• Andrés Moreno, from the Explorer University of Castilla La Mancha Space, will travel a week to Silicon Valley after winning this annual entrepreneurship event that this year has brought together more than 500 Spanish entrepreneurs in Coimbra, Portugal.
• The #ExplorerDay is part of the Explorer program promoted by Banco Santander, through Santander Universities, with the coordination of CISE in Spain.

The mechanical engineer Andrés Moreno of the Explorer UCLM Space has won the first prize of the IX Explorer Meeting - #ExplorerDay-, one of the biggest annual university entrepreneurship events, which this year has gathered more than 500 young people from different corners of Spain in the Portuguese city of Coimbra.

The meeting is part of the Explorer program that Banco Santander drives through Santander Universities and coordinates the Santander International Entrepreneurship Center (CISE), within the framework of the Santander X global entrepreneurship project.

Andrés Moreno is the creator of Zefrict, an industrial startup based on magnetic repulsion, which allows moving pallets and containers in a much simpler and cheaper way than those used today. Magnetic repulsion is a technology that manages to move very heavy loads because they are suspended from the surface and prevent friction. It is already being used in the railway sector in China or Japan. This concept is what the Hyperloop promoted by Elon Musk is based on, which has been developing in several countries for years and promises to be a revolution for mobility.

Zefrict applies this levitation technology to the transport of loads over short distances, such as those in department stores or cargo ports, saving costs thanks to the fact that handling heavy goods is much faster and easier.

Explorer Community

The #ExplorerDay seeks to connect all Explorer participants who since January have been developing technology-based projects in 55 high-performance coworking centers called Explorer Spaces, 52 of them in Spain, two in Portugal and one in Argentina.

The event has had inspiring presentations by prestigious entrepreneurs such as Valentí Sanjuan, Ironman, journalist and Youtuber; Rodrigo del Prado, Deputy CEO of BQ; Leandro Fernández Macho, director of On the top; Eduardo Delgado, executive director of Roams; Verónica Orvalho, founder of Didimo; Enzo Zamora, CEO of Homyhub, or Fernando Sepúlveda, CEO of Impulsa, among others, in addition to a marketplace, spaces for networking and dynamics of SpeedDating to promote contact and synergies between Explorers in an environment of innovation, creativity, technology and entrepreneurship .

Last ticket to Silicon Valley

The winner of the event has won the last ticket to Silicon Valley; a trip that is part of the Explorer program for the 55 young entrepreneurs who win each of the local editions of the Explorer Spaces. During this trip, they participate in masterclasses in universities such as Stanford or Singularity University, connect with investors and visit leading technology companies such as Google, Facebook or Airbnb.

To take the first prize, Moreno has had to overcome the last stages of a Pitch Competition: the Pitch Combat, where he has defended his idea about a boxing ring; the 10 Up Corners, a challenge to raise many Xcoins in a market of ideas where 10 Explorers finalists have exposed their project; and the Final Pitch, where he has defended the potential and scalability of his business idea before an expert jury.

Entrepreneurship and innovation

The Explorer program “Young with Ideas” is one of the main initiatives to support university entrepreneurship that exists in Spain. Thanks to the impulse of Banco Santander and the coordinated work of CISE with 40 universities and dozens of collaborating entities, the program promotes young talent, entrepreneurship and the creation of innovative companies throughout the territory. Explorer is part of the global Santander X entrepreneurship community (www.santanderx.com) which, since 2009, has favored the creation of more than 600 companies and has enhanced the projects of more than 5,000 entrepreneurs.

About Santander Universities and CISE

Banco Santander is the only European bank included in the ‘Change the World’ 2018 ranking of companies that are contributing to improve the world (Fortune magazine) for its positive impact on society, among other things. Its firm commitment to Higher Education, which materializes through Santander Universities, also distinguished it as a company that invests most in Education in the world (Varkey / UNESCO / Fortune 500 Report), with 1,200 collaboration agreements with universities and institutions of more from 20 countries, more than 1,700 million euros destined to academic initiatives since 2002 and more than 73,000 scholarships and university grants granted in 2018 in order to contribute to the progress of people, companies and society.

CISE is a center that fosters the entrepreneurial spirit and drives the generation of startups throughout the country. With the support of Banco Santander, the University of Cantabria and the Government of Cantabria develops multiple programs that stimulate the creativity of people, the creation of companies and promote innovation.