The 6th Valenciaport Hackathon took place on 30 June and 1 July at the Edificio del Reloj, Port of Valencia. The event brought together high-calibre startups from various countries, who co-created solutions alongside Hitachi Energy, VPI Logística and the Valenciaport Cluster Innovation Committee.
This edition stood out for its international reach, with a call that attracted more than 40 startups and scale-ups, many from outside Spain, raising the technical level and maturity of the solutions presented and reinforcing the hackathon's position as an international meeting point for port-logistics innovation. All of this with a clear goal: to bring the co-created pilots to the Valenciaport Sandbox, within the pilot launch concept presented during the event.
The final proposals were assessed by a jury made up of Antonio Torregrosa (General Director of Fundación Valenciaport), Christian Thiel (Turquois X) and Nacho Mas (Startup Valencia and VDS). Following a closely fought presentation of solutions at the Edificio del Reloj, this edition's winners were: first prize for Urban Alert, second prize for Marina Chain and the Audience Award for Synnect. Mar Chao, President of the Valencia Port Authority, was present at the awards ceremony.
Three challenges, three challengers, nine startups
The hackathon was structured around three challenges, each one addressed by three startups selected through an international outreach and analysis process:
This edition also debuted a renewed format called matching innovation, with co-creation spaces between the selected startups and the challenger companies, and featured a strong presence from the Valenciaport Port Community throughout both days.
On the first day, the startups presented their proposals, took part in networking sessions with the challenger teams, and went on a technical visit to the port to get first-hand insight into the complexity and real needs of the port-logistics sector. On the second day, each team worked intensively on jointly designing a viable pilot proposal, which was ultimately presented to the jury.
The prizes
The jury recognised the quality of the proposals presented. Awarding An Audience Award after a voting process that took place whilst the jury was deliberating, a second prize of €3,000, sponsored by Fundación Juan Arizo Serrulla and a first prize of €6,000, presented by the President of the Valencia Port Authority (APV) herself, Mar Chao:
In addition to the cash prize, the winning startups will join as speakers at the Port Entrepreneurship International Congress (PEIC), to be held on 20 and 21 October 2026 as part of the Valencia Digital Summit, and will enjoy a free year of membership with Startup Valencia.
An initiative backed and driven by the ecosystem
The 6th Valenciaport Hackathon was made possible thanks to the commitment of many. The event is organised by Opentop, the innovation hub for the ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandía, driven by the Valencia Port Authority and managed by Fundación Valenciaport. The challenges were put forward by Hitachi Energy, VPI Logística and the Valenciaport Cluster Innovation Committee. The €3,000 prize is backed by Fundación Juan Arizo Serrulla.
The event was supported by Asociación Naviera Valenciana (ANV), APM Terminals, Boluda, Infoport, Nealis Innovation Hub and The Whiteam as supporters, and is driven within the innovation ecosystem alongside CSP Spain, Invest in Valencia, Startup Valencia, Valencia Innovation Capital and Ideas UPV.
The organising partners are Innova&acción, with financial support from the Agència Valenciana de la Innovació (AVI).
To all of them, THANK YOU for your commitment and collaboration.
And we look forward to seeing you at the 7th edition of the #ValenciaportHackathon.