Renewables Leader Iberdrola seeks Innovative Pipe Inspection & Cleaning Solutions

The Iberdrola group is present in more than 40 countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia, where the company has generation, network, and energy retail operations. Within the Iberdrola Group, the Generation area focuses on electricity production by building, operating, and maintaining thermal power plants, as well as purchasing and selling the energy on the wholesale markets.

The Challenge: Inspecting & Cleaning Large Pipes in Thermal Power Plants

Iberdrola has more than 12 GW of installed capacity in thermal power plants, mainly in Spain and Mexico. In light of Iberdrola’s commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment, the Group is searching for and looking to implement new solutions and technologies to improve the sustainability of these assets. That is why the renewables leader has launched the Pipe Inspection & Cleaning Startup Challenge!

One basic hallmark of this type of power plant is that their refrigeration circuits use water, which in most cases consists of recirculating water from natural sources such as rivers, seas, and oceans. The plant maintenance tasks include the inspection and cleaning of large pipes through which the water flows around the plant. These fresh or saltwater carrying large pipes can be hundreds of meters long and between one and four meters in diameter. They can be made of several types of material, although generally they are manufactured in steel or glass fiber. To maintain these pipes, they require periodic inspections.

If, during the inspection, the pipe walls are found to be dirty, perhaps with organic material, they must be cleaned to prevent blockages that may reduce performance, lead to outages in the plant or harm the environment, by interfering, for example, with the thermal gap between the inlet and outlet water.

Are you up for the Challenge?

Therefore Iberdrola – through the Perseo International Startup Program – has launched the Pipe Inspection & Cleaning Challenge to find innovative solutions for inspecting and cleaning large water supply pipes in electricity power plants.

The innovative solutions have two objectives:

1. Inspection: On the one hand, be able to perform underwater inspections more efficiently while the system is operating, or at least maximize the availability of the system. For the inspections, the aim is:
   1. To have comprehensive information about deposits in specific areas of the pipeline
   2. Estimate the amount of dirt adhered to the pipes
   3. Know what type of dirt it is: tubularia, sludge, mussels, etc.
2. Cleaning: On the other hand, Iberdrola is searching for solutions for cleaning the pipe as efficiently as possible while having several tones of accumulated dirt removed.

Here’s Why You Should Apply

Iberdrola is no stranger to working with startups and emerging companies – over the last two years, the Group has launched over 14 Startup Challenges. Moreover, working with Iberdrola presents a unique opportunity. The Iberdrola group is present in more than 40 countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia. Overall, Iberdrola has more than 12 GW of installed capacity in thermal power plants – making the Group an ideal partner for your solution!

• Collaboration Agreement & Pilot Test: The prize for the winner consists of signing a collaboration and test agreement with PERSEO or another Iberdrola group company. The group will support the cost of the pilot activities.
• Access-all-Areas: Iberdrola will provide the winner with all necessary technical support, as well as a site and real data to test the solution. This includes access to equipment, teams, infrastructure, high technology sites, and shared work areas.
• Scale Your Technology: If the pilot test is satisfactory, Iberdrola may offer the winner the opportunity to scale up the solution by adapting it through commercial agreements.
• Investment: What’s more, PERSEO will consider investing in the participating company and/or the winner of the challenge.

Evaluation of Proposals to Start in January 2022, Following 14 January 2022 Application Deadline

All proposals will be analyzed by experts from the Iberdrola Generation team. Among other value propositions, it will be considered if the solutions:

• Ensure the safety of the inspection and cleaning process
• Optimize cost and duration of current operations
• Maximize the continuity and availability of the system during inspection and cleaning operations

Don’t miss out & use your chance to work and scale with the renewables leader Iberdrola – apply by 14 January 2022!

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