Barcelona unveils PierNext

Photo: Marfret

The Catalan port has launched its digital knowledge hub aimed at providing information on the technological and digital transformation of the port sector.

With PierNext, part of the port's Digital Port project, Barcelona also wants to stimulate a global debate on the future of international trade, and the role logistics and ports will play in shaping it, i.a., with the use of disruptive products and services.

"Innovation & the digital revolution that is transforming our sector will be one of the axes defining the strategy of the Port of Barcelona in the years to come. Through PierNext, the Port of Barcelona aims to enrich Barcelona's innovation cluster with its specialised view of the port and logistics sector, which we consider to be full of opportunities and potentialities, mainly for start-ups and SMEs," Mercè Conesa, President, and Carles Rúa, Strategic Projects and Innovation Chief, the Port of Barcelona, said.

The platform will be updated on a weekly basis with reports, videos, infographics, and other materials. "PierNext contains seven sections, which correspond to the six main elements of the smart port model (logistics, mobility, economy, environment, people and governance) and one more (technology), which we have added because of its cross-cutting nature and to highlight innovations with a significant technological or digital component," Rúa, explained.

According to the port authority, Barcelona is the fourth European city in terms of capital investment in start-ups (58% of all money invested in Spain) and ranks third among entrepreneurs looking to found a start-up. "From the Port of Barcelona we want to add and to contribute to this. We aim to explain how the great digital revolution in our sector is happening, but we also want to show all the possibilities that this transformation can offer, both in terms of attracting investment and talent," Conesa added to this.

"At the Port of Barcelona we have always defended an open and collaborative innovation model. This is shown by the initiatives we have undertaken to boost entrepreneurship and find innovative solutions to the challenges facing the sector; initiatives such as Port Innova - Barcelona Port Hackathon or the Port Challenge Barcelona. In the same vein, we want to make PierNext an open platform for all people and organisations interested in contributing and sharing ideas," Rúa summed up.