The Barcelona Innovation Coast (BIC) presented its action plan for the next two years, until 2027, this morning, and took stock of the work carried out since its creation in 2021. The basic point agreed is to double the budget dedicated to innovation and knowledge transfer, which will increase from the 20,15 million euros in the first stage of the project (2021-2024) to 45,2. With this allocation, the city of Barcelona plans to consolidate itself as a scientific and technological capital in southern Europe, and position itself as a global reference on a par with other large cities such as Boston, Zurich, Copenhagen or Berlin.

The fourth council of the BIC took place this morning at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, and was chaired by the Mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni, and the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance and Tourism, Jordi Valls. Also present at the event were Teresa Riesgo, Secretary General of Innovation in the Government of Spain, Javier Selva, Director General of Knowledge Transfer and Society of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Arancha González, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), Cristina Gallach, former Deputy Secretary General of the UN and Teresa Cabré, President of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Representatives from all Catalan universities, research centres, companies and business associations and financial institutions were also present.

Projects 2025-2027

Among the projects that are part of the BIC for this period, the Barcelona Investment Fund stands out, the fund created to guarantee the financial sustainability of long-term research and innovation projects, which has a budget of up to 30 million euros; or also the creation in the city of the Fraunhofer Institute, the largest and most prestigious organization in Europe in applied research, for which it is planned to allocate around 3 million euros for the period 2025-27.

On the other hand, the Deep Tech Summit and the Deep Tech Node, programs to enhance financing, increase synergies and promote startups and new entrepreneurs in disruptive technologies, receive a boost of 1,5 and 2,4 million euros, respectively, while the Barcelona Innovation Lab Mobility, promoted by BIT Habitat and the City Council to advance new efficient and innovative technological systems for transport, receives 0,9 million euros.

The 2025-2027 Action Plan also establishes a new consolidated space for regular meetings. 

Disruptive sectors and frontier research

One of the main objectives of the Barcelona Innovation Coast is to promote the development of projects in disruptive sectors and frontier research such as quantum, semiconductors or artificial intelligence and to determine their future competitiveness. As an example, the quantum ring will be developed, together with the Generalitat de Catalunya. This is a secure communication network (protected from interception through quantum keys) that will be deployed in the Metropolitan Area based on the available fiber optic infrastructure, and which will serve as a preliminary step to the gradual deployment of the pan-European quantum internet network.

The BIC, on the other hand, also wants to promote sectors that are vital for progress and well-being such as life sciences and health or sustainability.

A new line of studies will also be launched to define the state and evolution of the knowledge economy in the city, a field that has so far been little analyzed. Throughout the next academic year, 2025-2026, it is planned to announce a first investigation, which is already underway, and which will quantify the economic return represented by the university and public research sectors in the Metropolitan Area.

Barcelona Innovation Coast

The Barcelona Innovation Coast is an initiative created in 2021 by the Barcelona City Council, with the collaboration of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Ministry of Universities, Science and Innovation. Its initial idea and basic objective is to strengthen Barcelona’s status as a capital in the field of innovation, diversify the economy and generate quality jobs. It especially promotes innovative projects in sustainable mobility, technology, health and renewable energies. The BIC’s aim is to strengthen connections between research and business, and improve knowledge transfer. All this to place the city at the same level as other consolidated innovation hubs on the continent.

Barcelona now has nearly 70 research centers and first-class scientific and technological infrastructures. The city is the fourth in the European Union in volume of scientific production and the third most attractive for new startups. The Metropolitan Area leads the attraction of competitive research funds throughout the state, thanks to being home to five internationally prestigious universities and other centers of excellence, such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the ALBA Synchrotron, the Institute of Photonic Sciences, or the Biomedical Research Park.