From the Urban Energy Transition Chair, we would like to extend our warmest congratulations to our researcher Max Zayas-Orihuela, who has been honoured with the first prize for the best Bachelor’s Final Project (TFG) at the X Innovation Awards and Grants gala, organised by the Ajuntament de València and València Innovation Capital.
A pioneering boost to urban decarbonisation
Max’s award-winning work, entitled “Calculation of the decarbonisation potential of the installation of green roofs in the L’Illa Perduda neighbourhood in València”, has had an impact that goes beyond academia. Under the supervision of Tomás Gómez-Navarro and Paula Bastida-Molina, and with the strong support of the Chair’s director, Carla Montagud-Montalvá, this research initiated a strategic line of work based on the use of computer vision for urban diagnostics.
The methodology developed by Max makes it possible to automate rooftop recognition across thousands of buildings simultaneously, accurately calculating the installation potential of green roofs. Thanks to this advance, the Chair has been able to quantify not only the energy savings derived from these nature-based solutions, but also their capacity to offset greenhouse gas emissions through CO₂ sequestration.
The excellence of this work has already been reflected in its publication in the prestigious scientific journal Sustainable Cities and Society and in its international presentation at the SDEWES 2024 congress, held in Rome.
Continuity into 2026: From Green Roofs to Intelligent Solar Mapping
The award to Max Zayas comes at a time when the research line he helped to found is in full swing. In 2026, the Chair continues to champion the application of Artificial Intelligence to transform València.
We are currently working on the evolution of these tools towards Intelligent Solar Mapping. Using advanced AI models applied to the municipal building stock, we are calculating the large-scale photovoltaic generation potential of València City Council’s buildings. This project uses the SAM tool (2025 version) to filter optimal surfaces and validate the results by cross-referencing them with the city’s reference solar maps.
This recognition highlights the young talent at the Universitat Politècnica de València and the Chair’s commitment to generating technological solutions that accelerate a fair, data-driven energy transition.
Congratulations, Max, on this thoroughly well-deserved achievement!
