Call for Digital solutions for the Energy Industry in Chile

Warning: this call for projects is strictly reserved for the students of the Department DCC (Departamento de Ciencias de la Computación) of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Submissions from other sources will not be accepted.

ENGIE Energía Chile (EECL) and the Pontifical University Catholic of Chile are organizing the 1st edition of the EECL Open Innovation Challenge and are looking for innovative solutions related to digitalization in the energy industry. This call for proposals is aimed at DCC (Departamento de Ciencias de la Computación) students from Pontifical University Catholic of Chile.

The projects or digital solutions must address one or more of the following goals: 

1. Electricity usage profile of each customer is key information for ENGIE to provide a competitive energy supply. As this data is not usually available directly, there is public information that can be structured so that ENGIE can use it in a convenient way. The challenge is to develop a structured customer intelligence database, by industry type, location, electricity usage profile as a reference for ENGIE to know how its customers use electricity during the day. Link of public information:  https://www.coordinador.cl/sistema-informacion-publica/portal-mercado/transferencias-economicas/retiros-por-cliente/. (APIs can be used to explore full available data).
2. Energy efficiency means using less energy to provide the same level of service. The challenge is to improve efficiency of power generation plants (coal fired, combined cycle power plants, PV & Eolic plant) by identifying and controlling the behavior of operational variables. As an example, DM make up water is an expensive input material for the operation of thermal power plants that can be optimized to minimize losses throughout the water cycle.
3. Generate ideas of energy efficiency solutions for industrial processes (intensive steam, hot water, compressed air processes ) of mining and industrial companies. Identify what solution is needed for those processes.
4. Improvements of O&M (operations and maintenance) in HV transmission lines. Digital solutions for the automation of electrical substations, solutions to reduce O&M costs of transmission lines of 66kV /110kV /220kV, insulators maintenance systems, etc. Image processing algorithms applied to electrical insulator cleaning (drones are currently in use for towers and lines inspections).  
5. What applications based on blockchain/IoT/BigData technologies could be applied to an electricity company such as ENGIE (generation, transmission and commercialization of energy)
6. Solutions for mining companies for achieving a base camp with zero emissions and greater degree of sustainability.
7. Solution for zero waste policy in industrial sites such as shopping malls, hospitals, colleges, food factories.  

Files submitted for the EECL Open innovation challenge 2018 must be in Spanish or English (the application form is in English).

Deadline for submission: July 13th, 2018 at midnight GMT

Earnings and Benefits for the winner: 

Based on the jury´s ranking, the general management of ENGIE Energía Chile will award the winner with:

• Tickets to Paris and accommodation for the project manager (specified in the application) to meet ENGIE’s innovation experts in Paris. 
• Testing and evaluating the project in order to develop a partnership with ENGIE to implement the project if applicable and based on the proponent interest (depending on the maturity and the interest on the project). 

Context:

Convinced that a new industrial revolution driven by the worlds of energy and digital technology is now underway, ENGIE has made digitalization one of its four strategic priorities, alongside carbon reduction, decentralized power generation and energy efficiency. Innovation is a major driving force for the energy transition, and a priority for ENGIE as it builds the new energy model for tomorrow.

Energy management and consumption control are priorities for industrial and commercial customers. Monitoring consumption, comparing it with that of others, and finding out about specific actions that can optimize energy bills: all of these are made possible by the developments surrounding the Internet of Things, Big Data and artificial intelligence. ENGIE is using all these new tools to develop smart grids with the ability to adapt to the energy needs of individual customers in real time.

For these goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society and people like you. ENGIE Energia Chile is a partner of the Pontifical University Catholic of Chile, and wishes to offer the students of the DCC (Departamento de Ciencias de la Computación) the opportunity to develop a project related to Digitalization in the energy industry. 

Eligibility and selection criteria:

• This call for projects is strictly reserved for the students of the Department DCC (Departamento de Ciencias de la Computación) of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Submissions from other sources will not be accepted.
• The solutions must be based or deployable in Chile.
• Originality/innovative nature of the project
• Feasibility (analysis of success factors and potential difficulties) 
• Degree of Implementation
• Potential for value creation

Provisional timetable and selection procedure: 

• Deadline for submissions: July 13th, 2018 at midnight GMT
• Selection of the finalists by the selection committee 
• Pitch of the finalists to ENGIE management and experts in order to better understand the solutions
• Grand finale and selection of the winner(s)
• Disclosure of the winners: July 27th
• Invitation to ENGIE in Paris for the winner (specific days will be defined according to availability of both winner and ENGIE team in Paris).

Conditions of application and participation:

Language: Files submitted for the EECL open innovation challenge must be in English or Spanish. 

The application form must include the responses to the various project evaluation criteria. To be declared admissible and to facilitate the analysis and evaluation of projects, each applicant must attach to the application form a word or pdf file containing following information and items:

• A summary containing 5 items (title, background (300 words), key innovative aspect of the project (40 words), description of the innovation (300 words), recorded results (300 words), implementation/feasibility (300 words).
• Additional attachments (no more than five pages) giving a detailed description of the innovation, while describing the project in terms of each of the evaluation criteria. Better scores will be awarded for each criterion if quantified data are provided, in addition to any information that enables verification of such data. Any acronyms and abbreviations must be explained.
• One illustration of the project must be attached. It must not exceed 1 MB. Videos can be sent attached to the file through a link to a website. Short videos can be uploaded as an attachment to the submission.

Application forms that do not comply with the above requirements will not be accepted. Furthermore, to facilitate the processing of entries, candidates are asked to respect the above submission procedure.

Confidentiality:

• Every project will be handled in complete confidentiality by those persons authorized to have visibility of their content, i.e. the members of the Jury. Only the Jury will have access to information relating to data indicated as confidential.
• The communication between the Project team and the organizers of the EECL Open Innovation Challenge will be restricted to the Project manager specified in the application.
  
• The winning project will be posted on the website https://innovation.engie.com/en. It is thus essential that the project managers stipulate the level of confidentiality of their projects.
  
• Acceptance of the rules: The submission of a file for the EECL Open Innovation Challenge implies acceptance of these rules.
  

 

The Grand Jury for the EECL Open Innovation Challenge

The jury will be made up of ENGIE Group experts as well as representatives of partners.

Engie Energía Chile S.A., formerly E-CL S.A., engages in the production, transmission, and distribution of electric power and in the transportation of natural gas, focusing on industrial clients and mining companies in northern Chile. The company is the largest electric generator in northern Chile. With an installed capacity of 2,108MW, it operates 2,328km of transmission lines, 20 substations, and a natural gas pipeline. 

The Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) is one of the top universities in Chile and Latin America. It was founded on 21 June 1888, has 18 faculties spread out over four campuses in Santiago and one regional campus located in the south of the country.