The entrepreneur José Elías’ new plan: shifting from building 26 plants for Audax to offering 150 MW of renewable energy to external companies.
José Elías Navarro, a Catalan entrepreneur born in Badalona in 1976, has spent most of his career in the energy sector. As the founder of Orus Energía and president and largest shareholder of Audax Renovables, he has built a corporate group with interests in electricity marketing and the development of renewable energy facilities.
His activities also extend to other sectors such as food distribution and infrastructure. Now, Elías aims to expand his presence in the renewable energy value chain by relaunching Jencore, his company focused on building solar and wind power parks.
Jencore Hires Four Former OHLA Executives
The company, which had previously worked exclusively for Audax Renovables, is bringing in four former OHLA executives to drive its commercial expansion, acquire new clients, and diversify its projects. This new phase combines growth alongside Audax with entry into the third-party construction market.
Carlos Cuadros, former head of OHLA’s industrial division, will take on the role of CEO at Jencore. Joining him are Carlos Saiz as technical director, Ved Pandit in charge of procurement, and Mario Ruiz as operations director.
The reorganization also includes a change in ownership. The new management team will control 25% of the company’s capital, while José Elías will retain the remaining 75%. The addition of these four professionals aims to strengthen the management, engineering, procurement, and execution capabilities needed to compete for larger contracts.
The goal is to transform a company that has so far specialized in serving Audax’s needs into a construction firm capable of working for various energy companies.
Jencore has set a target to develop around 150 MW for external clients by 2027. In the medium term, the company aims to achieve revenues of around 50 million euros.
To achieve these targets, it will work on building solar and wind farms, as well as installing energy storage systems using batteries. This latter activity is gaining importance in a sector that needs to incorporate a larger share of renewable energy generation and manage the variability of solar and wind output.
The strategy does not involve abandoning Audax. On the contrary, Jencore will continue to play a key role in constructing its facilities and integrating batteries into existing or under-development farms. Currently, it is building around 100 MW for this energy company based in Badalona.
The diversification aims to add new contracts to this portfolio and reduce reliance on a single client.
Spain and Italy, the first expansion markets
The company will initially focus its activities on Spain and Italy, with Portugal also being a possibility. In the medium term, Mexico is among the markets it plans to explore.
Its openness to external clients has already yielded a concrete result: Jencore has signed a project of approximately 5 MW with Heliades Energy in Italy. This contract represents an initial step in its growth strategy outside the Audax group.
In Spain, the company has photovoltaic projects under construction in Yunquera de Henares in Guadalajara; Navalmoral de la Mata in Cáceres; Talavera de la Reina in Toledo, and Carmona in Seville.
International expansion and technological diversification will be key to achieving the goal of 150 MW for third parties. However, this figure represents a target for 2027, not capacity that has already been contracted or fully implemented.
Over 180 MW since its inception; next step is the addition of batteries
Jencore enters this new phase after five years of operation. During that time, it has built and commissioned 26 photovoltaic plants on the Iberian Peninsula, with a total capacity of over 180 MW. Until now, all these projects were for Audax Renovables.
His experience covers various technical configurations, from installations with fixed structures to parks equipped with monofilament and bifilament solar trackers. It also includes medium and high voltage electrical evacuation infrastructure and grid connection systems.
This track record forms the basis of his strategy for acquiring new clients, though growth will depend on his ability to secure contracts, meet deadlines, and compete on costs with other engineering and construction firms.
Jencore’s activities will remain aligned with Audax’s development schedule. Among the planned installations are those in Rebollo, Guadalajara, with 4.12 MW, and Navalmoral, Cáceres, with 21.88 MW, both of which were scheduled to begin operation in the third quarter of 2026.
For the fourth quarter of 2026, the schedule includes the launch of Madroño in Toledo, with 5.5 MW capacity. By the first quarter of 2027, Sezze 1 in Italy is planned to be operational, with 3.6 MW capacity.
In addition to these projects, there is Zarzuela battery in Toledo, scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. It will have a capacity of 2.5 MW and a storage duration of two hours, equivalent to a nominal energy capacity of 5 MWh.
The inclusion of batteries represents an additional business line for Jencore and aligns with Audax’s strategy of hybridizing renewable energy installations. These systems allow electricity to be stored and used later, though their profitability depends on installation costs, market conditions, and connection possibilities.