Port accessSome thirty innovating projects interested in participating in State Ports Funds 4.0.call
The Port of Bilbao has hosted the first meeting of the Bilbao PortLab committee with the presence of the Port Authority Chairman, Ricardo Barkala, and the Director of the Innovation Area of Spanish State Ports, José Llorca. Also present were representatives of the SPRI group (the Basque Government’s business development agency), Seed Capital Bizkaia and Beaz (both companies of the Territorial Council of Biscay), Tecnalia, UniportBilbao/BCLM, the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), and the Universities of Deusto and Mondragon.
Company interest in this initiative, which was started by the Port Authority in July, was confirmed during the meeting because some thirty have advanced their projects waiting for the State Ports Funds 4.0.call to be made public. In addition, the coordination among entities was highlighted together with the complementarity sought between the State Ports Fund, the Port Authority’s initiative and other programmes in the Basque innovation system.
The Port Authority of Bilbao also announced during the meeting, it would upload a section on its website www.bilbaoport.eus for companies to make enquiries and send their innovating projects.
Bilbao PortLab seeks to identify innovation challenges and needs among the Port companies, and provide start-ups, entrepreneurs and companies with a living lab environment to test and develop prototypes, to facilitate contacts with Port companies, to contribute a space to develop projects and
support entrepreneurs by carrying out the corresponding individualised work plans.
Furthermore, among the Committee’s function is the coordination of the support tools for undertaking the Basque innovation ecosystem and Port Funds 4.0 (subsidies, seed capital, business angels etc.), and to maximise the probabilities of success of those projects identified.
This initiative also forms part of the Port Authority’s Strategic Plan to make Bilbao a reference in innovation and digitalisation.
Port Funds 4.0
The first Port Funds 4.0 call will be launched over the next few weeks for a total of 12 million euros, which all the Port Authorities in the system – including Bilbao-are contributing 1% equivalent of their cash flow. The fund is administered by Spanish State Ports.
