The CLH Group has invested close to 20 million euros in R&D&I projects over the last three years

• The company participates in international projects such as ITAKA or NARA and has agreements with Spanish universities to conduct technological research projects

The CLH Group invested close to 20 million euros between 2011 and 2013 in various Research, Development and Innovation projects, which have enabled it to improve the efficiency of its activities and boost service quality.

The company has an Innovation Management System, UNE 166002 certified by AENOR, aimed at fostering the generation of new ideas and their implementation in the company’s daily management.

Among the main initiatives introduced, CLH implemented new technological advances to perform its activities. The company uses advanced equipment to control and manage its logistics system via satellite, and with communications applications, such as the Operators Integrated System or the Aviation Management Integrated System, it reports to customers in real time on their orders and the movement of oil products.

Along these lines, CLH  is implementing the centralised control of its storage facilities, which will facilitate an increase in operational efficiency and security. Furthermore, the company continued to integrate more modern and efficient equipment into its logistics network in order to optimise energy consumption.

CLH also acquired state-of-the-art equipment for its laboratory network, and developed new methods for quality analysis and control of fuels and additives, aiming to guarantee product control and quality, often beyond the requirements of current regulations, and proposed new industry quality standards to protect the market.

The Company is one of the participating organisations in the European ITAKA Project, aimed at boosting the production and use of biofuels in commercial aviation. In addition, CLH Aviación joined the NARA project, with the objective of assessing the possible use of biokerosene in the United States.

As to logistic services for biofuels, CLH infrastructures are ready to distribute and mix biodiesel (FAME) with diesel fuel and bioethanol with gasoline, and the company has introduced second-generation biodiesel (Hydro biodiesel HVO) in its system.

Within its commitment to sustainability and the environment, the company completed a demanding research project to find the best technology to recover hydrocarbon polluted soil, the most efficient system being bioremediation. CLH used this system to clean up the site of the old facility at Cala Figuera (Menorca) and will apply it to similar situations in the future.

The company also cooperates in research projects with educational institutions such as the University of Granada, with which an agreement was formalised this year to study the extension of bioremediation techniques to water treatment.

The company sponsors the Metrology CLH Professorship in cooperation with the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros de Minas (College of Mining Engineers) of the UPM (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) promoting research projects, and has agreements with the Foundation of the Alfonso X el Sabio University to foster research in technology, as well as with the Escuela de Ingenieros Navales (School of Naval Engineers) of the UPM to carry out research programmes related to the maintenance and integrity of infrastructures.

The CLH Group is also re-engineering its tasks, functions and procedures to increase efficiency and competitiveness. With the involvement of several heads of department, the company analysed and established improvement plans for more than thirty processes in various areas.