The Spanish Photovoltaic Technology Platform, FOTOPLAT, began its journey with the meeting of the Management Committee.

It was held on 20 March, at the headquarters of the Secretary of State for Research, Development, and Innovation of the Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness (Mineco). This platform is being promoted by the company, Soliker (Unisolar Group) and the R+D centre of Castilla-la Mancha, ISFOC, with financial support from Mineco through the Innfluye programme, for its activation in 2011 and 2012. This Launch meeting was attended by representatives, Technology and R+D Centres, both public and private, and the Public Administration, represented by Mineco, IDEA, and CDTI, who pledged to work together to promote this technology.

With the newly created photovoltaic platform, the Spanish energy sector now has 10 platforms that represent all the technological sectors, which strengthens and fortifies the important Science-Technology-Innovation (CTI) fabric, maturing the Spanish brand in energy technology, which several initiatives respond to, such as Alinne (Alliance for Energy Research and Innovation).

Fotoplat responds to the demands of the sector by having an instrument that groups the agents of the system in this technology together. Its objective is to promote a series of development and action plans that facilitate the exchange of experiences and allow all agents to be integrated into a common project, in addition to addressing the complex process of change that is happening in the scientific-technological fabric and the Spanish photovoltaic industry, strengthening the maintenance and development of the CTI effort that has reached such a high level in this sector in Spain.

From the configuration of the Management Committee, which will direct Fotoplat until the founding of the Assembly of Associates, and in which technology companies, R+D agents, and R+D+i related public bodies participate, an accession period is opened for the project, which must lead to the process of statute approval in June. However, given the problems suffered by the photovoltaic sector and especially the CTI fabric, working groups have been formed to have, as soon as possible, the initial strategy documents that position Fotoplat against a series of critical issues: the situation of the Spanish industry that manufactures the capital goods—keys for promoting the Spanish CTI fabric through demonstration projects—and the situation of the Spanish CTI fabric related to self-consumption with photovoltaic systems, without disregarding the urgency required by the design of a technological roadmap, which allows for a long-term strategy project.