The Catalan capital will invest 60 million euros in a new innovation hub dedicated to the blue economy. Located on the port, the Blue Tech Port aims to become a European reference for maritime, logistics and energy technologies, with nearly 2,500 skilled jobs.
Barcelona accelerates its turn towards the blue economy. The city has just officially launched work on the Blue Tech Port, a vast innovation hub that will be built on the Sant Bertran quay, at the foot of Montjuïc, in the immediate vicinity of the Ronda Litoral. The future site will cover 25,000 m² and should be operational in 2028.
Designed as a space for convergence between companies, start-ups and research institutes, the Blue Tech Port will welcome actors specialized in innovation applied to maritime, port, logistics and energy activities. The first stone-laying ceremony was held last week in the presence of the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, who insisted on the strategic dimension of the project for the city.
For the municipality, it is also a matter of reconnecting the port to its urban environment. « We are in the heart of the city of Barcelona, hyperconnected with the world, » recalled the mayor, regretting that these lands have long been « underexploited ». According to him, the Blue Tech Port must strengthen the economic attractiveness of the Catalan capital while providing concrete answers to environmental challenges.
Same ambition on the side of the Port of Barcelona. Its president, José Alberto Carbonell, sees this future hub as a real open-air laboratory. « The Blue Tech Port will transform the port into an experimental space where innovations related to the port sector and the blue economy will be tested in real conditions, » he explained. An approach that is still rare in Europe, which will rely on all port infrastructure as a life-scale test site.
This strategy extends initiatives already undertaken, including the development of 50 linear meters of down dedicated to prototyping. The objective is now to extend this dynamic to the entire port, which represents more than 2,000 hectares of land surfaces and sheltered waters.
The architectural project was entrusted to the firm b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos. The management and operation of the site will be provided by the World Trade Center Barcelona, a concessionaire for the next 36 years. At this stage, 22 companies are already involved in the initiative, and discussions are underway to further expand the Blue Tech Port ecosystem.
source : lasemaineduroussillon
