Sometimes, when one part of a business requires so much attention, it breaks off to become its own entity. Capital Energy started over two decades ago, with a heavy focus on renewables and sustainability. It was started by Jesús Martín Buezas, whose innovative outlook meant that, when it became clear that engineering was not yet sophisticated to handle offshore the way he wanted to, the business could pivot to onshore. Game-changing regulations were positively impacting renewables elsewhere in the world, but not yet in Spain.
In 2016, however, this changed. Spain finally had the opportunity to develop renewables, and Capital Energy had a huge portfolio by this time. Martin realised he could create more sustainable value by vertically integrating the value chain. In order to accomplish this, he had to change the organisational structure.
Juan José Sánchez was chosen as the new CEO in 2020, and after a few months, he suggested Victor Gimena Granda – an ex-colleague from a previous company – to join Capital Energy.
“He wanted me to take on the role of Chief Sustainability and Digital Officer,” Gimeno explains. “That was a challenging proposal, because I was developing the strategy of a very big company, but only related to digital transformation. The new position would have a much wider responsibility, and I hadn’t done anything like that before.”
Gimeno joined the team and began building a team that reflected the vision of the company, and its goals for ESG. He knew that digital transformation and sustainability were inherently linked, so his team defined strategies to reflect that.
Over four years, Gimeno developed this part of Capital Energy, until it became apparent that it should be its own off-shoot. Hence, Kynegos was created.
Kynegos’ Values
Kynegos exists to develop technological solutions for strategic industries. Capital Energy needed an independent platform that could scale digital solutions beyond the energy sector, and foster collaboration with startups and technology centres. Kynegos has filled this gap, and is being leveraged to create co-innovation ecosystems. This allows Capital Energy to develop digital tools that address current and future industrial challenges, keeping the company’s finger on the pulse.
Becoming its own business meant that Gimeno and his team had to develop values to work by. The first is that it developed its business while considering digital and cyber in its critical infrastructure. “We’ve seen a lot of people and companies talking about digital transformation,” says Gimeno, “but they’re focused on retail and marketplaces, and so on. We think there’s a lot to be done on the critical infrastructure side.
“The second pillar would be cross-sector innovation. We want to make the most of that. We leverage on the fact that we’re very close to Capital Energy, and other innovative businesses; it gives us perspective. The third pillar is a portfolio ecosystem approach, and the fourth is that we want to have an impact. In recent months, there’s been this question of whether sustainability is still relevant. My perspective is that it’s going to be more relevant than ever in the next 18 months. The fact that we combine digital transformation, data innovation, and sustainability is very important.”
Designing Functional Solutions
What makes Kynegos such a strong example of digitalisation in the energy sector, comes down to its innovative and strategic approach. It is pioneering the implementation of state-of-the-art digital solutions – a claim that’s been backed up by market analysis.
It’s not just about adopting technologies at Kynegos, but designing functional solutions from the ground up. The ability to create its own solutions is part of what makes Kynegos unique. This gives it a competitive advantage by transforming how energy projects are developed.
The greatest success of Kynegos is its ability to successfully transition from a traditional energy company, to a digitalised one. It has achieved that by developing digital platforms that enable real-time, data-driven decision-making, optimising energy asset management, and infrastructure planning. As part of this, it has achieved process automation in the energy sector by leveraging the power of AI and ML. Further enhancing the operation and maintenance of renewable assets, reducing operational costs, and increasing efficiency.
The real key here is Kynegos’ ability to digitise environmental impact management and regulatory compliance. Because of this, it has enabled carbon footprint assessments for energy projects, ensuring compliance with sustainability regulations. Plus, no organisation is an island, and Kynegos has worked hard to find the right businesses to collaborate with. Its focus on strategic collaboration, alongside the innovation ecosystems, has enabled it to form partnerships with a range of valuable partners.
