Barcelona is clear: it wants to consolidate itself as one of the main scientific hubs globally. To do so, the city is strengthening another key player to establish itself in this field, the Barcelona Innovation Coast (BIC). The platform, which brings together public and private sectors to connect academic and scientific innovations with the business and social world, has expanded its budget to 46 million euros for the 2025-2027 period in knowledge transfer.
The organization, led by the Barcelona City Council and promoted with the Generalitat and the Ministry of Science, thus doubles in two years the investment allocated in the first stage of the project; since 2021, 22 million euros have been allocated to the initiative. With this increase in resources, the BIC aims to make a qualitative leap and equate Barcelona with global references in the scientific field, such as Boston, Zurich, Copenhagen, and Berlin.
The platform, which faces this objective with a new strategic plan until 2027, opens this new stage linked to projects such as the fund promoted by the City Council Barcelona Investment Fund, as well as the increase in research grants and the creation of the Fraunhofer Institute. This center, linked to Europe's most prestigious organization in applied research, will be boosted by the BIC with three million euros until 2027.
In addition, disruptive technology startups will be boosted with 1.5 million and 2.4 million for the Deep Tech Summit and the Deep Tech Node, respectively. In parallel, calls to promote knowledge and research transfer will be expanded with 8.6 million.
The BIC also aims to promote training in semiconductor design, as well as the development of the quantum ring, jointly with the Generalitat and throughout the metropolitan area. In addition, the platform will boost key sectors such as life sciences, health, and sustainability, and will contribute to improving scientific infrastructures.
This commitment to the BIC represents a "confirmation that the City Council, despite not having powers in science and innovation, has many responsibilities in this area," highlighted the mayor, Jaume Collboni. And it is that "the obligation of the public sector is precisely to promote research that can have a positive impact on people's daily lives," he defended in an event with institutional representatives and from universities, research centers, and business associations.