just a few years ago but is now being addressed daily, with an average of two projects per week related to the environment, smart cities, and hybrid transportation.
For the CEO of Saft Baterías, the goal is to achieve “the clean and friendly city of the future,” a space “powered by renewable energy and where electric vehicles will circulate.” “In this city,” Chacón adds, “batteries will play a fundamental role thanks to the creation of microgrids that store or provide energy when needed.”.
For his part, the Mayor of San Sebastián de los Reyes, Manuel Ángel Fernández Mateo, thanked Saft Batteries for the invitation to the event and congratulated the company on its capacity for innovation, thanks to its investment in projects of this magnitude. Fernández Mateo expressed his support for the initiative as a means of positioning the town as one that is “creating the future.” “We stand out as one of the leading industrial zones, and despite the crisis, we seek to promote projects and develop innovative initiatives. That is why it is an honor that companies like Saft, which invest in San Sebastián de los Reyes, are reinvesting here during these difficult times,” he added.Finally, the mayor pointed out that “private companies are the ones that drive the economy and create jobs, like Saft, which has more than 4,000 employees worldwide,” and that is why “the administration must work to build trust and support these initiatives.”.
Following these remarks, attendees were given a detailed tour of the facilities, which will become the headquarters of a group of two other centers managed from Spain and located in Venezuela and Brazil. The laboratory will utilize Saft Baterías' expertise and electrochemical battery testing equipment, with the aim of providing optimal tools to sectors involved in implementing new energy strategies for the society of tomorrow.
The center will be responsible for certifying products according to national and international standards, conducting battery charge and discharge tests under controlled conditions, managing R&D projects, analyzing product performance, carrying out joint tests with power electronics specialists, and performing extensive documentation work. In addition, it will also provide advisory, consulting, and support services to companies embarking on energy storage projects.
The center will offer technical support on products, their installation and operation; it will provide training courses and seminars with the possibility of awarding certifications to external technical personnel; and it will help its clients to identify the added value in their services.
Similarly, Saft Batteries customers will be able to count on technical assistance in handling warranties, repairs and maintenance, spare parts management, product and facility inspections, and feasibility studies for customers.
