The Port of Barcelona and World Trade Center Barcelona (WTCB) have launched construction of BlueTechPort, a blue economy innovation hub to transform the Sant Bertran sheds into a unique European centre for maritime experimentation.

The ceremony laying the first stone marks the beginning of works involving an investment of €60 million ($69.8 million) that will make a new 25,000-square-metre area available in 2028 for companies and organisations linked to the blue economy, providing a workspace for 2,500 professionals.

The port stated in a press release that BlueTechPort 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.

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.

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“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.

“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 sectors.

“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.”