The Port of Barcelona continues to diversify its activity. Today it has announced the creation of a private foundation and the fitting out of various physical spaces that will serve to develop an innovation hub linked to the blue economy. This initiative is part of the port’s Innovation Plan 2021-2024, which was presented today by the president of the port institution, Damià Calvet, and the director of Innovation and Business Strategy, Emma Cobos.
The development of this innovation hub will require an investment of between 6 and 7 million euros. The project will take advantage of spaces already built to create and test new technologies in Port Vell and in the sheds of the Sant Bertran wharf. The Blue Tech Port will be located in these facilities, which will host companies in the sector and will have common spaces for the exchange of experiences and knowledge among them.
The sheds of the Sant Bertan wharf will host, at a date yet to be determined, the headquarters of the new foundation, as well as a business accelerator, training centers and the Logistics Institute, recently presented, and which will host all the professional training related to this activity and its relationship with the port.
In the midst of the transformation process into a smart port, the Barcelona Port Innovation Foundation will be a decisive pillar of this transformation and diversification of the activities carried out in this venue. The foundation will have the initial participation of the companies Ackcent and Aggity and will be open to other companies so that they can associate.
In the presentation, Calvet lamented that Barcelona “still does not look enough at the sea” despite having a number of large projects related to the blue economy underway.
The innovation plan defines three basic objectives: to strengthen the role of the port of Barcelona as an engine of economic recovery, to promote innovation and digitization of the logistics ecosystem, and to favor synergies with the city. “Barcelona has always been at the forefront of the Spanish port system and also of the Mediterranean and European ports when proposing, designing and putting into service innovative solutions in areas as diverse as logistics (the Logistics Activities Zone), the port in network and inland terminals (Zaragoza Maritime Terminal), the port-city (Port Vell), the participation of the port community (Governing Council of the Port Community of Barcelona, Telematics Forum), training (European Intermodal Transport School), or telematics (Portic), among others”, highlighted the president of the port.
The Port of Barcelona proposes strategic alliances with the agents of the city’s innovative ecosystem, such as 22@, the Barcelona Free Zone Consortium, Barcelona Tech City or the Mobile World Capital.
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