The Port of Barcelona has this Friday given the starting signal to its private foundation to promote innovation in its day-to-day activities, with the focus on improving issues such as port logistics, sustainable mobility, and the environment. "It is a significant day for the port and the 500 companies that are part of the port community, a turning point," said its president, Lluís Salvadó.
BCN Port Innovation has been operating for a few months and has 18 associated companies, which will be responsible for proposing challenges and developing pilot tests to improve the operation of the maritime infrastructure. By the end of the year, they expect to reach 30 partners. "The foundation is born with an absolutely open will," Salvadó emphasized, with the aim of attracting companies from the port community, but also technological startups and institutions.
Siemens, Grimaldi Lines, Merlin Properties, MB92, Mepsa, Alfil Logistics, Puerto Seco Azuqueca, Factor Energia, BEST, Captrain, Italtel, Nexus Geographic, Aquarium, ICIL, and the Escola Europea-Intermodal Transport are the first partners. In addition, Ackcent and Aggity are founding partners along with the port. The former specializes in cybersecurity and the latter in digital transformation. Recently, Factor Energia has joined as a founding partner.
BCN Port Innovation has launched two projects that apply technological solutions to facilitate the flow of goods. The first is led by Hutchison Ports and Allread, a spin-off from the Computer Vision Center of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), to carry out automatic scanning of seals, while the second involves Grimaldi Lines and Goclever, focused on detecting the volumetrics of trucks before entering the terminal.
To decide to finance a project, the foundation analyzes whether it responds to real challenges and presents results that are within reach of the whole society, as well as whether it is a replicable and scalable solution. In the coming months, it will launch three more projects focused on port logistics and international maritime transport.
The budget for the first year of BCN Port Innovation will be 0.5 million euros. Partner companies make contributions to finance the foundation ranging from 5,000 euros to 25,000 euros, depending on their participation in the pilot tests. Those who contribute more are those who have the capacity to request the projects they want to be carried out, in addition to being part of their development.