“The goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 is a priority in Europe”
Sestao Town Council has asked TECNALIA to lead the process to establish the key elements that will enable the creation of the Next-Land Innovation and Competitiveness Hub.
The project, which is part of the Bizkaia Orekan Sakonduz programme by Bizkaia Provincial Council and promoted by Sestao Berri, aims to turn Sestao into a benchmark for the new industry, based on decarbonisation and energy transition.
This project is being carried out in a global context where the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 is a priority in Europe, and where technology and innovation are essential in order to ensure business competitiveness.
Sestao, with a long industrial tradition and leading companies in the Basque Country such as ArcelorMittal, Euskal Forging or Gescrap, has the opportunity to spearhead this change by providing support for processes that reinforce the productive fabric while promoting high-quality local employment.
A shared strategy through a process of co-creation
TECNALIA’s technical assistance includes:
- Identification of reference models in innovation hubs and clusters, as well as their key success factors.
- Analysis of the level of maturity or progress of companies in terms of energy transition.
- The definition of a medium and long-term vision for the conceptual model for the design of an Innovation and Competitiveness Hub (PIC-NextLand) focused on decarbonisation from an urban-industrial perspective.
To this end, group work and interviews were carried out with key actors in the ecosystem of the old La Naval industrial estate. In these sessions, proposals were discussed in order to ensure a shared strategy.
The aim of this whole process is to create a document that will lay the foundations for the creation of PIC-NextLand, aligned with the town’s 2030 Agenda and its goal of revitalising the urban economy.
A benchmark space for training and innovation
As a key element for the promotion of employment in Behargintza Sestao and the seed of this future hub, the current renovation of the historic building of Altos Hornos de Vizcaya Apprentices School is being used, which will be converted into a benchmark for training and innovation.
- As well as recovering its history, priority will be given to dual training plans, retraining plans for unemployed people and inclusive career paths.
- It will also play an important role as a living lab where students, companies, technology and training centres will work towards the regeneration of Sestao’s industrial identity.
- With this project, TECNALIA is strengthening its commitment to industrial transformation and territorial development, helping Sestao to consolidate its role as an economic driving force in the sustainable industry of the future.