The first Eurecat Congress has underscored Catalonia’s opportunities for moving forward in reindustrialisation against the backdrop of today’s technological revolution by enhancing its competitiveness, growth and generation of wealth and social wellbeing through harnessing levers including adaptation to climate change, digital transformation and tapping artificial intelligence technologies.
The congress hosted by the Eurecat technology centre pointed to the significance of the entire industrial ecosystem pooling resources by engaging universities, technology centres, businesses, government and the general public to enable continuous innovation of the industrial network as a crucial strategy for competitiveness and adaptation to its surroundings in a scenario shaped by the climate crisis and the rapid emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The key factors noted when it comes to tackling the challenge of industrialisation include the need to make it a priority and strive to promote it while taking advantage of the opportunity of NextGeneration funds and making innovation into a core action strand anchored in stepping up public-private partnerships and adopting a long-term view which factors in the strategic nature of industrial policy from a social standpoint.
Daniel Altimiras, Chair of the Eurecat technology centre, talked about the importance of making “a firm commitment to industry in Catalonia across all its stages” so as to “to shift towards competitive, local industry with an integrated chain and eschew reliance on third parties and losses of sovereignty while generating jobs which deliver more value and wellbeing for society.”
“This high-value local industry model entails economic and social progress for the country and needs to be rolled out with a European perspective and dimensions and a global outlook,” he argued in his opening address at the Eurecat Congress, an event which brought together over 200 people from the economic community and the business and innovation ecosystem at the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site in Barcelona.
Under the tagline ‘The Future of Our Industry’, the congress spent its first session on new approaches to ramp up industry by generating high added value activity and analysing the potential to engender new industrial operations. Based on this viewpoint, industry should be grown using a multi-location strategy which involves strengthening local industry, attracting industrial investment, backshoring some industrial processes and crafting new high added value industry.
“These last few years have been critical to regaining an awareness of industry’s importance for our prosperity which we had rather lost,” commented Guillermo Dorronsoro, an expert in the field at Zabala Innovation Consulting. In his view we now have to ensure that “this awareness translates into long-term private and public commitments in a stable framework shaped by effective policies which foster industrial investments.” Equally he thinks “the talent challenge is also exceptionally strategic.”
Technological and industrial strategies
Innovation “cannot be restricted only to the product or as a means of productivity since it has to emerge from within businesses and be part of their DNA,” added Albert Pérez, Director of Operations at Simon. “The knowledge of enterprises, turning the implicit knowledge of employees into an ecosystem, is a cornerstone of the industrial paradigm shift.”
Xavier López, Eurecat’s Chief Operating and Corporate Officer, said that it is important to “specify which technological and industrial areas are and will be critical for economic competitiveness and the wellbeing of the public, in which areas we are in a position to compete at a global scale and, based on all this, to roll out the appropriate technological and industrial policies and strategies.”
Here Arturo Vilavella, Director of Operations at Jolt Green Hydrogen Solutions, cited his company as an example which seeks to become “a leader in green hydrogen production equipment manufacturing.” In a broader perspective and as part of the energy transition, he pointed out that JOLT “is looking to apply its technology to any electrochemical process, thereby helping to build green chemistry decoupled from fossil fuels.”
The congress’s second session featured a panel discussion addressing the importance of innovation to mitigate the risks arising from climate change while seizing the opportunities it affords. Mireia Torres, Director of Innovation and Knowledge at Bodegas Torres, noted that climate change “is having a huge impact on the winemaking industry as it directly affects grape production and quality and in some cases even jeopardises the viability of the vines.” To cope with this situation, Familia Torres has put in place measures to “cut the winery’s carbon and water footprint coupled with certifications we think help convey our sustainability commitment to consumers” along with other actions to adapt to the new scenario.
Business awareness about the climate emergency
Irene Jubany, Research Coordinator of Eurecat’s Sustainability Area, said that “businesses are becoming increasingly mindful about the need to tackle the climate emergency and putting in place bold measures to foreground the sustainability of their operations without ceasing to be economically profitable companies.”
Javier Cervera, head of Energy Transition at Balearia, pointed out that “maritime transport represents over 90 percent of freight transport around the world and a very significant number of people.” In his view, “this connection between territories is indispensable and like other industries it faces a major challenge in climate change adaptation and mitigation.”
Balearia “has been working for 10 years on mitigation with lower emission fuels,” he added. This “has put the company in an advantageous position to handle the use of new fuels” with the target of “achieving total decarbonisation in a timeframe not far from 2050.”
Meanwhile, Xavier Tintoré, Chief Financial, Transformation & Sustainability Officer at Fluidra, a global leader in the swimming pool and wellness industry, underscored its strategy for cutting emissions in its operations and optimising resources, especially water, across all stages of the value chain anchored in design, manufacture, transport and use.
Artificial intelligence opportunities and threats
The third Eurecat Congress session showcased examples of how artificial intelligence has helped enterprises in various industries to enhance some of their operations and processes. It unpacked the significance of setting targets and the model for tapping artificial intelligence technologies to leverage their potential for generating new value and not just for replacing tasks performed by people.
Artificial intelligence “is a revolution and it is enabling us to meet previously unthinkable challenges,” pointed out Joan Mas, Director of Eurecat’s Digital Area. “It is also leading to numerous improvements at all levels, some of which are less conspicuous but are nevertheless changing the way we work, deliver services and produce.”
“Thinking about Artificial Intelligence should begin with a key question: what is its purpose?” commented José María Lassalle, a consultant, Philosophy of Law lecturer at ICADE and adviser at Acento. “Deciding what we want AI to do and what we want it to help us with is central to mapping out the ethics of its development and application right from the outset. This pre-emptive approach is crucial since modelling the ethics of an AI system once it is in place can be considerably more complex and challenging.”
