The new BlueTechPort will turn the Port of Barcelona into a pioneering blue hub for applied innovation in Europe

The Port of Barcelona and World Trade Center Barcelona (WTCB) today officially launched the construction works of BlueTechPort, the new blue economy innovation space that will turn the Sant Bertran sheds and the entire port into a hub that is unique in Europe, where both the building and the port precinct will work together as a great experimentation laboratory. 

The ceremony laying the first stone marks the beginning of works involving an investment of EUR 60 million that will make a new 25,000 m² area available in 2028 for companies and organisations linked to the blue economy, providing a workspace for 2,500 professionals. However, BlueTechPort will be much more than a building. It will be the epicentre of an innovative ecosystem that will extend beyond the Sant Bertran wharf to turn the entire Barcelona port precinct into a great sandbox for creating innovation linked to the port sector and the blue economy. 

This applied innovation hub will mark a significant qualitative and quantitative leap in the innovation strategy rolled out by the Port of Barcelona, which has already proved its capacity to promote companies and emerging business models in the initial phases of BlueTechPort. There are already 22 companies in the BlueTechPort area, combining Pier01 at Tech Barcelona - where it was created - and, by this autumn, the first warehouse of the Sant Bertran sheds. 

Many of these companies have not only set up in the Port of Barcelona, but are already testing their prototypes and experimenting on the 50 linear metres of the Barcelona Nord wharf set up for this purpose. This is an example of the model that the new BlueTechPort will scale up to the rest of the port precinct, bringing innovation to the whole of Barcelona. 

The renovation project for the sheds on the Sant Bertran wharf - the future headquarters of the new BlueTechPort - was designed by b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos, and is being led jointly with World Trade Center Barcelona, the company responsible for performing the works following the award of the 36-year concession of the building. 

"BlueTechPort is more than just a building - it is the gateway to an open laboratory that encompasses the entire Port of Barcelona, where innovation is tested in real conditions," stated Port of Barcelona President José Alberto Carbonell, who added that "the building and the rest of the port precinct will function as a single ecosystem, which the BCN Port Innovation Foundation and the projects of the Ports 4.0 programme are also part of. This ecosystem is ideal for testing innovations and generating an impact in the logistics and blue economy sector. We will also add synergies with other leading players from the innovation sector that have chosen the Port as their headquarters and are already fully operational, such as Tech Barcelona or Norrsken, which are among Europe's main technological innovation and impact hubs." 

Gustavo Santana, president of Puertos del Estado, recalled the potential of ports in fostering innovation in multiple areas, underlining that "buildings such as BlueTechPort position ports as catalysts for the blue economy." In turn, Carles Anglada, General Manager of WTCB, highlighted the value of the new BlueTechPort as “a meeting place for generating collaborations and synergies”, enriching an innovative ecosystem in full growth which already acts as a magnet for talent. 

Sílvia Paneque, regional Minister for Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Catalan Government, recalled that "the new BlueTechPort is built upon a legacy of our territory and scientific knowledge making it both trustworthy and secure", underscoring the role of the Catalan Council for Maritime Co-management, with representatives of the Catalan Government, marine research centres, economic sectors of the blue economy and civil society organisations, which "has performed exemplary work in recent years and now also has the satisfaction of having this new centre of innovation in blue economy technology in Barcelona." 

Finally, Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, highlighted that "BlueTechPort is an initiative that is fully intertwined with the city's economic diversification strategy and the flagship project of Barcelona's commitment to the Blue Economy. Repurposing abandoned areas using technology and the ability to attract talent through this project linked to the port sector will enable us to guarantee that the people of Barcelona can remain in the city by taking up new job opportunities".