Historic agreement in Uruguay: key institutions meet to promote the city of the future in Colonia

By +Colonia

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, November 2024.- While +Colonia advances in the construction of the first buildings, the Uruguayan government and its main institutions are closely involved in the development of the city of the future. Within this context, the National Agency for Research and Innovation of Uruguay (ANII) selected the project and will allocate funds for the German organization Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO to land in the country, where it will contribute its expertise in terms of innovative technology and sustainable urban planning processes, as it does in other places in the world.

“This agreement shows that +Colonia is a fundamental project for Uruguay’s strategic agenda. Together with the different levels of the Uruguayan government, agencies and organizations, we are building a new SmartCity ecosystem of global reference, which has added a key global player for smart cities such as Fraunhofer Institute IAO,” explained Eduardo Bastitta, Founder and CEO of +Colonia.

Guillermo Rodriguez, Secretary General of the Municipality of Colonia, highlighted the importance of this project for Colonia del Sacramento: "It is very important for Colonia to see the concrete progress of the +Colonia project, which began two years ago and is being successfully developed through joint work between the public and private sectors. It is an example of a collaborative model to have a comprehensive impact on the city and the country."

The alliance is part of the approval of the proposal “+Colonia Ciudad Inteligente Phase 1”, from which ANII will be contributing to the project with funds from its innovation financing program, injecting up to UYU 4,000,000, equivalent to approximately 100,000 dollars.

“Uruguay is working with determination to establish itself as an innovation hub in the region, aware that this is the key to economic growth, social development and the sustainability of the country. In this context, we have decided to promote the +Colonia project, which seeks to become a model of smart city at a regional level. This project integrates advanced technologies and sustainable strategies to create an innovative urban environment, focused on the well-being of people,” said Flavio Caiafa, president of ANII.

The Fraunhofer Institute's involvement provides an innovative and holistic development approach to design new planning, permitting, implementation and infrastructure processes together with the project participants. +Colonia will thus become an international flagship project for the development of holistic and resilient smart cities.

"Through our applied research into the sustainable design of urban systems, we support +Colonia's vision of becoming the leading space for urban experimentation in Latin America. I am confident that this cooperation will open up new opportunities for all involved and enable innovations to be developed for the cities of the future, from Germany to Uruguay," said Steffen Braun, Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute IAO.

By studying approaches based on Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and planning strategies with Extended Reality (XR), the Fraunhofer Institute IAO will facilitate in this initial phase a new integrated planning process that ensures a resilient urban development framework, enabling and redefining innovative construction methods as well as adaptable spatial and infrastructure concepts.  

The first actions of the trilateral agreement  

Within the framework of the trilateral agreement between +Colonia, ANII and Fraunhofer, a series of meetings were held with key institutions in Uruguay to inaugurate what will be a working group focused on creating an innovation hub around the smart city emerging in Colonia del Sacramento. One of the most notable meetings was between Elisa Facio - Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay - top authorities of UTE, OSE and Antel, officials from the Colonia municipality and executives of +Colonia, which took place on Wednesday 20 at ANII where representatives of the German think tank Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO shared their objectives for the smart city and the country.

In addition, the focus was on solutions for renewable energy and sustainability, water management and connectivity, which are fundamental foundations of the urban development of +Colonia and aspects that Fraunhofer analysed when approaching the project.

“The arrival of Fraunhofer in +Colonia speaks of Uruguay as a model country, both in terms of stability and in terms of avant-garde when it comes to promoting renewable energies and the development of the knowledge economy industry. The fact that the most thriving smart city in the region is established in Uruguay and has begun its construction is an opportunity to continue growing together and mutually empowering ourselves in the direction of innovation and harmony with the environment. Without a doubt, the growth of +Colonia is the growth, not only of Colonia, but of the entire country, and from our position we will seek to provide tools so that the project continues to develop successfully,” stressed Elisa Facio, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay.

Along the same lines, the authorities of the most important institutions in Uruguay shared their views on the project and the agreements reached. With regard to renewable energies, Uruguay is internationally recognized for having an energy matrix composed of more than 90% renewable sources. From there, the public-private commitments arising from this alliance will gain greater momentum.

In this regard, representatives of the UTE presidency highlighted: “It is a very important first step that focused on the analysis of ways of working together, within the framework of innovation and sustainable development of a city of the future, where non-conventional renewable energies will be a fundamental base. +Colonia is the first entrepreneurial, diverse, innovative, decentralized and sustainable Smartcity in Latin America and we, at UTE, value the innovative spirit, seeking value proposals that better fit the needs of increasingly demanding future clients. In this line, we believe that we can provide a quality electric power service to +Colonia, based on a renewable generation matrix and a network that has decarbonized the direct uses of electric energy. We look forward to participating with ANTEL and OSE in this project that will be a reference in Latin America and that will promote and motivate the sustainable and technological development of the country.”

In terms of connectivity, Uruguay already has almost the entire country using optical fiber, an opportunity to continue with innovation and develop solutions that meet the needs of people and the ecosystem. A smart city is the corollary of these advances and Antel's role in the project is fundamental:

“At Antel we seek to be the technological engine of the knowledge society and today we see an opportunity in a city of the future like +Colonia. Connectivity is the heart of every smart city, and there we see a model that combines technological innovation with sustainable development, within which we will strengthen ourselves together. Getting closer to +Colonia and Fraunhofer motivates us to establish synergies and promote cutting-edge solutions that allow citizens to be more connected, access new opportunities and live in an environment that integrates technology and well-being,” explained Humberto Roca, General Manager of Antel.

Another essential aspect of urban developments driven by technology has to do with water management. OSE (Obras Sanitarias del Estado) has as its premise to provide drinking water and sanitation services with sustainable management and care for the environment. The president of OSE, Raúl Montero Gustá, stressed: “The efficient and responsible management of the drinking water supply service is a fundamental pillar to guarantee the quality of life in any community. In +Colonia, an innovation hub is being built and we recognize and share the clear commitment to the application of technology to preserve a resource as vital as water. For us, it is a huge opportunity to get involved, together with +Colonia and Fraunhofer, in the development of a city of the future, because there we will be able to apply the most innovative tools for the management of water and sanitation services, and at the same time we will be able to jointly promote new processes that will have a positive impact on the entire country.”
The agenda of meetings between +Colonia and Fraunhofer concluded with meetings with executives from the Agency for Electronic Government and the Information and Knowledge Society (Agesic), Uruguay XXI, the Bank of the Republic of Uruguay and the Catholic University (UCU).

About Fraunhofer IAO

The Fraunhofer IAO is part of   The German applied research organisation Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. With its focus on future-relevant key technologies and the transfer of results to industry, it plays a central role in the innovation process. Founded in 1949, the organisation currently operates 76 research institutes and centres in Germany. More than 32,000 employees, mostly with a background in natural sciences or engineering, work with an annual research budget of 3.4 billion euros. The Fraunhofer IAO, together with leading planning firms around the world, has initiated and coordinated more than 30 Smart City projects globally.

The Fraunhofer Institute and +Colonia are building a strategic relationship, which will focus on the exchange of knowledge and information related to sustainable urban developments, as well as the search for ESG-compliant financing mechanisms. This new initiative represents the strengthening of the strategic ties of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with the region.

About +Colonia

+Colonia is a project to create a hub for the knowledge economy industry on a 500-hectare site in Uruguay. In total, more than 180 entities are co-creating the city, including developers, technology companies, transportation companies, VC funds, banks, educational institutions and other strategic investors.