Valencia, 22 March 2023. – The Eco Mobility Expo, held this week at Feria Valencia, has been the framework chosen for the signing of the strategic collaboration agreement between Fundación Valenciaport and the Instituto Tecnológico de la Energía (ITE).
The general director of ITE, Marta García Pellicer, and the general director of Fundación Valenciaport, Antonio Torregrosa Maicas, have signed today this agreement whose aim is to develop initiatives and activities of common interest, in order to promote the sustainable and digital transformation of the ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia and, in general, of the maritime port sector, with special attention to the energy sector, looking for synergies of action and impact at regional, national and international level.
This agreement aims to contribute to the implementation of new energy sources and technologies in the maritime port sector; to identify and develop innovative initiatives for the maritime-port community and its relationship with the territory, especially in the port-city relationship; optimise resources, take advantage of synergies and achieve a great impact between both organisations, involving the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), its maritime-port community, the innovation ecosystem of the Valencian Community and the entire innovation and energy value chain; and generate new economic and employment opportunities in the maritime-port sector.
To achieve these objectives, both entities will establish a strategic, continuous and permanent dialogue with their maritime-port community, identifying needs, challenges, opportunities and strategic initiatives of interest in innovation, training and business development for both organisations. In addition, they will jointly develop the Maritime-Port Innovation Ecosystem in Energy, in which spaces for dialogue, open innovation and co-creation of innovative solutions to the challenges of the maritime-port sector identified by the Fundación Valenciaport and the APV will be facilitated and efforts and synergies will be joined to increase the network of alliances, contacts, support and lobbying with the local, regional and national administration. The involvement of companies in the Valencian Community, especially those associated with ITE and those belonging to the port community of the Ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia, in the strategic initiatives of port transformation and transition towards the port of the future will also be promoted and collaboration will be sought in the development of innovative initiatives and projects of R+D+i in energy transition. To this end, collaboration will be sought in calls for European, national and regional funding projects, especially the EU Operational Programme 2021-2027, and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (NextGen Funds).
In relation to training activities, new training programmes will be developed in different formats, such as, for example, a strategic seminar on energy transformation aimed at port sector managers.
Finally, both entities will collaborate in the identification of talent, startups, entrepreneurs and projects with specific products and services for the maritime-port sector, facilitating the development of pilots in the laboratory and in a real environment. To this end, they will join forces and synergies within the framework of the OPENTOP initiatives, the Open Innovation HUB of the Fundación Valenciaport.
