The Isotrol Story: The Technology Driving the Digitalization of Renewable Energy

Isotrol was founded in 1984 by two industrial engineer brothers from Seville, Spain. Their vision was to support emerging renewable energy companies by developing systems capable of optimizing the management and control of their production. Over time, the company evolved into a global benchmark in the sector, with a presence in 45 countries. In 2022, the founders sold the company to Tikehau Capital, with the aim of accelerating its international expansion and securing the future of their legacy. This is the story of Isotrol—undoubtedly an entrepreneurial success.

To speak of Isotrol is to speak of a company that, from its earliest days, has successfully combined technical expertise with strategic vision, building a long-term business project in a sector as demanding and dynamic as energy. Founded as a spin-off from the University of Seville, Spain, Isotrol was created with the ambition of applying academic knowledge to real-world challenges, focusing from the outset on the development of technological solutions capable of optimizing industrial, energy, and automation processes.

Isotrol’s history is closely linked to the evolution of the electricity sector in Spain and the gradual transition toward a more sustainable energy model. In its early years, the company worked closely with national utilities, earning the trust of key clients through its technical reliability and a strongly results-oriented approach. This initial phase was also a period of experimentation and learning, during which the company laid the foundations of its corporate culture: rigor, continuous innovation, and a clear customer focus.

One of the most important turning points in Isotrol’s history was its international expansion. What initially began as supporting Spanish clients in their overseas projects soon evolved into a deliberate strategy for growth beyond national borders. The opening of offices in countries such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and the United States enabled the company to adapt to new markets, expand its client portfolio, and participate in large-scale energy projects worldwide. This international footprint was key to positioning Isotrol as a benchmark in the renewable energy sector.

Another major milestone was the development of Bluence, its proprietary technology platform for monitoring and optimizing renewable generation assets. This solution not only represents the culmination of decades of accumulated expertise, but also reflects Isotrol’s strong commitment to leading the energy transition through digitalization and operational efficiency. With Bluence, the company now monitors and manages more than 150 GW of installed capacity worldwide, consolidating its position as one of the most relevant players in the technology segment of clean energy.

The Isotrol Story: An Entrepreneurial Success

The journey reaches a key milestone—at least in terms of the founders’ involvement—with the acquisition of Isotrol by international investment fund Tikehau Capital in 2022. This transaction represents recognition of nearly four decades of work and marks the beginning of a new growth phase under a capital structure that reinforces the company’s global ambitions. In this article, we take a detailed look at the most important milestones of this journey, from its origins to its international consolidation, highlighting the key moments that shaped its technological and business identity.

Who Are the Founders

Isotrol was founded by two brothers: José Luis and Beltrán Calvo Borrego (Seville, Spain, 1947 and 1958). Their family already had an entrepreneurial tradition, as they were behind several well-known bar and nightclub businesses in Seville, such as La Canasta and La Recua—iconic venues that defined an era. However, both Beltrán and José Luis pursued engineering studies, which led them to channel their entrepreneurial vision into this field.

José Luis, the elder of the two, began his career with an internship at a company in the aerospace hub of Toulouse, France, after completing his university studies. Upon returning to Spain, he started teaching at the University of Seville while joining Abengoa, a well-known engineering multinational, where he worked for nine years. During this period, he also achieved a major academic milestone, becoming a Professor of Electronics at the School of Engineering of the University of Seville in 1983. His involvement in various research groups at the university motivated him to shape the idea of creating a technology company that could bring this knowledge into real-world applications.

When his brother Beltrán completed his engineering studies, José Luis left Abengoa and proposed that they start a company together. This led to the founding of Isotrol in 1984—an acronym derived from engineering, software, and control. Their objective was to design software and electronic control systems to improve the efficiency and management of energy systems for utility companies, an area that was largely underdeveloped in the 1980s.

One of the first challenges they faced was cultural: at that time, universities did not view it favorably for professors to create companies, often associating it with speculative activity. Despite this, Isotrol was established as a spin-off from the University of Seville, Spain. Many of the technologies that later differentiated the company originated in research groups at the university. In fact, José Luis continued to balance his academic career with his role in the company, while also contributing to the broader development of the industrial sector. He served as President of the Association of Industrial Engineers of Andalusia and Vice President of ETICOM.

Founders of Isotrol: José Luis Calvo Borrego and Beltrán Calvo Borrego

The Creation of Isotrol

Isotrol was founded in 1984 with the support of a group of engineers linked to the University of Seville, Spain (including Julio Revilla). José Luis already had connections with the largest electricity company in Andalusia at the time, Sevillana de Electricidad (now part of Endesa). Meanwhile, the city of Seville was immersed in numerous infrastructure and development projects in preparation for the 1992 Universal Exposition.

At that time, the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Energy launched a Research and Development Program for Wind Energy Utilization. The area of Tarifa (Cádiz, Spain), known as the European capital of windsurfing, is famous for its strong winds. It was therefore chosen as the site to install a large wind turbine which, due to its size, local residents nicknamed “Mazinger”, after the giant robot from the well-known animated series. The turbine stood 20 meters tall, featured three fiberglass blades, and had a capacity of 110 kW.

The company responsible for operating this turbine was Sevillana de Electricidad. By then, the Calvo brothers had positioned themselves as providers of technological solutions aimed at optimizing energy processes. As a result, Isotrol was commissioned to develop management systems that would enable the integration of this new energy source into the grid. The company developed the software that connected the wind turbines with control centers and integrated their signals into Sevillana de Electricidad’s (Endesa) headquarters in Seville, Spain.

At the time, the wind energy sector lacked standardization, making this project a turning point that positioned Isotrol as a pioneer in the development of technologies for wind farm control systems.

Within the company, the brothers informally divided responsibilities. José Luis acted as the strategic visionary, while Beltrán focused on ensuring the company’s operational and financial viability. José Luis embodied the long-term vision, while Beltrán took on a pragmatic, execution-driven role centered on day-to-day management.

Isotrol maintained close collaboration with the university throughout its development. This approach enabled the company to attract academic talent and develop pioneering technologies, such as the CER system for renewable plants, which has been deployed in hundreds of facilities worldwide. It was a time when digitalization and automation were only beginning to emerge as key trends in the energy sector.

The Early Years

Isotrol did not have external investors, so its projects were financed with its own resources. Despite this, the company made a deliberate commitment to building long-term, trust-based relationships. To achieve this, it focused on delivering high technical quality in its projects. The control and monitoring systems it developed for energy plants had to be highly reliable.

In addition, its strategy was to provide customized and highly specialized solutions. Rather than offering generic products, Isotrol worked closely with its clients to understand their specific needs and develop tailored technologies. Interestingly, one of its first clients was a cement company. In any case, this approach allowed Isotrol to build a reputation as a reliable and technically advanced provider, enabling it to establish strong relationships and a loyal customer base.

One of its key strengths was its use of open-source software. By leveraging Unix—the predecessor to Linux—Isotrol developed highly optimized software, stripping away all unnecessary system components to achieve very fast response times. In power grid control systems, response time is critical.

Up until Expo ’92, the company experienced strong growth and maintained a high level of activity. However, after the exposition ended, activity slowed significantly, followed by the 1994 economic crisis. Until 1997, the company focused primarily on survival. This crisis ultimately marked the beginning of its specialization in renewable energy. As Beltrán recalls: “We had to make many trips to Madrid to convince companies such as Unión Fenosa, Red Eléctrica Española, and Gas Natural”. The following years brought renewed growth, at a rate of just over 10 percent annually.

Fortunately, this period coincided with the boom in renewable energy. This provided Isotrol with the opportunity to identify a field in which it could grow and differentiate itself. The company focused on designing software capable of remotely controlling the new solar and wind power plants that began to spread across Spain. Green electricity became both a business and political priority in the years that followed, further supporting the company’s expansion.

Isotrol not only gained expertise in renewable energy but also used this momentum to diversify its activities into renewable energy, water management, and the public sector. Its strong experience with open systems (Linux) enabled it to strengthen its position in control management systems, both for renewable installations and for water and energy networks.

According to Beltrán Calvo, a major turning point came in 2001, when the company decided to create Bluenet, a joint venture (in which Isotrol holds a 35 percent stake) providing information and communication technology services to third parties. Through this venture, they developed Isotrol’s new headquarters at the Cartuja Science and Technology Park in Seville, Spain. The new building, named Bluenet and inaugurated in 2006, has a surface area of 7,000 square meters and is shared with other companies. From a corporate image perspective, Isotrol became a benchmark company within what is now the highest-revenue technology park in Spain (nearly €5 billion in 2023).

Isotrol Headquarters at PCT Cartuja (Seville, Spain)

Experts in SCADA Systems

A SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is a combination of software and hardware designed to monitor and control industrial processes, both locally and remotely. These systems are essential in industrial automation, enabling the collection, processing, and analysis of data, as well as real-time decision-making.

Isotrol specialized, among other areas, in the development of SCADA systems for the monitoring and control of power grids, including specific solutions for electricity distribution and microgrid management.

To better understand, a SCADA system typically includes the following components:

Human-Machine Interface (HMI): A graphical interface that allows operators to visualize and control processes in real time.
Remote Terminal Units (RTUs): Devices that collect data from sensors and transmit it to the central system.
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs): Equipment that executes automated control tasks.
Communication Network: Connects field devices with the central system, either via wired or wireless means.
Master Terminal Unit (MTU): The core of the system, responsible for processing and storing collected data.

Thanks to Isotrol’s developments, power distribution companies can receive real-time information on the status of their operations. Their algorithms can analyze this data and optimize operational efficiency through the remote control of different network elements. Additionally, recorded data enables the identification of significant events and the generation of historical reports to support subsequent decision-making.

A clear example of its maturity in SCADA system development was the project carried out in 1998 for Made, an Endesa subsidiary specialized in the wind energy sector. Isotrol was responsible for the development, deployment, and commissioning of the control and management system for its wind farms. This system enabled data to be read from turbines every four seconds. At a time when such data retrieval could take up to one and a half minutes, this highlights Isotrol’s forward-looking approach. The system ensured data transmission and reception via a satellite communication channel operating at 4.8 kbps (kilobits per second).

With this project, Isotrol became one of the first companies to develop value-added solutions aimed at improving the performance of renewable energy assets. This marked a decisive step that shaped its trajectory as a specialized technology partner.

International Expansion

Isotrol’s technology was widely used in the Spanish market. When its clients began undertaking projects abroad, they continued to rely on this technology. The global economic crisis of those years led Isotrol to realize that, in order to survive, it needed to diversify its markets. This prompted the company to leverage its experience to expand internationally. Rather than simply exporting its technology from Spain, Isotrol adopted a more proactive approach, supporting its clients in their international ventures.

To support new overseas operations, Isotrol opened an office in London, United Kingdom, in 2013, followed by São Paulo, Brazil. This not only strengthened its relationships with existing clients but also enabled the company to manage new projects in emerging markets.

After executing renewable energy projects across four U.S. states, the company took a further step by opening an office in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2014. This move proved crucial, as the United States became a key market for renewable energy.

By 2014, Isotrol’s solutions were being used to manage more than 8 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity across over 400 renewable energy plants worldwide, representing approximately 3 percent of global renewable energy. Although it only had offices in London, São Paulo, and Boston at the time, its international footprint had already expanded to 18 countries across four continents. The company then employed around 250 people.

This gradual internationalization process—initially exporting services and later establishing a physical presence—demonstrated Isotrol’s technical capability to adapt to new markets and fostered strong trust among its clients when taking on new challenges.

These locations were followed by new offices in Chile, Mexico, Denver (United States), and Canada, eventually reaching a presence in 45 countries. The United States, along with Europe and Latin America, became the key regions in Isotrol’s international expansion strategy. By 2023, revenue generated outside Spain accounted for 45 percent of its total turnover of €35 million—an impressive figure considering that its revenue in 2018 stood at €14.5 million.

Bluence, Its Flagship Technological Bet

Isotrol prides itself on allocating 15 percent of its total budget to R&D. After years of developing solutions for managing renewable energy infrastructure, the company identified the need to integrate its accumulated expertise into a comprehensive software suite capable of enabling end-to-end management of renewable energy assets. This suite was named Bluence.

Bluence is a technology platform developed and managed by Isotrol, officially launched in May 2018 at Windpower 2018 in Chicago, an event organized by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Bluence is the brand under which Isotrol markets its suite of solutions for the comprehensive management of renewable energy assets.

The Bluence platform encompasses a range of advanced tools, including:

Real-time monitoring and control: Through local SCADA systems and Remote Operation Control Centers (ROCC), it enables the supervision and control of renewable generation plants from any location.
Asset Performance Management (APM): It leverages big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies to automatically detect the root causes of production losses, quantify them, and provide context, thereby improving plant operational efficiency.
Integration of generation, storage, and commercialization: Bluence enables holistic management across energy generation, storage, and market operations, supporting optimal charge and discharge strategies, bid submission, and trading strategy development.

To illustrate the platform’s capabilities, Bluence incorporates algorithms that analyze the predictability of component failures in renewable plants, anticipating faults or incidents before they occur (such as BigER or WinDIAG). The result is increased availability of generation assets and reduced operating costs.

Bluence solutions are scalable and compatible with a wide range of technologies, systems, and manufacturers. They are designed for seamless integration with third-party systems, allowing for continuous adaptation and expansion as business needs evolve.

The development of Bluence became a key pillar in Isotrol’s growth strategy, positioning the company as a leader in digital solutions and reinforcing its reputation as a trusted technology partner.

According to Manuel Losada, COO of Isotrol: “At Isotrol, we handle vast amounts of data collected from all the plants managed by our software. Through big data, we are able to maximize asset performance and improve efficiency. Our system detects any deviation from normal behavior, saving thousands of euros each year. It also helps determine the optimal moment for a plant to generate, store, or sell energy to the grid”. Losada summarizes it succinctly: “The software is the conductor, and the plants play the music”.

Isotrol’s sale to Tikehau Capital

Since 2013, Isotrol had steadily strengthened its presence in markets such as the United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. The Calvo brothers had positioned the company as a benchmark in renewable energy software. At the same time, the development of solutions such as Bluence had further enhanced its appeal to investors.

Even so, the founders knew that Isotrol could aim much higher. To do so, it would need to acquire complementary businesses, such as a technology company in the United States, and establish a presence in markets like Australia. For all of that, it would need far more capital than they could provide on their own. The solution they identified was to bring in a partner with the resources to support the next stage of growth. They turned to Lincoln International for advice in their search for a strategic partner to accelerate international expansion.

In December 2022, the sale of 100% of Isotrol to Tikehau Capital was completed. Tikehau Capital is a global alternative asset manager founded in France in 2004. The acquisition of Isotrol was driven by its energy transition strategy. With its expertise in developing technology solutions for renewable energy, Isotrol aligned perfectly with Tikehau Capital’s objective of supporting companies leading the shift toward cleaner, more sustainable energy sources. In addition, Isotrol already had advanced technology and a strong position in the global market, making it a strategic investment to reinforce Tikehau Capital’s growth and international expansion.

At the time, Isotrol’s management systems were deployed across more than 2,100 renewable energy facilities operated by some of the world’s leading energy companies. They were used to manage more than 130 GW across 45 countries. Isotrol employed more than 400 professionals in Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile.

Tikehau Capital acquired Isotrol in 2022.

After the acquisition, management was led by a new executive team headed by Manuel Losada Friend, son of the renowned scientist Losada Villasante. Manuel had served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Isotrol since 2017, when he was hired to lead the Bluence project. The new leadership team focused on accelerating Isotrol’s growth by strengthening its international footprint. Isotrol’s revenue increased by 14% in 2023, reaching €27 million. That same year, the company opened a new office in Denver, in the United States. In 2024, revenue would go on to exceed €35 million.

By the way, no details were ever published that would reveal the price paid by Tikehau Capital.

Conclusions on Isotrol’s story

Isotrol’s trajectory is a clear example of how the combination of academic expertise, entrepreneurial vision, and a commitment to innovation can give rise to a leading company in the technology and energy sectors. Since its founding by the Calvo Borrego brothers, Isotrol has shown an exceptional ability to adapt to the industry’s challenges, evolving from a startup focused on control systems into a global player in renewable energy solutions.

Its early years, marked by close relationships with domestic clients and a specialization in SCADA systems, laid the foundations for a business philosophy centered on technical value, customization, and quality. That mindset, together with the ability to anticipate market needs, enabled Isotrol to internationalize by accompanying its clients into new markets and, later, by establishing a direct presence in strategic countries such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

The creation of Bluence as a proprietary technology platform consolidated the company’s position as a benchmark in the monitoring, operation, and optimization of renewable energy plants, in a global context where decarbonization and energy efficiency are priorities.

It is also worth noting that, alongside founding and leading Isotrol, the brothers combined that role with other activities:

José Luis Calvo Borrego has had a distinguished academic and professional career. He was Professor of Electronic Technology at the University of Seville, where he supervised doctoral theses and collaborated on research projects related to electronic engineering. He has also served as a board member of various companies (Innova, Bluenet, Emasesa, etc.) and held the position of President of the Andalusian Institute of Technology (IAT), an institution dedicated to innovation and technological development in Andalusia, in Spain. His leadership experience and strategic vision have been key to promoting technology in the region.

Beltrán Calvo Borrego has had a distinguished career in business and technology. He served as President of the Business Circle of the Cartuja Science and Technology Park (PCT Cartuja) from 2012 to 2023. During his tenure, he worked to strengthen collaboration between the companies in the park and public and private institutions, driving growth and innovation at PCT Cartuja.

Finally, Isotrol’s acquisition by Tikehau Capital symbolizes both international recognition of the value created by the company and the beginning of a new chapter with greater reach. It represents the continuity of a project with its sights set on the future and on the major challenges facing the global energy sector.

With a workforce of 400 employees, Isotrol now has the financial firepower needed to acquire other companies in the sector and make investments that can significantly expand its scale. It seems the path the founders have chosen to pass on the baton is the right one to secure a forty-year legacy.

Isotrol has not only been a technology company; it has been a story of commitment, long-term vision, and responsible leadership.

Further Information

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Bibliography

Although the content of this blog is intended for educational and informative purposes, we take data verification very seriously. Our articles are the result of interviews with key figures and industry experts, as well as meticulous research across official sources, media outlets, scientific publications, and in-depth reports. Because of this, the stories we share are often recognized by their own protagonists as highly accurate. In any case, if you spot any errors or inaccuracies, we would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment at the end of the article or let us know at blog@carballar.com.

However, as a non-profit, educational blog, we operate with a lean approach, which means we cannot dedicate the time required to exhaustively reference every single piece of data presented. Nevertheless, should you need to verify any of the figures or information, we have attached some of the primary sources utilized below. Please keep in mind that, since this is a Spanish company, the majority of these sources are in Spanish.

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