Only 38% of energy companies have digitalized internal processes

Only 38% of Spanish companies operating in the energy sector have digitalized internal processes and only 10% have implemented internal communication for the mobilization of digital technologies, as stated today in Valladolid by Javier Díaz, president of the Spanish Association for the Energy Recovery of Biomass, Avebiom, the organizing entity of the International Bioenergy Congress, which will be held on the 27th in this capital, within the framework of the Expobiomasa 2017 fair.

As reported by Javier Díaz, Avebiom has decided to extend until September 12 the deadline to formalize "reduced price registrations", in order to facilitate attendance to all those interested in participating in the Congress "who have not yet been able to register." , in general, because they are on vacation.”

Javier Díaz, who cited sources from the recent study published by Ronald Berger and Siemens, assured that companies in the sector “must advance in their digitalization processes to be able to continue competing in the market,” although he regretted that it is precisely the energy companies that are “they perceive to a lesser extent the benefit of the digitalization of their businesses in terms of income,” due above all to the “reluctance of professionals in the sector and the cost of the processes.”

In the opinion of María Vázquez, plant director of Forest Biomass, who will speak at the Congress as a speaker, “the reluctance of professionals in the sector to this type of changes is fundamentally due to the lack of knowledge of their advantages and the lack of development and experience of digital technology with specific applications in the sector.”

In this same sense, the head of Business Development at Sugimat, Alex Mas – also a speaker at the Congress – has assured that the main challenges for bioenergy companies in facing digital transformation are “the lack of qualified professionals with experience in this field, within the sector, and the change of mentality on the part of the main actors", although he nevertheless believes that "we are already beginning to move in the right direction."

Companies such as Biomasa Forestal or Palazzetti, which have already begun their digital transformation, will explain their experience at the Congress, in which different national and international speakers will present tools and technological solutions related, among others, to the comprehensive management of Biomass EPC projects, solutions for improving combustion and reducing emissions from biomass boilers (sensors, artificial vision, control systems using fuzzy logic, etc.), intelligent manufacturing of wood pellets, optimizing the operation of biomass plants and intelligent control of biomass thermal networks.