Port accessBilbao PortLab, the innovation hub of the Port Authority of Bilbao, has brought together the entrepreneur community at the Torre Bizkaia in Bilbao to present its open innovation policy and its proposal to create and develop an innovation ecosystem around the port of Bilbao. The aim of the initiative is to help the companies in the port-logistics community in their transition towards a smarter, more efficient and more sustainable future, working with the port companies on innovation projects that may be generated internally or by attracting them from outside the port of Bilbao.
The event, organised within the BAT Talks initiative promoted by B Accelerator Tower, began with a talk by José Luis García-Mochales, Head of Innovation of the Port Authority of Bilbao, who highlighted the work being done by the Port of Bilbao in the field of innovation to “become an ever more competitive, innovative and sustainable port, and so contribute to the progress and welfare of the companies and people in our hinterland”.
For her part, Nagore Ardanza, coordinator of Bilbao PortLab, explained to those present the experience of the Port of Bilbao’s innovation hub and its commitment to building an efficient, digital, sustainable and safe port “by matching up the needs of the port community with innovative solutions that start-ups and entrepreneurs can provide in a context of open innovation”. She also highlighted “the availability of the port facilities as a real test environment – a living lab – in which start-ups, entrepreneurs and companies can test and develop prototypes”.
The event continued with a discussion between Nagore Ardanza and José Llorca, Head of Regulations and Technology at Puertos del Estado / The State Ports Authority, who is also responsible for the Ports 4.0 grants programme to attract, support and enable talent uptake and entrepreneurship in the Spanish public and private port sector, and in which the port community can participate as a project enabler.
Five entrepreneur initiatives supported by Bilbao PortLab and which have already obtained funding in previous calls of the Ports 4.0 programme to take their projects forward, then explained their experience. These included Bound4blue, which has installed on a vessel the two largest suction sails built and installed to date; GSSC, with a proposal to implement predictive governance of cyber-physical risks to improve security; Nuavis, an automated continuous monitoring platform to obtain information in real time using artificial vision and machine learning; Madeport, a platform to digitise the
timber supply chain from origin to wholesale warehouse; and Suprasys, a transmission link for connection between port and ships to optimise power distribution costs and the repowering of power supply systems.
The event culminated with a networking session, a series of pitches given by the selected innovative solutions and meetings between the Bilbao PortLab team and interested parties with proposals.
