Barcelona will have a digital aviation innovation center

The Barcelona City Council and Vueling will promote a new research center for the aeronautical sector, the Digital Aviation Innovation Talent Hub, which will address challenges such as digitalization and energy efficiency. The objective is to establish a data center that positions Barcelona as a benchmark in digital innovation in the aeronautical sector and that works to boost the startup ecosystem based on new opportunities, in addition to creating, attracting, and retaining technological talent.

The hub foresees the creation of new quality jobs, both digital profiles such as programmers or experts in big data or in the transformation and modernization of more traditional jobs. According to its promoters, the center should serve to facilitate decision-making for agents in the tourism and aviation industry throughout its value chain, improving people's travel experience and promoting sustainability, in highly technified facilities.

The collaboration project has the support of Barcelona Activa, which will be the entity in charge of finding a location for the new research center, which wants to be nourished by funding from the European Next Generation EU programs.

The initiative is open to other agents in the city who want to join, especially the startup ecosystem that, from Barcelona, promotes improvements in R&D&i, design and manufacturing, airworthiness, air, ground and intermodal traffic, and the maintenance and repair of aircraft. In fact, Barcelona Activa already has emerging companies with disruptive technologies, some of them focused on the aerospace industry, such as Pangea Aerospace, Lobelia Earth, IsardSat or Rokubun, as highlighted by the Barcelona City Council.

The first deputy mayor for Economy, Work, Competitiveness and Finance and president of Barcelona Activa, Jaume Collboni, has highlighted "the range of possibilities that open up from this agreement," which is a "transformative" initiative for the city's economy and also at the state level, "in line with the economic and social challenges of post-pandemic society and the objectives of the 2030 agenda."