The countdown begins to complete the BlueTechPort in 2027

The machinery to launch the BlueTechPort to its fullest expression is already in motion. The planned concession of the space to the World Trade Center (WTC) has already been formalized; the tender for the works will be issued in the coming weeks, and work is expected to begin in autumn, with the aim of finishing in autumn 2027.

With an investment of 49 million euros, the works will elevate the current BlueTechPort to another level: the innovation space that now occupies one of the sheds on Moll de Sant Bertran will extend to the rest of the buildings, which will add 25,000 square meters dedicated to innovation linked to the sea.

The new innovation center, which will be able to host up to about 3,000 workers, aims to become one of the most important innovation spaces in the blue economy in Europe, "if not the most important," highlighted the general director of World Trade Center Barcelona (WTCB), Carles Anglada, alongside the president of the Port of Barcelona, José Alberto Carbonell, and the port's innovation director, Emma Cobos.

The objective? "That the BlueTechPort and the companies that will be housed in it become a key piece for internationalization, digitalization, and sustainability, main axes of the port's future," Carbonell emphasized. Thus, the center will contribute to strengthening the blue economy ecosystem, and to positioning Barcelona as the European capital in this field.

Currently, about 40 employees from twenty companies already work in the only shed currently available at BlueTechPort. All of them will move their activity to the World Trade Center while the works to expand the scope of BlueTechPort are underway. This innovation center will be the first property managed by WTCB beyond the Barcelona dock, a fact that represents, according to Anglada, a "milestone" for the company: "This physical and qualitative leap will mark a before and after for WTCB as a real estate manager, and will be the first of other assets that we will be incorporating into our portfolio," which are yet to be finalized.

When the works are completed, the center will feature offices, workshops, laboratories, exhibition halls, a canteen, and a lactation room, among other facilities. To house them, the project designed by the b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos firm will be marked by flexibility: "Laboratories can range from a table with a computer to a pool full of water," Anglada illustrated.

Through Fermín Vázquez's design, the six warehouses on the dock, built in the 1960s and unused until now, will change their current appearance to acquire a much more transparent one, dominated by glass walls and crowned by an eight-story building that will act as the "lighthouse of the complex."

In addition, 17% of the BlueTechPort will be green space, and the complex will be built enhancing its sustainability: it will consume 60% less energy than a conventional building, and the building will produce 50% of what it needs, through a hydrothermal system and solar panels that will be laid on the rounded roofs of the old sheds.

Talent and ecosystem

The will of the WTCB as manager of the space is that one third of the companies that join the BlueTechPort are startups. Along with the presence of consolidated companies and institutions, "they will turn the BlueTechPort into a true hub of research, innovation and knowledge", and into a test bed for emerging companies that want to test their solutions, also at sea: "The port must be seen as a sandbox for testing," according to Cobos.

"We want what comes out of here to solve real problems, and for long-term companies to emerge," Anglada added. And it is that, ultimately, "the objective is to attract talent to solve great challenges" linked to the blue economy, as Cobos highlighted, who has opted to attract both local and international talent. Thus, in Anglada's words, the BlueTechPort will contribute to enriching this sector and positioning Barcelona: "Grouping this ecosystem under one roof gives us visibility, favors contacts and collaboration and is a multiplier of the ecosystem."