The 5G Ventures startup incubator creates and invests in global and highly scalable startups, leveraged in the 5G ecosystem and that are helping to accelerate the development of Industry 4.0.

5G Ventures has announced a round of investment in which Sener, as an investor and strategic industrial partner, and Farside, venture builder co-founder and co-investor in 5G Ventures, as well as other investors, took part.

As a strategic partner in 5G Ventures, Sener will help drive the creation of business opportunities and use cases for industry.

Sener, a Spanish industrial group specializing in engineering and technology solutions, has announced its ownership stake in 5G Ventures, the first European venture builder focused on building and investing in advanced connectivity and 5G startups that accelerate Industry 4.0. Sener’s entry as a strategic partner will make it easier for the venture builder to develop new business models and use cases for the industry involving advanced connectivity.

Through its participation, Sener is enhancing its digitalization strategy and the development of new technologies, committing to open innovation through collaboration with leading technology players. The Spanish industrial group has extensive experience developing digital solutions that integrate and connect large volumes of data to improve decision-making.

Forming part of 5G Ventures will allow Sener to participate in the co-creation of new startups, and to develop partnerships with companies in its portfolio to pursue new business opportunities.

The purchase coincides with the closure of a €1 million investment round by 5G Ventures. In addition to Sener, the financing round involved Farside, venture builder co-founder and co-investor in 5G Ventures, which reasserts its commitment to the company, and other investors. With this injection of capital, 5G Ventures will boost its portfolio by creating two startups to develop use cases in the connected mobility and agrotech sectors.

5G Ventures also plans to promote the four startups in its current portfolio, which provide advanced connectivity solutions for private 5G networks (Neutroon and BE-IN-G), industrial cybersecurity (Blue Guardian) and edge computing (Gluonise).

5G technology is a key catalyst for the digital transformation of industry because it makes it possible to hyperdigitize strategic sectors, but Spain is still in an early stage of development in this area. As a venture builder, 5G Ventures is enhancing this transformation by creating startups in the 5G and advanced connectivity ecosystem that provide solutions for the limitations facing industry.

Òscar Julià, Sener’s Innovation and Digitalization Director, notes that “connectivity is the basis for all disruptive business cases that have come up in recent years, and those that will come in the future. The vast amounts of data that will be generated will require greater connectivity capabilities. We expect 5G Ventures to help channel the creation of new businesses that provide value to companies and users, as well as to developers of digital technology, services and solutions.”

Alberto Villalobos, CEO and co-founder of 5G Ventures, states: “With Sener, we share a commitment to promote innovation in the industrial sector. Allying with this leading industrial group brings us closer to industry, which we benefit by developing products, services and use cases made possible by advanced technologies such as 5G. For Sener, 5G Ventures is an opportunity to commit to open innovation in this segment from a preferential position.”

Sener makes progress in its commitment to sustainability and fight against climate change by joining the third edition of the Climate Ambition Accelerator, a program designed to guide companies in establishing quantifiable emission reduction objectives based on science and developing concrete plans to achieve them.

For six months, from May to November 2023, Sener and the rest of the participating companies will have access to a wide variety of activities and resources designed to build capacity, share best practices and lessons learnt. In addition, the activities will be adapted to Sener functions, offering personalized support in the process of establishing Science-Based Targets.

With this program, Sener promotes the reduction of emissions framed in its will to protect the environment, which together with social development and good governance form the three main pillars of Sener’s sustainability strategy.

Aware of the adverse effects of climate change, Sener has placed sustainability as a priority in business, which is why in 2022 almost 80% of all projects developed are sustainable.

In addition, it promotes sustainability in all its processes, products and services and, furthermore, it does monitor a responsible use of resources from design to construction, commissioning and commercial operation of all its engineering and technology projects.

“We face these six months with great enthusiasm. At Sener, we are aware of the importance of sustainability at all levels, both at the environmental level and at the level of social development and good governance. That is why participating in the third edition of the Climate Ambition Accelerator Program of the UN Global Compact is a great opportunity to continue growing in this field,” says Pablo García Velasco, Director of Sustainability at Sener.

A program seeking to grow and make Spanish companies become leaders in the fight against climate change by carrying out concrete actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sener Aerospace and Defense, part of the Sener engineering and technology group, has contributed three key components to the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, which will be launched on April 13: the mission’s magnetometer boom, the medium-gain antenna major assembly (MGAMA), and the components of the Janus and Gala science instruments. Sener has also provided mechanical ground support equipment (MGSE).

Juice is a program of the European Space Agency (ESA) designed to expand our knowledge of the complex interactions between Jupiter and its icy moons: Europe, Callisto and Ganymede.

The boom, a technical challenge
Sener Aerospace and Defense was responsible for the design, manufacture, verification and integration of the magnetometer boom, the purpose of which is to move some of the instruments required for the scientific experiments away from the spacecraft in order to prevent magnetic interference. Measuring 10.6 m long when deployed, it is the longest boom made for an ESA project to date. It will house five instruments that are needed to conduct two wave characterization experiments, one for magnetic waves, called J-MAG, and the other for radio waves, called RPWI.

In addition to its length, the design of the boom was conditioned by a series of extremely demanding requirements, such as the range of temperatures and radiation levels to which it will be subjected, magnetic cleaning to avoid distorting the magnetometer readings, the mass available, etc.

How does the boom work?
The system simultaneously deploys the three segments that make up the boom. These segments are each driven by an independent deployment mechanism. The deployment speed is controlled from the satellite interface mechanism through a viscous damper. This damper directly controls the first mechanism, while the other two are controlled using a system of pulleys and retaining cables. The functional check was carried out with help from three balloons, each of which supported the weight of a segment of the boom from its center of gravity. The result simulated the weightless conditions in which the system is designed to operate.
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Sener Aerospace has also developed three other projects for JUICE:
Medium Gain Antenna Main Assembly, or MGAMA: which includes the main and secondary antenna reflectors, feeder, a boom, rotary joints, the pointing mechanism, control electronics and all the interconnecting wiring; this antenna is a key component for communication between the satellite and ground stations, since it will be used to send information and receive commands from the control center. The medium-gain antenna also plays a key role in the radio-science experiments, which will help investigate the geodesic and geophysical properties of Jupiter and its moons, especially Ganymede.

It is a dual antenna operating in the X and Ka bands whose main reflector is 0.5 m in diameter and 0.7 mm thick. The selection of materials and surface coatings is critical to ensuring the integrity and performance of the equipment under extreme thermomechanical conditions.

The control electronics of the mechanism receive and process the motion commands from the computer on board the satellite. It includes the control algorithms to follow the required motion profiles, and returns telemetry on the status of the antenna and its components.

In addition to dealing with the technical complexity of the device, Sener Aerospace, as the design authority, successfully led the consortium of companies from multiple countries that took part in the project.

Components in the JANUS and GALA science instruments

Sener Aerospace and Defense is also involved in two instruments, alongside the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA (the team of researcher Luisa María Lara): the JANUS instrument, which is the high-resolution multi-spectral camera that will acquire images of Jupiter’s atmosphere, mainly to study its dynamics, and the surface of the icy moons to determine their composition and structure; and the GALA laser altimeter, which will allow us to understand the ice tectonics of the moons by using topographic data, the subsurface structure by measuring the tidal response, and the roughness and albedo of the surface on a small scale.

Specifically, Sener Aerospace and Defense did the detailed design, implementation and validation for the filter wheel module (FWM) on the JANUS instrument with its control and power electronics, and for the power supply of the altimeter on the GALA instrument.

Sener also contributed to the design and manufacture of a series of mechanical ground support equipment (MGSE) for the assembly and testing of the satellite’s solar panels.

• The status of the program, as well as the finalized integration of the two Proba-3 satellites, have been presented to ESA and the Spanish & Belgium delegations during a visit to the cleanroom located at the Redwire Space facility in Kruibeke (Belgium).
• During this visit, Sener Aerospace & Defense and Redwire Space confirmed the readiness of the satellites in view of the environmental test campaign.
• This is the first time a Spanish company, Sener Aerospace & Defense, has led the full development of a European Space Agency mission.

The Proba-3 program, spearheaded by Sener Aerospace & Defense -the project’s prime contractor for the European Space Agency (ESA)- has reached a major milestone, completing all the integration & testing activities planned before the start of the environmental test campaign of both satellites.

Proba-3 aims to achieve, for the first time, a high-precision formation flight between two platforms in space and demonstrate the readiness of a technology that, in the future, can be used to replace bulky structures (such as telescopes) with small independent platforms. Those are easier to launch into space and can be combined to form large assemblies that work as a single entity, while achieving equivalent performance.

Proba-3 will apply this technology to perform scientific observations, taking images of the sun’s corona through a coronagraph instrument placed in one of the spacecrafts. Formation flying technology entails placing one of the two satellites in front of the instrument’s lens, thus blocking out the sun’s disk and creating an artificial eclipse in flight. Doing this in space, at a distance of 150 m, will achieve unprecedented performance in coronagraphy and, therefore, will bring highly valuable scientific outcomes.

During the visit to the Redwire Space facility, the status of the activities and the different challenges addressed by the Industrial team were presented to the Spanish & Belgium delegates as well as to representatives of the different ESA directorates involved in the project (Technology, Operations, Science). The parallel design and manufacturing of two spacecrafts, the development of cutting-edge formation flying technologies, the high level of autonomy implemented in the on-board algorithms and related operations, and the need to safely coordinate maneuvers between two platforms moving very closely in space, among other challenges, make this mission particularly ambitious. Furthermore, the development of the main instrument, the coronagraph, was presented by CSL.

The environmental test campaign of both satellites is now starting with the RF auto-compatibility tests and the mass properties measurements at Redwire Space. After completing this first phase, the satellites will be shipped in April in order to continue the test campaign in Ottobrunn (Germany) using the mechanical & thermal test facilities of IABG.

Proba-3 satellites will be launched in early 2024. Then, following the usual launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) -including the separation of the stack configuration into two independent satellites- an orbital verification phase will take place before the handover to ESA, which will operate the system for the remainder of the mission life.

Proba-3, first precision formation flying mission
Proba-3 is the world’s first high-precision formation flying mission in space. The two satellites will stay 150 m apart, forming a large rigid virtual structure, with a relative accuracy between them on the order of millimeters and arcseconds. They will be used to validate the technology needed for precision formation flying.

Formation flying will be a key technique for future space science missions. Among other things, it will be used to develop large telescopes whose main elements (such as lenses and detectors) need to be located far away from one another while at the same time holding their relative positions and distances with a high degree of accuracy and stability. This technology will bypass the need to resort to heavy and bulky deployable structures, which may not fit in current launchers or, at best, would make them extremely expensive to put into orbit and operate.

Scientific study of the Sun
In addition to the demonstration mission, Proba-3 will conduct a scientific study of the Sun’s corona. To do this, the two satellites will create a 150-m long coronagraph that will be able to study the Sun’s corona closer to the surface than ever before. The satellites will make up what is called a coronagraph with an external occulter, such that one of the satellites prevents sunlight from directly reaching the camera on the instrument mounted on the other, leaving only the Sun’s corona visible. This will be done fully autonomously, with no intervention from the ground to actively control the formation, creating an artificial six-hour eclipse over the second satellite every day.

Sener Aerospace & Defense is leading the Proba-3 mission, for which it is fully responsible, in close collaboration with an industrial team consisting of Redwire Space, Airbus Defence and Space in Spain, GMV Space and Defence and Spacebel, which encompasses a broad industrial consortium of more than 29 companies from 17 different countries. This is the first time that a Spanish company has led the full development (i.e., is responsible for the entire flight and ground system) of a European Space Agency mission.

Proba-3 is part of ESA’s General Support Technology Programme (GSTP), and Spain’s participation was made possible thanks to the support of the CDTI (Center for Technological and Industrial Development).

Ence Biogas, a subsidiary of the Ence-Energía Group and Celulosa, has signed a contract with Sener to provide the conceptual, basic and detailed engineering for six biomethane plants, which will be located in various parts of Spain. This agreement will be implemented this year so that the administrative process to authorize the plants can begin.
Once these plants are commissioned, which is scheduled for late 2025 and 2026, Ence Biogas will inject 300 GWh of biomethane into the gas grid and generate 90,000 tons of biofertilizer for agricultural use.

These facilities, which rely on a model based on the sustainable management of organic (agricultural, livestock or industrial) waste, will produce biogas that will subsequently be purified and converted into biomethane. They will also produce an ecological fertilizer from the digestate obtained after the anaerobic digestion that produces the biogas.

In keeping with the company’s other businesses, sustainability provides a basis for the design of these plants. The design of the process is geared toward minimizing the use of natural resources and prioritizing local raw materials, waste recovery and energy self-sufficiency.

Ence Biogas has a portfolio of 15 biomethane plants under development in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia, Navarre, Castile and León, Castilla la Mancha, Murcia and the Basque Country. Ence’s goal is to develop 20 biogas plants over the next 5 years, thereby further diversifying its commitment to renewable energies.

Through this new business project, Ence will contribute to energy independence, decarbonization and the use and recovery of biomass resources, which are abundant in the Iberian Peninsula. This technology also has a high development potential and can be instrumental in the energy transition process.

For the President of Ence Biogas, Jordi Aguiló, with this contract “we take a step forward in the development of our business strategy and, specifically, in our commitment to biomethane. A technology and a project fully aligned with the circular economy and with the just energy transition.”

In the words of Sener Energy General Manager, Álvaro Lorente, “We are proud to be able to help Ence once again. This is a customer that we have had a long relationship with, and these new projects will help decarbonize the industry and guarantee a more sustainable future for generations to come.”

Sener Aerospace and Defense has signed the first contract with Airbus Helicopters Spain to install IFF mode 5/S transponders in the helicopter fleets of Spanish armed forces. This is a navigation and communication identification system sending and receiving radiofrequency signals that are of special importance to flight safety.

Based on the agreement reached, Airbus Helicopters España will act as prime contractor, leading the contract activities for the Spanish Air Force and Army; while Sener will act as a nominated subcontractor to carry out activities (engineering, prototype testing, airworthiness certification, and supply of technical documentation, equipment, and kits) both for the prototype and for the SH-60B series of aircraft, and potentially for the Spanish Navy’s AB-212 helicopters.

Both companies acknowledge the strategic nature of this new alliance and hope this first collaboration will be a success and set the benchmark for subsequent activities, in terms of the modernization and development of subsystems of common interest, both nationally and abroad.