Almudena González González is an expert in the treatment of agro-industrial by-products through biomethanization. In 2013, together with other colleagues, he formed the Metanogenia spin-off, a biotechnology company in which Almudena is responsible for R & D & I dedicated to the development of biological products for the generation of biogas from agro-industrial by-products , and in the provision of services for the monitoring and operation of this fuel plants.
González participates regularly in conferences to disseminate science in Extremadura in the field of renewable energy sources, both in talks and round tables. It also takes part in activities for the promotion of scientific vocations in young people, in particular, in girls and adolescents.
At 34 years of age, Almudena was one of the recipients of the First Very Young Scientific Awards for research in renewable energy. We have chatted with her to tell us what are the most exciting challenges of her work.
Green and circular economy to ‘close the cycle’
“At Metanogenia, what we do is transform organic waste from agribusiness into a renewable energy source: biogas . This has the same uses as natural gas and what I find most exciting is that, on the one hand, we increase the competitiveness of the entire agribusiness because we transform something that has no value, into a raw material with great importance in the market, such as it can be energy ”.
“We also contribute to ‘close the cycle’: we favor a green and circular economy, from what I have said before, what had no value and also created a pollution problem, we are transforming it into an energy source; and he returns to the field again to close the production cycle ”.
Regarding the celebration of the Very Young Scientists Awards, Almudena was especially grateful: “We really don’t believe how lucky we are . Why have they found us, if there are a lot of people who work well, just like us? ”, She asks herself humbly.
“These awards help you to give yourself a further push in your professional career and what they do is make you believe a little more that what you do has a value for society,” he acknowledges.
The Very Young Scientists Awards contest was created to give visibility and recognize the work of young Spanish scientists. The awards ceremony took place at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao on December 14, 2019, coinciding with the celebration of the HOMO CURIOSUS scientific dissemination event.
Nominees for the awards, aged up to 45, were selected for their work in so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) areas.
