Centro de Energia, FCFM, Universidad de Chile

What Centro de Energia, FCFM, Universidad de Chile does

Centro de Energía is an academic energy research center established in 2009 within the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (FCFM) of the Universidad de Chile, headquartered at Plaza Ercilla 847 in Santiago. The center's mission is to create and lead R&D solutions in energy that ensure sustainable development, positioning itself as a bridge between academia, industry, and Chilean public policy on energy transition. It serves government ministries and regulatory bodies (including the Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional), energy industry professionals, graduate students, and academic researchers, with 11–50 staff and a multi-decade publication record in journals such as Applied Energy and IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.

Its core technological asset is the E-Viewer platform (e-viewer.cl), which visualizes the operation of Chile's National Electrical System (SEN) by surfacing daily and intraday programming cases derived from the PLP medium-term programming model and the Plexos short-term programming model. The platform displays generation projections by plant and technology, transmission line flows and saturation, demand and marginal costs by bus, reservoir levels, renewable energy spillage, and georeferenced hydroelectric network mapping. Surrounding the core platform are additional modeling tools — the PMR Energy Model, the Open PCP Model — and thematic initiatives including the Observatorio Carbononeutral, CE Ayllu Solar (community solar), the Agrivoltaic Laboratory, and the EOLIAN solar vehicle project.

The center's business model is academic rather than commercial: it is funded through university resources, government grants, and research contracts, and does not generate commercial revenue. It monetizes a portion of activity through fee-based diploma programs (Climate Change and Resilient Low-Carbon Development, Electrical Sector Regulation, Renewable Energy, Green Hydrogen and Derivatives) and short courses (Energy Storage, Electricity Markets, PLP Model and Data Analysis, Sufficiency Power Payments, EMS for Distribution Networks, PMR Scenario Projection, Solar Hydrogen), while offering the E-Viewer platform free of charge. Distribution is direct via the institutional website, email newsletter, and the academic conference circuit, with social channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Name

Centro de Energia, FCFM, Universidad de Chile

Legal name

Centro de Energía, FCFM, Universidad de Chile

Website

https://centroenergia.cl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centro de Energía is an academic research center at Universidad de Chile's FCFM, founded in 2009, that builds power system modeling and visualization tools (E-Viewer, PLP, PMR) for Chile's National Electrical System and serves government, industry, and graduate students with applied research and diploma programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Systems Research and Modeling

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

SCADA/DMS/OMS Integration, Upgrades & Managed Services (EUAEANAE)

Keywords

• Energy systems modeling
• Power system optimization
• Electricity market analysis
• Renewable energy training
• Energy policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Santiago, RM

HQ country

Chile

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Centro de Energía is an academic energy research center that develops energy R&D solutions, power-system models, and visualization software, including E-Viewer, PLP, Open PCP, and PMR. It also provides policy-relevant studies, professional diplomas, and specialized courses linking research with government, utilities, and academia.

Product overview

Centro de Energía is an academic energy research center at Universidad de Chile's Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (FCFM), founded in 2009. Its portfolio consists of a core software platform — E-Viewer — for visualizing Chile's National Electrical System (SEN) operations, supplemented by several optimization and planning models (PLP, Open PCP, PMR) and thematic initiatives (Carbononeutral Observatory, Ayllu Solar, EOLIAN solar vehicles, Agrivoltaic Laboratory). In parallel, the center offers a structured educational program comprising diploma programs (Climate Change, Electrical Regulation, Renewable Energy, Green Hydrogen) and short courses (Energy Storage, Electricity Markets, Sufficiency Power Payments, PLP Model, EMS Distribution Networks, Solar Hydrogen). The products range from research-grade energy modeling tools to applied training programs, all oriented toward bridging industry, academia, and public policy in energy transition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• E-Viewer: A software platform developed by Centro de Energía to visualize the operation of Chile's National Electrical System (SEN)
• Modelo Energético PMR
• Observatorio Carbononeutral
• CE Ayllu Solar
• Lab. Agrivoltaico
• EOLIAN

Products and services

• E-Viewer A web-based platform for visualizing the operation of Chile's National Electrical System. It displays daily programming cases from Coordinador Electrico Nacional using PLP and Plexos optimization models and shows generation projections, marginal costs, transmission line flows, demand, and reservoir levels.
• Long-Term Programming Model (PLP) [Modelo PLP] A medium-term programming optimization model developed for Chile's National Electrical System. It supports power-system operating analysis and daily case studies displayed through E-Viewer.
• Open PCP Model [Modelo Open PCP] An open-source energy-planning model for analyzing scenarios and policies in Chile's electricity sector.
• PMR Energy Model [Modelo Energético PMR] An energy-planning model used to project electricity-generation scenarios and support climate-policy analysis.
• Climate Change and Low-Carbon Resilient Development Diploma [Diploma de Cambio Climático y Desarrollo Resiliente Bajo en Carbono] A graduate-level diploma program covering climate-change mitigation and resilient low-carbon development for participants seeking continuing professional education.
• Electrical Sector Regulation Diploma [Diplomado de Regulación del Sector Eléctrico] A diploma program focused on regulation of the electrical sector and offered in collaboration with Centro de Energía.
• Renewable Energy Diploma [Diploma en Energías Renovables] A diploma program covering renewable-energy technologies and their integration into electrical systems.
• Green Hydrogen and Derivatives Diploma [Diploma Hidrógeno Verde y sus Derivados] A specialized diploma program on green hydrogen and its derivatives as an energy carrier.
• PLP Model and Data Analysis Course [Curso Modelo PLP y Análisis de Datos] A course on the PLP optimization model and data analysis for Chile's National Electrical System.
• Energy Storage Course [Curso Almacenamiento de Energía] A course on energy-storage technologies and their applications in electrical systems.
• Electricity Market and Expectations Course [Curso Mercado Eléctrico y Expectativas] A course covering electricity-market dynamics and forecasting.
• Sufficiency Power Payment Course [Curso Pago por Potencia Suficiencia] A course on sufficiency power-payment mechanisms in the Chilean electricity market.
• Energy Management Systems Course for Distribution Networks [Curso Sistemas de Gestión de Energía (EMS) para Redes de Distribución] A course on energy-management systems for distribution networks using the VENIOS.NET 4.0 platform.
• PLP Model Technical Support Service [Servicio de Soporte para el Uso del Modelo PLP] Technical support service for users of the PLP power-system model.
• Electricity Generation Scenario Projection Course with PMR [Curso Proyección de Escenarios de Generación Eléctrica con Modelo PMR] A course on projecting electricity-generation scenarios with the PMR energy model.
• Solar Hydrogen and Chile's Potential Course [Curso Hidrógeno Solar y el Potencial en Chile] A course on solar hydrogen and Chile's potential for green-hydrogen production.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple publications in high-impact journals including Applied Energy, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature9 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA): Intergovernmental organization supporting renewable energy policy, scenario analysis, and capacity building globally. Comparable to Centro de Energía in policy-adjacent energy research and training, though at much larger international scale.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): U.S. national lab delivering energy modeling tools, renewable integration studies, and policy analysis at much larger scale. Comparable in mission (renewable integration modeling and policy advisory) but vastly broader in scope and resources than Centro de Energía.

Direct peers

• Imperial College London Energy Futures Lab: University-based research network at Imperial College London focused on energy systems analysis, decarbonization modeling, and policy advice. Comparable to Centro de Energía's blend of energy systems modeling and policy-oriented research outputs.
• MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI): University-anchored, multidisciplinary energy research program at MIT focused on low-carbon energy systems, power system modeling, and policy analysis. Closely comparable to Centro de Energía's role as a university-based energy R&D center with both modeling tools and policy influence.
• Resources for the Future (RFF): Independent, nonprofit research institution focused on energy, environmental, and natural resource economics and policy. Comparable to Centro de Energía in producing rigorous policy-relevant research and scenario modeling for public-sector clients.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE): Applied energy research institute with deep expertise in solar, power systems, and energy system modeling. Comparable to Centro de Energía in combining modeling software, applied research, and training for the energy transition.
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology - Energy Platform: Swedish technical university running major energy systems research programs, including power system modeling and renewable integration. Comparable academic peer with similar university-hosted, multi-disciplinary energy R&D structure.
• Energy Exemplar: Commercial vendor of the Plexos energy market simulation and optimization platform, which Centro de Energía integrates into its PLP/Plexos workflows. Closest direct commercial counterpart in power system optimization tooling.
• Centro de Investigación en Energía Solar (CIESOL): University-based Spanish research center on solar energy and energy systems, jointly run by Universidad de Almería and CIEMAT. Closely analogous in scale and structure to Centro de Energía as a university-hosted energy R&D center with modeling and training activities.
• Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy: Stanford's university-wide energy research hub spanning power systems, energy policy, and clean technology. Comparable to Centro de Energía in combining academic rigor, modeling tools, and direct engagement with regulators and policymakers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCYoYJZzledIdpXrsmEPrqKg
• Facebookfacebook.com/centroenergia.uchile
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centro-de-energia-fcfm-universidad-de-chile
• Instagraminstagram.com/centroenergia.uchile

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centro de Energia, FCFM, Universidad de Chile