Students from the Master's in Industrial Engineering visit Petronor
Students from the Master's in Industrial Engineering visit Petronor
Students from the Master's in Industrial Engineering visit Petronor
They visited various facilities and projects at the refinery: distillation furnaces, gas treatment area, state-wide distribution connection point, innovative hydrogen projects, and more.
Students of the Master's in Industrial Engineering at Mondragon University visit several companies each year, and one of them this year was the Petronor refinery. The visit was very comprehensive, and they were able to see firsthand how the topics covered in the different courses are applied in the industry.
Riding a bus, they were able to tour the different parts of the Petronor refinery: raw fuel distillation furnaces, desulfurization zone, gas treatment zone, coke unit, fuel tanks, the BILVA point that introduces fuel into the state pipeline (the Bilbao-Valladolid connection), etc. The students also visited the refinery's control room, where the entire plant is monitored, and learned about the current safety protocols.
The students of the Master's in Industrial Engineering also received information about Petronor's future projects. In fact, in a context of energy transition, Petronor faces significant sustainability challenges. One of these, the most important, is the BH2C project, led by Petronor and known as the Basque Hydrogen Corridor, the first hydrogen corridor in Europe. The students also had the opportunity to see the electrolyzers currently in operation for producing hydrogen (2.5 and 10 MW), and shared with the students that they have secured European support to build a 100 MW electrolyzer.
Close relationship with the Master's Degree
This visit was organized for second-year students of the Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering. This visit allowed the students to see the real-life application of the theoretical knowledge acquired in the Master's subjects. Thus, what you saw on the visit is directly related to the topics covered in the classroom: industrial facilities, chemical process technologies, monitoring, energy engineering, steel and reinforced concrete structures, and more.
Collaboration between Petronor and the University
The collaboration between Petronor and Mondragon Goi Eskola Politeknikoa is solid and long-standing. In fact, both entities collaborate on various projects: the Interuniversity Master's Degree in Continuing Education in Hydrogen Technologies, hydrogen research projects, innovation projects, and, of course, on internships for undergraduate and master's engineering students.
Thanks to Aida and Maxi for your attention; it was a very interesting visit!
Thanks also to Ricardo García, who has been an excellent collaborator on the Master's Degree in Facilities for years. Thank you for your participation this semester and for the visit.