{"id":11687,"date":"2025-03-16T14:21:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T17:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aniu.org.uy\/sin-categorizar\/elf24-project-wins-the-rosario-pou-award-for-innovation-in-the-forest-chain-2024\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T11:17:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T14:17:16","slug":"elf24-project-wins-the-rosario-pou-award-for-innovation-in-the-forest-chain-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/news\/elf24-project-wins-the-rosario-pou-award-for-innovation-in-the-forest-chain-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"ELF24 project wins the Rosario Pou Award for Innovation in the Forest Chain 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Rosario Pou Award for Innovation in the Forestry Chain held its third edition on March 12, with a ceremony at the Uruguay Golf Club.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The jury<strong> distinguished the ELF24 project<\/strong> with the first prize for its technological development in soil preparation for reforestation, optimizing resources and reducing environmental impact.<\/p>\n<p>It also awarded a <strong>special mention<\/strong> to OPAIF, an innovative system for forest fire prevention.<\/p>\n<p>The award, organized by the National Academy of Engineering of Uruguay (ANIU), was created in 2022 in honor of Eng. Rosario Pou, who has an outstanding career in academia, public management and international consulting. <\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative; height: 0; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/academia-nacional-de-ingenieria\/albums\/72177720324468840\/player\/\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"><\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"><\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The award seeks to <strong>encourage innovation in the forestry chain<\/strong>, rewarding projects with productive, environmental and technological impact. In this edition, the award included an endowment of USD 5,000 and a commemorative statuette. <\/p>\n<p>The award initiative <strong>has the support of Mary V. Mochary<\/strong>, a lawyer, philanthropist and former advisor to the U.S. State Department, with a strong commitment to education and technological development.<\/p>\n<p>During the ceremony, Ms. Pou emphasized that \u201cinnovation not only <strong>transforms the industry<\/strong>, but also ensures its sustainable growth. This award seeks to recognize and stimulate the development of solutions <strong>that have a positive impact<\/strong> on the sector\u2019s competitiveness.  <\/p>\n<h2>ELF24: efficiency in reforestation<\/h2>\n<p>The winning project, ELF24, introduces an innovative solution for <strong>soil preparation in reforestation<\/strong>, allowing several treatments to be carried out with a single machine.<\/p>\n<p>The technology was developed jointly by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upm.uy\/\">UPM<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/jhartwich.com.uy\/\">Metal\u00fargica J Hartwich<\/a> and service providers in the sector, who were responsible for testing and optimizing the equipment in the field.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11679\" src=\"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/proyecto-elf-24-gana-premio-rosario-pou-2024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1230\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/proyecto-elf-24-gana-premio-rosario-pou-2024.jpg 1230w, https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/proyecto-elf-24-gana-premio-rosario-pou-2024-1024x524.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/proyecto-elf-24-gana-premio-rosario-pou-2024-768x393.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1230px) 100vw, 1230px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Carlos Hartwich explained the impact of the project: \u201cForestry in Uruguay has had to <strong>pioneer the development of new technologies<\/strong>. ELF24 is a clear example of how we can simplify processes and improve efficiency without compromising soil quality\u201d.  <\/p>\n<p>The jury highlighted that ELF24 is <strong>a model of continuous innovation<\/strong>, since its development arises from the collaboration between the forestry industry and the metallurgical sector, promoting solutions adapted to local needs.<\/p>\n<p>From an economic point of view, the system allows<strong> significant savings in the initial investment<\/strong> by reducing the amount of machinery needed for soil preparation. In environmental terms, it reduces soil compaction and improves reforestation efficiency. <\/p>\n<h2>OPAIF: fire prevention<\/h2>\n<p>The special mention went to OPAIF, a system that integrates <strong>monitoring<\/strong> technology <strong>, landscape management and fire control strategies<\/strong> to reduce the risk of forest fires.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11684\" src=\"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/julio-fernandez-odella-durante-la-entrega-del-premio-rosario-pou-2024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1230\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/julio-fernandez-odella-durante-la-entrega-del-premio-rosario-pou-2024.jpg 1230w, https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/julio-fernandez-odella-durante-la-entrega-del-premio-rosario-pou-2024-1024x524.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/julio-fernandez-odella-durante-la-entrega-del-premio-rosario-pou-2024-768x393.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1230px) 100vw, 1230px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>OPAIF proposes a comprehensive approach, combining preventive techniques with the use of digital tools to <strong>improve early detection<\/strong> and emergency response capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>The jury valued its impact on <strong>the safety of forest ecosystems<\/strong> and highlighted its potential to be implemented in other regions with high fire exposure.<\/p>\n<h2>A growing award<\/h2>\n<p>The president of the National Academy of Engineering of Uruguay, Eng. Julio Fern\u00e1ndez, <strong>highlighted the level of the proposals presented<\/strong> and the value of innovation in the forestry sector: <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery year we receive <strong>more solid projects with a real impact<\/strong> on the industry. This award is a platform to recognize and encourage the work of those who are transforming the sector with innovative solutions,\u201d said Fernandez. <\/p>\n<p>With <strong>a call for entries that grows year after year<\/strong>, the award reaffirms the importance of engineering and innovation as drivers of development in the forestry industry.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" title=\"Rosario Pou Award for Innovation in the Forestry Chain in Uruguay - Edition 2024\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1066151059?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rosario Pou Award for Innovation in the Forestry Chain held its third edition on March 12, with a ceremony at the Uruguay Golf Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104,80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-en","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2022.aniu.org.uy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}