Salvador Furió tells us the details of Opentop Valencia | Opentop

 

1. What is Opentop?

Opentop is Valenciaport's Innovation Hub. An innovation hub that will attract technology companies, corporations and startups to collaborate on innovation projects in the logistics-port sector.

Opentop includes a whole set of initiatives designed to boost innovation in the Port environment, and make it an international benchmark in open innovation in the sector

• Startup incubator-accelerator. This is the first of the new initiatives to be launched. For this, the Valenciaport Foundation has the collaboration of Telefónica as a strategic partner; thus adding to the long experience of the Valenciaport Foundation innovating in the sector, the knowledge and know-how of Telefónica in open innovation and collaborating with startups.
• Venture Capital Fund: A vehicle to take advantage of both investment opportunities in startups that go through Opentop programs, as well as other leading startups in the sector.
• Labs: The labs will provide the necessary framework, infrastructure and infostructures (testbeds, sandbox, digital twins, etc.) for startups, technology companies and cluster companies to test new technologies and solutions. The formalization of the Valenciaport LivingLab is also planned to facilitate the testing of innovative technologies and solutions in a real environment.
• Training: Opentop's Training activities build on and expand those already carried out by the Valenciaport Foundation, with training in new technologies, innovation methodologies, and also with the application of innovative technologies for the training of professionals in the sector.
• Research and Development: The synergies that will arise between Opentop's new activities and the R&D&I activity that the Valenciaport Foundation has been developing will be exploited, taking advantage of and strengthening the Labs, and expanding the current collaborations with the startups of the incubator-accelerator, with technology companies and, of course, with the companies of the cluster.

Through all these initiatives Opentop makes the best open innovation tools available to the port community.

2. Where the initiative comes from.

Opentop was born out of the Valenciaport Foundation's conviction of the potential of open innovation to support and accelerate the transformation process in which the sector is immersed, driven by the rapid development of new technologies and the pressure to achieve a sustainable and environmentally friendly transport system.

The Valenciaport Cluster Innovation Plan developed by the Valenciaport Foundation in 2018 already identified open innovation with startups as one of the lines of action to be developed. Following the experiences of the "SuperLabPorts", the "Maritime ClimAccelerator" and the "I Valenciaport Hackathon", the Valenciaport Foundation is leading the "Opentop - Valenciaport Open Innovation Hub" project with the support of the Port Authority of Valencia.

3. What are the short, medium and long term objectives.

The first short-term objective is the successful development of the II Valenciaport Hackathon, whose call is already open, as well as the launch of the first incubation and acceleration programs, whose calls will open in summer and autumn respectively. At least eight startups capable of responding to the challenges posed by the cluster companies that decide to participate first in these programs will go through them.

The medium-term objective is to extend the culture of open innovation in the Valenciaport cluster and consolidate the incubator-accelerator itself with an increasing participation of its companies, completing this initiative with the laboratories and the venture capital fund, so that we are able to exploit the synergies of all initiatives, including synergies with traditional lines of R&D and training, already consolidated in the Valenciaport Foundation.

The long-term objective is to position Opentop as a port hub of open innovation of international reference.

4. What impact will it have locally and globally?

At the local level, Opentop will be a catalyst for the growth and competitiveness of the Valenciaport cluster, of all the companies that operate around Valenciaport's ports, and of the port-logistics sector as a whole. Open innovation has already proven its effectiveness for the development of other sectors. Opentop offers cluster companies the possibility to have privileged access to disruptive technologies and innovative companies, and to work with them to provide rapid responses to the challenges of the sector, actively participating in the definition of the ports, transport and logistics of the future.

At the international level Opentop will be a port hub of knowledge and open innovation of international scope that will serve as a reference to other ports around the world, as well as to startups and entrepreneurs with solutions aimed at the logistics-port sector. The Port of Valencia and the Valenciaport Foundation are already an international benchmark for innovation and knowledge in the sector.

5. How do you see the future of the sector?

We are at a time of great uncertainty, when the sector was still recovering from the imbalances in global supply chains resulting from the effects of the pandemic and a subsequent unprecedented rise in demand, when the war in Ukraine broke out with a new global impact and with big questions about the evolution and outcome of the conflict. All this is happening in a period of profound transformation (digital, energy, social) that has a direct impact on the transport and logistics sector, which is immersed in its own transformation process.

In any case, the future of the sector depends on the development of an emission-free transport system, highly efficient, resilient to unforeseen events or situations and with a high level of automation, capable of responding to the urgency of climate change and contributing to the achievement of sustainable development objectives.

In a situation like the current one, innovation is the best way to ensure the competitiveness, evolution and survival of companies. It is the only way to meet the challenges ahead. We must all participate in building the future. If we decide to wait, the reaction may come too late.

The revolution in information technologies and the speed at which they are evolving make it easy to understand the importance of innovation in order not to be left behind, and the convenience of having a system in which ideas can emerge and develop, both inside and outside the organization. The important thing is to be part of this innovation process, which becomes collective. Opentop provides the port-logistics community with a whole set of tools to facilitate collaboration and open innovation.

6. About the Hackathon so that the interview closes with a link to sign up.

As mentioned above, the call for the II Valenciaport Hackathon is now open and will be held in person at the emblematic Edifico del Reloj from May 6 to 8. On this occasion, we have four challenges of great interest promoted by enterprises of the port community:

1. Preventing human error through AI (challenge proposed by Grupo Romeu).
2. Decarbonizing container transport logistics (challenge proposed by MSC)
3. Finding an optimal position for containers in the terminal yard (challenge proposed by NAVIS)
4. Generate links between the port and citizens through commitment to the UN SDGs (challenge proposed by the Port Authority of Valencia).

The deadline for submitting nominations is April 23.

More information and registration: https://www.openfuture.org/es/challenge/ii-hackathon-valenciaport