NAITEC, the technology centre specialising in Mobility and Mechatronics from Navarra, has been selected as the new provider of predictive models of renewable energy production for Red Eléctrica, the Redeia subsidiary responsible for the transmission and operation of the electricity system in Spain. NAITEC joins the energy company as a supplier after being a finalist in the Data Challenge 2023 organised by Elewit, Redeia’s technology platform, and successfully passing a second evaluation phase.

The Data Challenge applies data science to the renewable energy sector. Participants had access to a set of time series including wind, photovoltaic and solar thermal energy production data. From this data, participating entities had to predict the production of at least one of these technologies, demonstrating their technical capability and accuracy in predictive modelling.

NAITEC achieved the first position in solar thermal forecasting. This gave it access to a second selection phase, in which its predictions were evaluated together with the predictions of other Red Eléctrica suppliers for renewable production.

This challenge launched by Elewit also creates new spaces for exchange between different actors in the innovation system.

“NAITEC has extensive experience in advanced prediction models for products and processes in different sectors. It is a tool that is becoming increasingly in demand in the industry, because the first step to optimise a process is to understand its behavioural patterns”, explained NAITEC’s General Manager, Estibalitz Erauzquin. “Being chosen as a supplier of Red Eléctrica is a recognition of NAITEC’s commitment to digitalisation and the application of artificial intelligence to the industry’s current challenges.”