CORFO Awards Institute of Clean Technologies to a Consortium Led by AUI

The following is press coverage on the Clean Technologies Institute Award given by CORFO, translated by Google.

Located in the Antofagasta Region, it seeks to promote local and national development. It will be the largest investment in Research and Development in Latin America in this matter and a technological reference worldwide.

The Corfo Council today awarded the Clean Technologies Institute (ICTL), the largest Research and Development (R&D) center and which will be located in the Antofagasta Region, to a consortium led by AUI (Associated Universities Inc), an independent organization and non-profit organization that has among its founding members prestigious American universities, such as Harvard University, MIT, Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Princeton, John Hopkins, Rochester and Yale.

The initiative seeks to promote regional and national development, and aims to promote solar energy, sustainable mining and advanced materials of lithium and other minerals, and green hydrogen. It is expected that by 2030 it will be a technological reference worldwide in its areas of specialization, and a center for innovation and entrepreneurship with a global scope, which will capture value for the regional and national economy by taking advantage of the unique conditions of the Atacama Desert.

“With this Institute, we will turn the Antofagasta Region and Chile into a true laboratory for testing cutting-edge technologies for sustainable energy and mining projects. AUI gives confidence regarding the domain of these technologies that we want to attract and implement in our country. Sustainable reactivation is very important for the Government, for this we must advance in our main industries applying R&D in their projects, promoting investment and local development and the generation of quality jobs “, says Pablo Terrazas, Executive Vice President of Corfo .

And he adds: “Our local universities and institutes will have the possibility to enhance their research with AUI, which has the capacity to bring together leading universities in the United States and other parts of the world, and significantly expand opportunities for development and innovation in Chile in matters that are key to advancing towards the future we want ”.

The initiative seeks that the contribution of this Institute is long-term for the country and that its development is sustainable over time. For this reason, in the next 10 years it considers a total investment of US $ 265 million, where the contribution from SQM contracts will be 54%, while that of AUI will be 46%. These contributions also include those of companies such as Colbún, Enel, AES Gener, Enaex, among others. After that period, the total cost of the ICTL will be borne by the institute itself.

This consortium, in its commitment to contribute to local and national development, considers the participation in its directory of Universities of the North Macrozone and 3 representatives of the private sector.

AUI is 74 years old and its research has generated four Nobel Prizes. It has a solid presence in Chile and the region, and led the construction and today manages the operations of the Alma Observatory on behalf of North America, together with astronomical research institutions from Europe and East Asia, where together they have invested US $ 1,400 millions.

Read the Original Article

In Other News…

VLA Helps Astronomers Make New Discoveries About Star-Shredding Events

New studies using the VLA and other telescopes have added to our knowledge of what happens when a black hole shreds a star, but also have raised new questions that astronomers must tackle.

Radio Telescope is So Powerful it Can See the Surface of Other Worlds

Get ready for close-up surface images of distant planets in our solar system.

Next Generation VLA Endorsed by Canadian Panel

The Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan 2020-2030, a report on priorities and recommendations for Canadian astronomy over the next decade, has recommended that Canada support the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (NRAO) proposed Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), saying the new facility will enable transformational science across many areas of astrophysics.

The ITL Expects to Create 35 Businesses Between the Third and Tenth Year of Operation

The former Minister of Energy, Ricardo Raineri, who also has a long career as a professor and university researcher and international consultant, was appointed by the American consortium Associated Universities Inc. (AUI) as Director of Development and responsible for executing the installation stage from the Institute of Clean Technologies (ITL).

This Insane Picture of The Moon Was Actually Taken From Earth

A test of a powerful new space imaging instrument has given us a gloriously detailed new perspective of the Apollo 15 Moon landing site.

Successful Test Paves Way for New Planetary Radar

The National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory (GBO) and National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and Raytheon Intelligence & Space conducted a test in November to prove that a new radio telescope system can capture high-resolution images in near-Earth space.

The Very Large Array: Astronomical Shapeshifter

In order to study a wide range of astronomical phenomena, the VLA has several shapes or configurations, each with its own advantages.

ALMA Takes First Step Toward Return to Service

Personnel at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile have begun the process of returning the facility to an active observational status, following the shutdown caused by COVID-19 in March of 2020.

Adam Cohen, president of the entity that won the Corfo tender: “Our goal is to generate between 25 to 50 new companies in 10 years”

With the focus on putting the Clean Technologies Institute (ICTL) into operation soon is the Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), the entity that won the Corfo tender that is being questioned by another of the consortiums that was in competition.

CORFO Selects AUI to Build and Manage the Chilean Instituto de Tecnologías Limpias

Santiago, Chile—On January 4th, the Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile (CORFO) Council met to award the Chilean Instituto de Tecnologías Limpias (ICTL) construction, management, and operations to AUI.