Port accessIn line with its commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship, Bilbao PortLab will be taking part in the Waves of Change Forum 2021 in Biarritz, from 23 to 25 September. This event is designed to provide a space for shared value creation among stakeholders of the environmental transition, developing sustainable solutions that preserve natural resources, where participants can share their achievements, exchange new ideas and collectively set new goals and steps for the future. The Forum will be divided into topic-based sessions, business meetings and productive free time.
Bilbao PortLab is taking part in a workshop in which a presentation will be given on the port of Bilbao and the dock electrification project underway, known as ‘Onshore Power Supply’ (OPS) or ‘Cold Ironing’. It will also delve into the Bilbao PortLab model for the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship in the port area, outlining the challenges and solutions that arise at any given time, and exchanging points of view and knowledge with the other participants.
Likewise, the Bilbao PortLab team attending the 3-day Forum will have a busy agenda to follow, including visits to business incubators, identifying innovative projects in the port sector, and networking sessions, workshops and 1:1 meetings with representatives of sector stakeholders. In doing so, the PortLab team is looking to establish synergies and gain in-depth knowledge of the innovation systems in Iparralde (the North Basque Country) and other areas of interest.
Promoted by the Port Authority of Bilbao and part of the Bilbao Port and River Foundation, Bilbao PortLab is an innovation and research hub whose mission is to create an innovation ecosystem in the port of Bilbao. To do so, Bilbao PortLab works with port companies on innovation projects that can be developed internally, and also attracts innovation projects from outside the port community. Interested companies are invited to participate and take advantage of the funding opportunities for their innovation plans currently under submission or which may be presented in the future.
Bilbao PortLab, with information on some 150 innovative companies already stored in its database, has supported and enabled 6 of the 33 business ideas approved in the first call for public aid from the “Ports 4.0” Fund, promoted by the company Puertos del Estado / Ports of the State.
The Bilbao PortLab advisory committee is made up of representatives from the Port Authority of Bilbao, Ports of the State, SPRI, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, BEAZ, Seed Capital Bizkaia, UniportBilbao, the Basque Maritime Forum, the Mobility and Logistics Cluster, Tecnalia, Innobasque, Orkestra and three universities: University of the Basque Country – Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV-EHU), the University of Deusto and the University of Mondragón.
