Do We Really Need More Inertia in the Power System?
Do We Really Need More Inertia in the Power System?
July 2nd, 2025 The recent power outages in Chile and Spain have reignited an old technical consensus: that inertia is essential for system stability. Various sectors have argued that the growing penetration of variable renewable energies, such as solar and wind, is weakening the system’s ability to withstand disturbances, due to a lower system inertia associated with the decline of synchronous generators. But what does…
Green hydrogen: industry leaders highlight Chile’s strategic role in the current geopolitical context
June 25, 2025 Chile’s key position in the tense global scenario was the central focus of the discussion forum “Geopolitics of Hydrogen: Risks and Opportunities in an Energy Transition Context,” where panelists addressed the potential impacts of the ongoing wars between Israel and Iran, and Ukraine and Russia. These conflicts are raising the prices of natural gas and oil, generating new urgencies regarding energy security,…
From Solstice to Action: Solar Energy to Decarbonize Chile
June 23, 2025 Every June 21st, while the Southern Hemisphere experiences its longest night, we celebrate Sun Day to remind ourselves that the planet’s greatest source of energy never takes a break—even in the heart of winter solstice. In Chile, that reminder comes backed by solid data: as of February 2025, the country’s installed solar power capacity reached 11 GW, accounting for 31% of the…
Applied research topics in energy with CENTRA
june 3, 2025 On Monday, June 3rd, a presentation session was held at the Peñalolén Campus to showcase the applied research lines of the Center for Energy Transition at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (CENTRA). The event was addressed exclusively to UAI undergraduate (TID), master’s, and PhD students interested in joining ongoing projects or developing new proposals. The session highlighted CENTRA’s core research areas: energy transition policies…
Digital Skills: The Training Debt of the Chilean Mining Industry
May 30, 2025 Traditional technical training required in the mining industry is falling behind due to rapid technological advances and the need to adapt and respond to a variety of challenges. The Chilean Large-Scale Mining Workforce Study 2023–2032, developed by the CCM-Eleva Alliance, included a survey targeting human resources professionals to identify the main difficulties in operator and maintenance technician profiles. In both profiles, one…
Talent Shortage in Renewable Energy: An Invisible Obstacle for Chile’s Projects
May 30, 2025 The local development of solar, wind, storage, and green hydrogen energy currently faces a major hurdle: there are few specialized professionals in these areas, and the educational offering is still incipient. The rising demand for renewable energy development and the adoption of new technologies in Chile has revealed a shortage of professionals specialized in this field. This reality “is mainly affecting emerging…
With a stable charge: experts rule out sodium displacing lithium in the short and medium term.
May 16, 2025 While sodium batteries are gaining ground due to their lower cost and greater abundance, experts assert that lithium still holds key advantages in essential applications. In an exclusive interview with InfoMINERÍA, they agree that lithium’s prominence is not at risk for the time being. The announcement of sodium batteries by manufacturers such as CATL, the world’s largest battery producer, has sparked…
The impact of the ‘trade war’ on the development of the local lithium industry
April 29, 2025 As the United States considers imposing new tariffs on the import of critical minerals, experts agree that Chilean mining should continue to bet on lithium, with long-term investments and a focus on Asian markets. The so-called “trade war,” sparked by the United States’ decision to impose import restrictions and, more recently, by the possibility of setting new tariffs on critical minerals,…
UAI and CENTRA have registered a new patent for a technology that extends the operational life of defective solar panels.
As part of the World Creativity and Innovation Week, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI) announced the presentation of its 24th patent, a milestone that reinforces its commitment to the development of high-impact sustainable technologies. The patent application, whose principal inventor is Professor Felipe Larraín Benavides from the School of Engineering and Sciences, corresponds to a method and automated system for the recovery of defective solar panels….
Energy Resilience: A fundamental pillar to guarantee a reliable and continuous electricity supply.
April 28, 2025 Achieving this level of resilience requires strategic investments aimed at providing the system with greater flexibility, both in the temporal domain —the ability to adapt to fluctuations in demand or generation— and geographically, through the diversification and redundancy of its infrastructure. The latest studies on electrical resilience agree on an approach based on three fundamental pillars: risk anticipation, the ability to respond…