MIT Portugal Signs Agreements with SGC Energia, EdA and the University of the Azores

At Second Transatlantic Energy Conference in Terceira, Azores, Government and Industry Show Support for ‘Green Islands’.
Two MIT Portugal Students Share Best Poster Award.
The MIT Portugal Program and SGC Energia SGPS, S.A. (SGC), a renewable energy company based in Alhandra, Portugal, signed a five-year, €1 million affiliation agreement at the 2nd Transatlantic Conference on Renewable Energies on April 3, 2009, on the Azorean island of Terceira.
With its €1 million contribution over five years, SGC—an energy company whose wide-ranging activities range from electricity production to the development of biofuels from algae—becomes a Research Affiliate of the MIT Portugal Program. Of the total contribution, €400,000 will support a professorship, the SGC Energia Invited Research Chair in Sustainable Energy Systems, as well as help several MIT Portugal Ph.D. students to pursue leading-edge research in areas of interest to the company. The remaining €600,000 is earmarked for MIT Portugal research; SGC will propose research projects in cooperation with a new SGC Invited Research Chair and MIT Portugal.
José Mariano Gago, Portugal’s Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, announced the agreement.
The MIT Portugal Program also signed agreements with the Azores’ electric utility, Electricidade dos Açores, S.A. (EdA), and the University of the Azores. EdA becomes an Industrial Affiliate, and its annual contribution of €10,000 will support the program’s general goals and objectives.
The agreement with the University of the Azores is part of an agreementon advanced studies, research and development, and demonstration projects in Sustainable Energy Systems in the Azores. It provides further human resource funding from the Azores Regional Government to the MIT Portugal Program and its collaboration with the University of the Azores in the ‘Green Islands’ project—a partnership with government, academia and industry in the Azores to make several of the islands substantially energy self-sufficient, and to develop technologies that could serve as models for energy sustainability in Portugal and in the wider world.
A Showcase for ‘Green Islands’ Research and Partnerships
The April 2–4 conference in Terceira provided an opportunity for MIT Portugal to discuss with government and industry participants an action plan for the Green Islands initiative. A panel discussion about the project included Prof. Paulo Ferrão, Director of the MIT Portugal Program in Portugal and a lead of MIT Portugal’s Sustainable Energy Systems focus area; and MIT Portugal faculty members Carlos Silva (IST), José Viegas (IST), João Peças Lopes (FEUP) and Manuel Mota (University of Minho).
At the same time, executives from SGC and EdA—Vianney Valles and Mário Mendes—had the opportunity to join colleagues from companies and utilities that are already affiliates of MIT Portugal to express support for Green Islands; also, to discuss the opportunities and challenges the project presents going forward. Participants from industry included António Vidigal from EDP, João Nuno Mendes from GALP Energy, Pedro Borges Fernandes from Martifer, S.A., and Nuno Delgado from EFACEC, S.A.
“The conference really helped to flesh out the regional renewables work of the MIT Portugal Program, with strong presentations by all the Portuguese focus area leads as well as several strong presentations from industry in support of the Green Islands program,” said Prof. David Marks, MIT lead for the Sustainable Energy Systems (SES) focus area, the area of MIT Portugal that is spearheading the Green Islands research.
A Strong Expression of Government Support
Another important development at the Transatlantic conference was the strong support for the Green Islands initiative expressed by Carlos César, President of the Regional Government of the Azores in his speech opening the event, as well as by Minister Gago in his closing speech, and by Prof. João Sentieiro, President of the Fundação para a Ciencia ea Tecnologia (FCT), who signed the agreements with SGC, EdA and the University of the Azores.
Also contributing to the event and supporting the discussions were Álamo Meneses, Azores Regional Secretary for the Environment and Sea, and José Cabral Vieira, Azores Regional Director for Energy.
In addition, the Terceira conference provided a venue for dialogue among officials from the European Union, the United States, Portugal and the Azores. One discussion focused on international alliances and how they can promote sustainable energy systems. Led by moderator Paulo Casaca, a Member of the European Parliament, participants included José Manuel Silva-Rodíguez, European Commission Director-General for Research; Massachusetts State Senator Marc Pacheco; and Phyllis Yoshida of the U.S. Department of Energy. (In her comments, Ms. Yoshida outlined the debate in the United States between establishing a carbon emissions cap-and-trade system vs. imposing an outright carbon emissions limit.)
Two Students Share ‘Best Poster’ Award
Prior to the Terceira conference, MIT Portugal Program SES Ph.D. students submitted posters detailing Azores-related renewable-energy research projects. Eighteen posters were selected for a competition held at the Transatlantic Energy Conference, and a number of students were provided expenses to travel to the event to present them.
The poster competition was judged by representatives from the MIT Portugal affiliate companies attending the conference. The result was a tie for Best Poster between André Alves Pina (IST), for his presentation on “ Maximizing Renewable Electricity on São Miguel" and Miguel Moreira da Silva (FEUP and INESC Porto) for his poster on“Smart Charging Strategies for EVs: Defining Pathways for the GreenIslands Case Study.” The students will receive funds that will enable them to attend another conference of their choice held in a European Union country. (Moreirada Silva’s poster was a team effort; his partners were Joel Soares and Pedro Almeida, also from FEUP.)
Other MIT Portugal students presenting posters were Filipa Amorim (IST), Cristina Camus (IST), Petr Kadurek (IST), Maria Kapsalaki (FEUP), Rui Martins (IST), Ana Neves (FEUP), Filipe Carvalho Sim-Sim (IST), Rui Bernardo (IST), Gonçalo Mendes (IST), Gustavo Souza (FEUP), Kiti Soumalainen (IST), Patrícia Baptista (IST), Rhonda Jordan (MIT), Bryan Palmintier (MIT), Joana Abreu (IST), and Nuno Clímaco Pereira (IST).
The Chamber of Commerce of Angra do Herosimo, the host city for the event on Terceira, coordinated the event.

(In MIT Portugal)