Novarium, the Quebec-based blue economy innovation hub, announced the creation of a strategic partnership with the Port of Barcelona.
This collaboration will give companies funded by Novarium with access to the Port of Barcelona's Blue Sandbox, enhancing the link between Quebec and Barcelona.
Furthermore, the partnership has been designed to act as a catalyst for non-dilutive investment funding from Spain's Ports 4.0 Fund, Europe's largest capital pool dedicated to port-based open innovation problems.
The agreement was signed on 9 November in Barcelona at Smart Ports: Piers of the Future 2023. This conference was centered on port infrastructure innovation.
It brings together leaders from about 20 international ports that are making breakthroughs in the blue economy sector by using artificial intelligence and sustainable technologies to enhance their supply chain management procedures.
Furthermore, Barcelona has devised a bold blue economy plan. The City of Barcelona and the Port of Barcelona are exhibiting their leadership in this potential economic area through their ambitious blue economy agenda.
BlueTechPort, an innovation space for firms designed to stimulate innovation in all sectors relevant to the blue economy, was established last July by the Port of Barcelona and Tech Barcelona.
In addition, BlueTechPort anticipates that with this collaborative approach, participating start-ups will be positioned to profit from all of the benefits offered through this ecosystem. This is another example of the alliance network on which the Port of Barcelona is basing its open innovation strategy.
This future vision, bolstered by Barcelona's and Catalonia's highly collaborative support for the blue economy sector, provides inspiration for Quebec as it pursues its own bright blue economy agenda.
Internationally beneficial cooperation for Quebec Through its extensive contacts with Barcelona's entrepreneurial environment, the Bureau du Québec à Barcelone played an important role in promoting and enabling this cooperation.
For more than a year, Novarium and the Bureau worked with CENIT-CIMNE, a logistics and port research firm that has long worked with the Port of Barcelona's innovation department. This relationship, in turn, created the groundwork for this prospective collaboration focused on the growth of the blue economy in Quebec and throughout the world.
Quebec will strengthen links with the Catalan capital as a result of this partnership arrangement since the startups backed by Novarium will be able to operate from Barcelona and gain benefits from the city's advantages.
These include relationships with regional investors and access to a network of research and development resources. Furthermore, this strengthened partnership allows Catalan startups to connect with the North American ecosystem and thus enlarge their market reach and take advantage of the infrastructure available in Quebec.
