Fira de Barcelona, one of Europe’s leading trade fair organisations, has implemented Respira, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based solution developed by engineering and technology leader Sener, across the eight halls of its Gran Via venue. The platform analyses multiple variables from diverse data sources and functions as a virtual operator, using AI to predict and optimise energy performance while ensuring thermal comfort and indoor air quality.

In large exhibition venues such as Fira de Barcelona, the solution enables more efficient climate control standards, reducing operational and maintenance costs while enhancing visitor comfort. Given the scale and complexity of such spaces—characterised by high ceilings and large flows of people—efficient climate management is essential to ensure responsible energy use and minimise environmental impact.

Fira de Barcelona’s facilities include 240,000 m² of air-conditioned space across eight halls and common areas. The infrastructure comprises heat pumps, chillers, air handling units and fan coils, as well as a district heating and cooling connection. Respira manages more than 275 air handling units, 30 chillers and 55 heat pumps, with the aim of reducing energy consumption while maintaining optimal comfort conditions during events.

Respira integrates with Fira de Barcelona’s SCADA system, as well as other data sources such as local weather stations and energy consumption data. Using AI, it identifies inefficiencies and provides a more comprehensive operational view, enabling better decision-making that translates into energy savings and improved environmental conditions. The platform also features dashboards that support data visualisation, along with recommendations and alerts.

The platform is expected to reduce energy consumption for climate control by up to 30%, contributing to a lower carbon footprint while maintaining optimal indoor environmental conditions, including both thermal comfort and air quality.

Respira has been operational at the Gran Via venue since February 2025 and successfully supported one of Barcelona’s flagship events, MWC Barcelona, held from 3 to 6 March 2025, ensuring thermal comfort for the 109,000 attendees.

Proven experience in Catalonia

Sener has successfully deployed Respira for several clients in Catalonia, including Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB). In this case, the automated system managing ventilation in the Barcelona Metro has delivered energy savings of 25%, equivalent to €1.7 million annually. In addition, average temperatures across the network decreased by 1.3°C during summer, resulting in a 10.7% increase in passenger satisfaction.

As part of a comprehensive monitoring project for the Consorci Hospitalari de Vic, the Respira platform was deployed across three of its main facilities: the Clínica Universitària de Vic, the Hospital Universitari de Vic, and the Hospital de Sant Jaume de Manlleu. The implementation focused on integrating the existing HVAC and energy systems into a unified platform for supervision and optimisation, enabling real-time monitoring of environmental conditions, equipment performance and energy consumption.

Fernán Vargas, Respira Operations Director at Sener, said: “Improving energy efficiency delivers significant resource savings for the operators of large, multifunctional and iconic venues such as Fira de Barcelona. It also supports the fight against climate change by reducing energy consumption, without compromising thermal comfort, and in many cases improving it”.

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).

Sener’s facilities in Cerdanyola have this week hosted the institutional visit of Maria Galindo, Secretary for Digital Policies of the Government of Catalonia, accompanied by Verónica Tercero, Coordinator of the Catalunya Espai 2030 Strategy, during a day focused on sharing advances in technology and industrial capabilities.

Representing Sener, the hosts were Gabriel Alarcón, Corporate Managing Director, and Sandra Mingot, Head of EU Space Programmes and Defence. Throughout the visit, Secretary Galindo was able to gain detailed insight into the group’s polytechnic and multisectoral nature, as well as its role in driving the space and defence industry.

The guests then toured the centre’s clean rooms, guided by Iker Anchustegui-Echearte, Head of Production in Cerdanyola, where aspects of production, quality control and Sener’s distinctive industrial capabilities were addressed. Afterwards, the delegation learned first-hand about the QKD LEO project, a strategic initiative aimed at secure quantum communications, presented by its lead, Òscar Maroto.

This meeting reinforces Sener’s role as a key player within Catalonia’s industrial and technological ecosystem and highlights its alignment with the Catalunya Espai 2030 Strategy, aimed at boosting competitiveness, innovation and the region’s strategic capabilities in a rapidly expanding sector.

The Cognitive Hospital project, led by Sener in collaboration with a consortium of companies and research centres, has received a prestigious enerTIC Award. This groundbreaking initiative aims to revolutionise hospital management through advanced technologies, enhancing energy efficiency, air quality and comfort for patients and staff.

Funded by the Community of Madrid and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the project is being implemented at Hospital del Henares and will serve as a benchmark for sustainable digitalisation in healthcare.

The project combines artificial intelligence, advanced algorithms and data analytics to optimise hospital infrastructure management. Key goals include reducing the environmental footprint, improving thermal comfort and air quality, and predicting health risks through real-time algorithms that detect viruses and bacteria in critical systems.

Sener developed two core modules: one for energy management and efficiency, and another to ensure optimal environmental conditions. Additionally, research projects on respiratory virus propagation and legionella control are underway, strengthening safety and health in hospital environments.

This achievement places Sener at the forefront of hospital engineering, showcasing how technology can improve quality of life for patients and professionals while driving a more sustainable future.