Jorge Vizcaya, Head of Sports & Entertainment at Sener, has been recognised as an ENR Newsmaker 2025 by the prestigious US publication Engineering News-Record (ENR). This magazine, considered an international benchmark in the engineering, architecture and construction sectors, selects each year 25 professionals whose work represents significant advances for the industry. The award was presented on Thursday, 26 March, during a ceremony held in New York. In this edition, Jorge Vizcaya is the only Spanish professional, and one of only two Europeans, featured among the 25 winners.

ENR highlights Jorge Vizcaya’s contribution to the design of the retractable pitch system at the  Bernabéu Stadium, a pioneering solution on an international scale that allows the natural playing surface to be removed and stored in a high‑tech underground hypogeum. This system, based on Hypogea, the retractable turf solution developed by Sener, ensures the protection and optimal maintenance of the pitch and enables the stadium to function as a multipurpose venue throughout the year without compromising the quality of the playing surface.

The project, led by Sener and developed with the participation of professionals from various areas of the company, has been carried out through close multidisciplinary collaboration between engineering and architecture, and in coordination with the stadium owner, design teams and construction companies. This integration has been essential to tailor an unprecedented solution to the Bernabéu’s specific needs and to redefine the way major sports venues are conceived on a global scale.

Following the launch of Hypogea, Sener introduced Epigea, an automated solution that optimises stadium operation through a mobile, retractable roof. Designed for new, existing or under‑construction stadiums, Epigea is fully modular, adaptable to different capacities and compatible with the sporting calendar, as its installation does not interfere with match schedules. In addition to Hypogea and Epigea, Sener is developing other innovations for the sports and entertainment sector, such as Velaria, equipped with agronomic systems to improve the maintenance of natural turf without affecting the playing surface and which complements other event systems; or the pilot project at San Mamés, in collaboration with Athletic Club, which monitors pitch conditions to offer advanced analysis and optimisation tools. Through this suite of solutions, Sener is driving a comprehensive transformation towards more versatile, efficient and technologically advanced stadiums.

For Sener, the recognition awarded by ENR is not only a testament to Jorge Vizcaya’s professional excellence but also a reflection of the joint work of the multidisciplinary teams that have made this innovation possible, further strengthening the company’s position as an international benchmark in technological solutions for the sports and entertainment sector.

The Sener engineering and technology industrial group is to lead the consortium selected by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to develop the design of Europe’s first defence satellite concept optimised to operate in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). This orbital environment, between 250 and 350 kilometres in altitude, represents a significant technological challenge in the space sector.

The project, known as VLEO-DEF, has a budget of €15.65 million and an expected duration of 30 months. It is funded by five EU member states: Spain, France, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovenia. The EDA formalised the contact on 13 March 2026.

A step change in military observation and communications

Very low Earth orbits offer significant advantages for military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) applications, enabling much higher-resolution imagery and reduced communications latency due to their closer proximity to the Earth’s surface.

However, sustained operations in VLEO present significant technical challenges due to increased atmospheric drag, requiring advanced propulsion systems, specialised materials and new satellite architectures designed to maintain orbital stability. The VLEO-DEF project will address these needs and develop key technologies for future European missions in this environment.

A European consortium led by Sener

Sener will act as the lead company of a consortium comprising 17 industrial organisations and research centres across five European countries. The consortium members include:

• Indra, Deimos, Airbus and Satlantis (Spain);
• INEGI, GEOSAT and Omnidea (Portugal);
• Integrasys, SPARC, LIST, Rafinex, EmTroniX, GRADEL and GomSpace (Luxembourg);
• Exotrail and Thales Alenia (France);
• Skylabs (Slovenia).

The objective of the consortium is to prepare the design of Europe’s first defence satellite specifically optimised for operation in VLEO, and to lay the groundwork for a future flight experiment to demonstrate the technologies developed, including propulsion systems adapted to these altitudes.

VLEO-DEF forms part of the European strategy to strengthen defence space capabilities and builds on previous projects promoted by the EDA.

The European defence sector entered a new era of industry- and Ministry of Defence-cooperation in the domain of Main Battle Tanks. Funded by the European Defence Fund (EDF), the MARTE project (Main ARmoured Tank of Europe), in which Sener takes part, is far more than a technology project, it is a cornerstone for Europe`s strategic autonomy and military relevance in high intensity land warfare.

MARTE aims to design Europe`s future Main Battle Tank as a system complete that will dominate future battlefields. MARTE sets new standards in multinational capability development by harmonizing the requirements of in total 11 European Member States involved (Germany (lead), Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain and Sweden), including lessons learned from current conflicts. The overall ambitious project goal is to achieve Preliminary Design Review (PDR) maturity within only 24 months.

One year after the official Kick-Off in December 2024, the MARTE project, coordinated and led by MARTE ARGE GbR, a joint venture company between KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, now has successfully reached a decisive midterm milestone. Building on the strong foundation laid at project start, the consortium confirms substantial progress across technical, organizational and strategic aspects within the past 12 months.

Guided by the MARTE Core Team, consisting of MARTE ARGE GbR, KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (all Germany), Leonardo SPA (Italy), Indra Sistemas SA (Spain) and SAAB AB (Sweden), the MARTE consortium has managed to complete several technical Work Packages and to submit key deliverables to the granting authority, the European Commission in accordance with the agreed schedule.

The results achieved include a comprehensive Concept of Operations as well as a full set of requirements for a future Main Battle Tank System. Led by SAAB AB, the consortium partners engaged in close collaboration with the participating Ministries of Defence (MoDs). This joint effort resulted in a consolidated and harmonized baseline, explicitly incorporating the needs of the participating MoDs, representing the future customers. In addition, under the leadership of Indra Sistemas S.A., the consortium carried out an extensive market survey. Numerous partners contributed their expertise to evaluate the availability, technological readiness and performance capabilities of relevant technologies and subsystems across the European defence market.

With all submitted deliverables formally approved by the European Commission, a strong foundation has been established to advance into the next stage of the MARTE project. This phase focuses design and architecture activities of the overall MBT system and its subsystems, with KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG, Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and Leonardo SPA taking the lead in driving these key activities.

The General Assembly, held in November 2025 in San Sebastián (Spain) and hosted by MARTE ARGE GbR, gathered all consortium members and key stakeholders at the project’s halfway point. Beyond presenting the results achieved to date, the event offered insights into ongoing activities, ensured full alignment on the roadmap towards the targeted Preliminary Design Review, and thereby reaffirmed MARTE as one of the most consequential defence programs embedded in the EDF.

The achievements reached to date, the strong industrial collaboration across Europe, and the continued active engagement of the participating Ministries of Defence collectively position MARTE as a decisive strategic investment in Europe’s technological sovereignty and defence innovation.

Sener’s facilities in Tres Cantos (Madrid) today received the institutional visit of Spain’s Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu. Representing Sener, the delegation was welcomed by Andrés Sendagorta, President of Sener; Jorge Sendagorta, the company’s CEO; as well as the Corporate Managing Director, Gabriel Alarcón, and the Managing Director of Aerospace and Defence, José Julián Echevarría.

From the left: Gabriel Alarcón, Jorge Sendagorta, Jordi Hereu, Andrés Sendagorta and José Julián Echevarría.

Sener’s leadership team and the delegation headed by the Minister held a working meeting, during which they were introduced to some of the most prominent projects and programmes in which Sener is involved across the Aerospace and Defence, Energy, Infrastructure (through its Mobility division), and Advanced Facilities areas (dedicated to the design of data centres through its subsidiary Quark).

The delegation also visited the Tres Cantos Integration and Testing Centre, dedicated to production, integration, manufacturing and testing of space and defence products. They were also able to observe progress on the construction of the new building within the complex, which will become the tenth on the Tres Cantos campus and will be dedicated to industrial production activities. With this new infrastructure, Sener strengthens its industrial capabilities: once completed, and together with the facilities currently under construction in Zamudio (Bizkaia), the group will exceed 40,000 m² dedicated to space and defence, doubling its current surface area for these activities.

Sener participates in and leads high‑technology programmes in Space, such as Proba‑3, the ESA mission that has demonstrated millimetric satellite formation flying to observe the solar corona; and in Defence, where it supplies key systems for major air‑defence programmes such as Patriot and Iris‑T. In Infrastructure, Sener has designed and managed more than 35,000 kilometres of rail and road corridors, helping to transform mobility in countries around the world, and is involved in major engineering and architectural works such as the Fourth Bridge over the Panama Canal, the award‑winning Cebu–Cordova bridge in the Philippines, and the innovative retractable pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In Energy, it develops strategic projects that advance Europe’s energy autonomy: from Gate terminal in the Netherlands to German LNG, the first onshore regasification terminal planned in Germany, as well as other plants contributing to the German energy transition, such as Heilbronn, Altbach/Deizisau and Scholven. And in the digital sphere, it promotes critical infrastructure such as next‑generation data centres, including the design of the facilities of this type for the Social Security Information Technology Management (GISS).

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited Sener’s facilities in Tres Cantos (Madrid) today to preside over the signing of the bilateral collaboration agreements between the Spanish engineering and technology industrial group and the Ukrainian companies Fire Point, Luch and Radionix.

Zelenskyy has been accompanied by Sener’s President, Andrés Sendagorta; its CEO, Jorge Sendagorta; its Managing Director of Aerospace and Defence, José Julián Echevarría; and its General Director of Defence, Rafael Orbe.

Fire Point, Luch and Radionix are leading companies in the field of missiles and autonomous systems, areas in which Sener plays a prominent role internationally, with dedicated centres of excellence for these technologies. The agreement will help strengthen cooperation between the Spanish and Ukrainian industries in sectors that are strategic for European defence.

In the Defence field, Sener is internationally recognised for its expertise in actuation and control systems for missiles and guidance systems; in communications, thanks to its proprietary COMINT and data link solutions; and in autonomous systems, through its multi‑platform autonomous navigation technology and its leadership in target drones. The alliance will contribute to reinforcing Sener’s role in European air defence, where the company already participates with industrial contributions to the Patriot missile programmes (specifically the GEM‑T and PAC‑3 systems), as well as to IRIS‑T SLS/SLM.

The President of Ukraine stated after the visit: “Strengthening air defense and protecting lives are our top priorities. We expect that all agreements between Ukrainian and Spanish manufacturers will be implemented as soon as possible”.

In the words of Andrés Sendagorta, President of Sener: “We are deeply grateful to President Zelenskyy for showing interest in our capabilities and for recognising the value of Sener’s contribution to Ukraine’s air defence.”

Pictures: © Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine.

Sener, together with the technology company Detektia, has been recognised at the 2026 ScaleupsB2B Awards organised by the Empresa y Sociedad Foundation. These awards highlight the most outstanding collaborations between major corporations and innovative scaleups addressing real business challenges.

The jury acknowledged the joint project carried out by both organisations, which applied millimetric satellite monitoring to an urban tunnelling project in Guadalajara (Mexico). This approach made it possible to reconstruct nearly ten years of structural behaviour and compare it with real operating data from the tunnel boring machine using our Acrot system. The resulting analysis enabled the team to reduce risks to nearby infrastructure, correctly attribute potential incidents, improve decision‑making and lower operational costs.

This recognition reinforces Sener’s commitment to applied innovation and collaboration with the national technology ecosystem, with the aim of developing solutions that deliver tangible value for our clients.

The engineering and technology group Sener has launched Dcode, its new business unit specialising in the digital market. With this move, it becomes one of the first major engineering firms to combine advanced sector expertise (in markets such as energy, infrastructure and mobility, data centres, or aerospace and defence) with the delivery of digital services, offering a deep understanding of clients’ end products and operational environments.

Specifically, Dcode will focus on four main areas of activity: data, advanced analytics, AI and OT/IT cybersecurity—OT referring to operational technologies, those that control and monitor devices through industrial control systems, robotics or sensors, among other means, in order to improve and safeguard physical processes. IT refers to information technologies, encompassing data, networks and computers.

“The launch of Dcode represents a natural step in our evolution as a technology group. We bring something unique to the market: we are not only experts in digitalisation, but we also understand the infrastructure, the system and the end product from our clients’ perspective—an integrated vision that enables us to design solutions with significant added value,” says Esteban Álvarez, Managing Director of Dcode at Sener. “With Dcode, we reaffirm our commitment to innovation and technological transformation, consolidating our position as a key player in the digitalisation of complex industrial sectors. Thanks to the combination of advanced digital capabilities and deep knowledge of the businesses in which we operate, we offer a distinctive value compared with other market proposals.”

Esteban Álvarez, Managing Director of Dcode.

Dcode’s business plan envisages selective inorganic growth in areas of industrial digitalisation that can complement its technological capabilities, combined with organic growth. The latter will focus on data, AI and cybersecurity services in those markets and geographies where Sener already has a strong presence and deep expertise. Today, Dcode primarily provides services in infrastructure, mobility, energy and the healthcare sector.

Sener leads a consortium made up of the engineering and technology group and specialised entities Seaplace, Instituto de Investigación Tecnológica (Universidad Pontificia Comillas), CoreMarine, Deep Insight Blue and Ravenwits to implement the R&D project CONECCMAR. This program, aimed at developing the next generation of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore electrical infrastructure, is a key element for the deployment of offshore wind energy in Europe. The project will receive strategic support from an advisory group composed of Acciona Energía, Naturgy and Navantia Seanergies, who will provide their expertise to align the program’s developments with current and future challenges in the electricity system and energy sector. Likewise, Redeia has demonstrated its interest in the project through a letter of endorsement.

The goal of CONECCMAR is to generate new scientific and technological knowledge in the field of marine high-voltage direct current electrical infrastructure, through applied research in three main areas: HVDC floating substations based on advanced concepts; compliant fixed structures for deep-water applications; and hybrid multi-terminal HVDC offshore interconnection nodes. Over the next two years, the consortium will focus on these three research areas to lay the technical and functional groundwork for the next generation of technologies designed to perform in challenging offshore environments.

Schematic representation of a hybrid offshore energy link integrating fixed‑bottom and floating wind farms with both HVAC and HVDC transmission systems, connecting multiple offshore substations to onshore grids at two independent landing points.

The initiative aligns with Europe’s goals for decarbonisation and climate neutrality, which require advanced offshore infrastructure capable of integrating new deep-water wind farms and enabling hybrid multi-terminal systems that combine renewable power evacuation and transnational electrical interconnection at a single node.

The project is co-financed by the Community of Madrid (CTVI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through a grant program that promotes public–private cooperation in R&D&I via consortium-based flagship projects (no. 59/317816.9/25).

This alliance represents a significant step forward in developing the offshore electrical grids that Europe will need in the coming years and strengthens Spain’s role as one of the leading countries driving the technologies that will power the energy transition.

The industrial engineering and technology group Sener is coordinating the international consortium behind SGAN-Next, a cutting-edge European initiative aimed at developing a new generation of European electronic equipment based on gallium nitride (GaN), capable of operating at very high frequencies and specifically designed for next-generation space systems (GH‑10).

These devices, based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology on silicon carbide (SiC), will significantly improve the efficiency, size and data transmission capacity of satellite communication systems, both in low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO).

Sener is responsible for coordinating the consortium, which includes the following partners: United Monolithic Semiconductors, SweGaN, Airbus, the Ferdinand Braun Institute, the University of Bologna, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and Thales Alenia Space.

The project is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe Space R&I work programme and aligns with the strategic objective of reinforcing EU technological autonomy and consolidating a robust and competitive supply chain in the space sector.

In recent years, GaN-based technology has become a solid alternative for space applications, particularly for advanced active antennas. Its evolution towards higher frequencies is essential to enable satellites with greater transmission capacity and more compact payloads—key factors for increasing data throughput and developing more compact and efficient systems for future space and defence missions.

SGAN-Next aims to drive a new generation of European space electronic components through the design of solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs), low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and high-frequency switches, all of them more efficient and robust.

“Thanks to Sener’s participation, Spain reaffirms its key role in the European aerospace industry. This project highlights Spanish innovation and represents a strategic advance for EU’s space industry. It will enable us to develop more efficient, compact equipment capable of operating at higher frequencies, strengthening the continent’s technological autonomy and competitiveness against global players,” says David Gala, Project Director in Aerospace and Defence at Sener.

The project also aims to validate the reliability of the European manufacturing process so that it can be qualified by the European Space Components Coordination (ESCC), while establishing a fully European supply chain. In this context, the first wafer containing functional prototypes has already been manufactured.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Space Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101082611, SGAN-Next.

SGAN-Next Run 1 wafer with MMICs for different tipologies of SSPAs in Q band, LNAs in V-band, RF Switch

The Board of Directors of the Sener Group has approved the appointment of Gabriel Vera Artázcoz as its new Secretary. In this capacity, he will support the Chair and ensure the proper functioning of the Board, safeguarding the formal and material legality of its actions.

He will combine this role with the secretariat of the boards of the Group’s main businesses (comprising 4,500 professionals specialising in the aerospace and defence, mobility and transport infrastructure, energy, and data centre markets), the oversight of compliance with corporate obligations across its companies, and the provision of legal advice on acquisitions and restructurings (M&A), a responsibility he has held to date.

Gabriel Vera holds a degree in Law from the University of Navarra. He has completed the General Management Programme (PDD) at IESE Business School and the Executive Programme for Directors in Good Corporate Governance at the Study Centre of the Madrid Bar Association.

He began his professional career at Garrigues as a corporate lawyer. In 2010, he joined Sener, where he worked on project contracting in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as on their legal management. Between 2019 and 2024, he served as Director of Legal Affairs for the Aerospace and Defence division. During this period, he advised the Group on several corporate restructurings, as well as on the acquisitions carried out by Sener in recent years: Tryo (2018), Tactix (2022), Quark (2023) and SCR (2024).