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The activity “Explora Región Metropolitana Norte” program run by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation and led by the University of Chile, selected a group of twelve women for their contribution to Science and Technology, amongst them, the founder of Suncast, Constanza Levicán, acknowledged for her contribution to the area of renewable energies.
Santiago, Chile, January 26, 2023.- “Perseverance, resilience, and courage”, are the three keywords that Constanza Levicán, CEO and founder of Suncast, Civil Electrical Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Engineering Sciences UC, emphasized as essential for the attainment of all the achievements obtained during these years.
Levicán was one of twelve women selected to be acknowledged on the third installment of the exposition: “Igualmente Sabias “Creadoras de conciencia” is a project that advocates for equality and recognizes the labor of women in the different fields of science since 2021. This year’s edition was about the development oriented towards one of the major global concerns: the climate crisis.
The founder of Suncast and twice winner of the National Innovation Award Avonni 2021 award, both in the categories of “Energy” and “Female Innovator”, spent close to five years building the company that currently applies artificial intelligence to variable renewable energies (VRE) by offering two services: Solar and Wind Energy Forecasting and Photovoltaic Soiling Forecasting or Predictive Maintenance. Suncast is currently one of the 100 most important startups in the country.
Constanza has not only emerged and gained ground in spaces that have historically been populated by men, but has also honored women and the company that she has built, achieving merits that led her to be a part of this list of 12 women.
With her outstanding career in the field, the CEO of Suncast was chosen as a member of the Consultative Committee that updates the National Energy Policy 2050, also known as “Política Energética 2050”. The positioning vision also allowed Levicán to represent Chile in important international conferences, including the International Renewable Energy Agency’s Youth Forum (IRENA), the APEC Women-led Start-Up Accelerator Workshop, the COP26 and COP27 summit, as well as forming part of the Commercial Mission for Clean Energies ProChile at 2020 Expo Dubai.
“In the next 5 years I’m going to take my company abroad and achieve its global scaling”, assured Constanza Levicán, who aims at empirical growth.
Act of recognition
For the Explora Región Metropolitana Norte program’s ceremony, she chose an emblematic place from the point of view of the representation of Women in Science, the “Museo de la Educación Gabriela Mistral” museum. On this occasion, Mario Chiong, director of Explora Región Metropolitana Norte, and Isabel Orellana, director of the museum, were the ones to hand over the award.
“Constanza's success story was put to a popular vote and she was one of the winners with the most votes," said Explora’s representative Mario Chiong, who also valued the role of Suncast's founder not only in the world of innovation and the environment, but also as an example for other girls and women that with perseverance and effort one can go far.
On the other hand, Isabel Orellana, the director of the museum, thank the labor of Suncast’s CEO in the field of knowledge and emphasized her ability to make her way into a segment that, she assures, is still very restricted for women.
“I have studied the relationship between women and science a lot. I know how difficult it is to earn spaces, you have to be very persistent, but sometimes you have to be strong because they’re fields that are not only restricted but also very hostile too. So, I thank her for being persistent and for wanting to be in such place and not giving up”, she said.
In the end, the award winner dedicated a few words to all the girls and boys who consider science as a life project. “Through science and technology, you can contribute to taking care of the planet, animals, and people. Don’t view science as something distant from society, but as something essential for wellbeing and progress”.