As part of our Who is Who interview series, we are delighted to introduce Paula Hernamperez from CARTIF Foundation in Spain. With extensive experience in renewable energy, quantum solutions, and project management, she brings valuable expertise to the GRAVITEQA project’s mission of transforming decommissioned coal power plants and mines into sustainable energy storage systems. In this interview, she shares insights into her work, the challenges faced, and her vision for the energy transition.

Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and your professional background?
Yes, of course. My name is Paula Hernamperez and currently I am a researcher at CARTIF, a research center in Valladolid, Spain. I work as a project manager, data analyst and operational researcher, mainly in the field of renewable energy resources. Academically, I studied Mathematics and Engineering Mathematics, and completed my master’s degree final thesis on quantum solutions applications.

Could you explain the role your organization plays in the GRAVITEQA project?

CARTIF has two key roles. The first one is to analyse the barriers to the projects’ innovations, develop actionable strategies that address their causes of these barriers, assess the social impact of these innovations and create policy recommendations to inspire and guide decision makers in adopting them.

The second role is to collaborate on developing one of the project innovations: quantum computing and quantum inspired solutions for demand-side flexibility orchestration and optimal RES allocation.

What makes it crucial to take an innovative or unconventional approach when working on Quantum Computing?
Quantum Computing provides several advantages over traditional approach. The traditional approaches have several technical limitations which need to be considered in the design of the solutions: time resolution, memory limitations, computational time requirements… Quantum Computing is a completely new approach that could help solve all these limitations.

What have been some of the main obstacles you’ve encountered in this project, and how are you working to address them?
The application of quantum solutions to the energy field is completely new. At the beginning, it took us a while to merge the knowledge of all partners in both fields and define a common roadmap.

Looking ahead, what are your hopes for the GRAVITEQA project’s outcomes? How do you see it influencing the energy sector moving forward?
Well, I hope the solutions we are developing will provide innovation to the energy sector by providing a fresh approach to the existing solutions. Quantum solutions are incipient and require of a lot of study, but GRAVITEQA project could be the one to engage new researchers and solutions developers to adopt these new technologies in the energy sector.

We appreciate you sharing your insights with us today.

Thank you for inviting me.

One more #WhoIsWho interview completed! Stay tuned for more in our Who is Who series, where we spotlight the dedicated minds behind the GRAVITEQA project.

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