- The Port Authority of Valencia, the Fundación Valenciaport and Innova y Acción are backing the launch of an international edition focused on strategic matchmaking
- Tech start-ups and SMEs have until 25 May to register and be in with a chance of winning the €9,000 in prizes up for grabs in the final stage
Valencia, 15 May 2026.- Opentop, Valenciaport’s open innovation hub, has officially launched the sixth edition of the Valenciaport Hackathon for Startups. The event will take place in person on 30 June and 1 July 2026 at the iconic Clock Tower in the Port of Valencia, and registration is now open at opentop.es.
The launch event was attended by a wide range of challengers, partners and mentors. It opened with a welcome address by Jorge Marcos, Project Lead at Opentop, who then handed over to Juan Manuel Díez, Head of Innovation at the Valencia Port Authority. Díez highlighted the opportunities this Hackathon offers for startups to test their solutions in the Valenciaport Sandbox. Next, Antonio Torregrosa, Director General of the Fundación Valenciaport, expressed his satisfaction with the growth and consolidation of the event, now with an international format aimed at start-ups addressing the three proposed challenges.
Paula Vivó, from Innova y acción, an organising partner for this edition, explained the methodological innovations that will be applied, based on the experience gained from over 30 hackathons organised by her organisation, alongside the use of Opentop’s matchmaking service as a key tool for connecting startups and challengers with greater alignment.
Three high-impact challenges for the sector
The challenges for this edition were presented during the event.
Rafael Company, Director of Security and Protection at the Fundación Valenciaport, representing the Valenciaport Cluster Innovation Committee, presented the challenge of ‘Response to Disruptions’: the creation of an AI-powered monitoring and response platform to anticipate and manage disruptions at the Port of Valencia.
Raúl Cascajo and Pilar Agramunt, representing VPI Logística, presented the challenge of ‘Access and Smart Mobility in the ZAL’: the design of a model for managing access, security and mobility for the Port of Valencia’s Logistics Operations Zone.
Alex Holland, Director of Industry Solutions at Hitachi Energy, presented the challenge of the Multi-vector Energy Management System: the development of an EMS (Energy Management System) for the port sector that integrates renewables, storage and new energy vectors such as OPS, reefers and electric vehicles.
Awards and support from the ecosystem
The winners of this edition will be in the running for a first prize of €6,000 and a second prize of €3,000, the latter sponsored by the Juan Arizo Serrulla Foundation (FJAS).
The event is backed by a broad port and innovation ecosystem. The Valencian Shipping Association (ANV), APMT, Boluda, Infoport, Nealis Innovation Hub and The Whiteam Technology Services are participating as supporters, whilst Valencia Innovation Capital, Ideas UPV, Invest in Valencia, and Startup Valencia are joining as entities within the innovation ecosystem.
The Valenciaport Hackathon has established itself as the leading international event in open innovation for the maritime-logistics sector and is now a permanent fixture on the global port innovation ecosystem’s calendar.
Call for entries open until 25 May
The call is aimed at startups, scale-ups and tech SMEs with a functional and innovative product or MVP. Three startups will be selected per challenge. The registration period is open until 25 May 2026 via the form available at opentop.es. For any enquiries: hello@opentop.es
About Opentop
Opentop is the Valenciaport Innovation Hub. This initiative, led by the Fundación Valenciaport with the support of the Port Authority of Valencia, aims primarily to bring open innovation to the companies and organisations operating in the three ports managed by the APV (Valencia, Sagunto and Gandía), in order to boost their competitiveness.
