Bilbao Port Innovation and Research Centre

If you would like to be part of the Port of Bilbao’s innovation ecosystem and use the port as a test environment, contact bilbaoportlab@bilbaoportlab.eus

Bilbao Port Authority has its own 200-m2 Innovation and Research Centre, for those Port Community companies requiring it, start-ups, doctoral students, and researchers in the sector.
This Innovation Centre seeks to serve as the venue for unifying the needs identified by the port community companies in the transformation to a Ports 4.0. model, with the ideas and projects to be developed by entrepreneurs, start-ups, doctoral students and researchers in our sector
In a word, we want to contribute to strengthening an environment and climate of innovation in Bilbao Port by facilitating the means necessary to enable ideas and projects contributing solutions to the real problems of the sector to prosper.Being a real test environment for innovative technologies.
In this way, the Bilbao Port Innovation Centre has a co-working venue for start-ups as well as a space for demonstrations, presentations and seminars, and a real test environment (Living Lab).

Some companies that are testing their technologies:

Scouting: Analysis of trends, technologies and benchmarking.
Awareness-raising and Training: we hold various conferences and training sessions in areas such as technologies, innovation, innovation funding, the Port of Bilbao… which you can attend free of charge. If you would like to find out more, you can register by sending an e-mail to bilbaoportlab@bilbaoportlab.eus
Funding: For the funding of projects we have a specific tool, the Ports 4.0 call for proposals and other generic funding tools that we can help you to manage.
Services: in addition to the possibility of setting up in the coworking space, you will have access to networking sessions with the port community and other companies, access to specific work programmes and training sessions on the Port of Bilbao.

Projects and ideas may concern four thrusts:

Logistic efficiency in the infrastructural, operational, or service delivery fields. Eligible projects could thus be automation solutions for terminal operations, the implantation of autonomous vehicles, the use of data to optimise processes or the development of predictive models, logistic chain tracking systems, etc.
Process digitalisation and smart platforms. In this instance, the plan refers to the development of platforms enabling data exchange between the different agents of the logistic-port community, smart port systems, digital integration with other sectors, systems enabling reliability and transparency in operations, and blockchain technology information, to cite some examples.
Environmental and energy sustainability. This would finance projects on energy efficiency or projects oriented to reducing emissions of any sort in port service delivery, the promotion of the circular economy and the use of alternative fuels, among other concerns.
Security and protection. The plan envisions the development of proposals for remote detection, early warning, physical hazard management, cybersecurity systems, and control and process automation.