innovation

Hewlett-Packard has announced that it will locate its world centre to develop 3D printing business in its facilities at Sant Cugat del Vallès, in Greater Barcelona, where it has already developed part of this technology. In fact, HP's Catalan offices are one of the multinational's main R&D centres at world level. HP also develops the technology for large-format printing in Greater Barcelona, employing some 350 engineers. In addition, it runs its marketing services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa from Catalonia. Now, HP has decided to foster its 3D printing business and Barcelona "will play a significant role", being the group's flagship for the research and development of this technology. HP explained that the main challenges engineers will have to face are the slow speed and low quality of the current 3D printing devices.

Barcelona’s Hospital Clínic has installed the ‘Micra’ 24mm pacemaker - equivalent to the size of a one euro coin -  in 4 patients as part of a clinical trial involving 10 medical centres and 60 patients troughout the world. This innovative wireless system is minimally invasive since it does not require any surgical procedure but is implanted in the heart through the femoral vein using a catheter. Such a procedure can be performed within 30 minutes and also reduces the patients’ risks of future infections. According to the Medical Director of the Hospital, Josep Brugada, if the clinical study is successful, it will involve a “paradigm shift”. Experts estimate it could reach hospitals within the next two or three years.

During the 2014 Innovation Convention, organised by the European Commission on Tuesday, Barcelona was named the first European Capital of Innovation. The Catalan capital has prevailed over finalists Grenoble (France) and Groningen (the Netherlands) in a contest which also involved Paris, Espoo (Finland) and Malaga (Spain). The winning project highlights the predominant role of the city in promoting new technologies and bringing together government bodies and citizens, in order to enhance sustainable economic growth and improve the people’s welfare. The award is endowed with € 500,000 to promote innovation. Barcelona's Mayor, Xavier Trias, stated that new technologies in an urban environment have to "work towards improving people's everyday lives[…] or they will fail".

The MediaTic building in the 22@ Innovation District of the Catalan capital will now be known as the Barcelona Growth Centre, also becoming a meeting place for entrepreneurs and businesses. Such an announcement was made by Mayor Xavier Trias to the fifty attendees of the Barcelona Growth Board meeting, which took place at the City Council on Thursday. Currently, the 8-floor building hosts initiatives such as the Mobile World Capital Foundation, the Agency for Barcelona Brand, the Open University of Catalonia and the Barcelona Mobile Startup, among others. To convert the building into a platform for businesses, the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce will set up an office of assistance to entrepreneurs on the ground floor, which will act as a “facilitator” to create new companies.

Barcelona-based SEAT, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, has chosen the Geneva Motor Show to introduce its new vehicle in the Leon range, the cars whose sales increased the most in 2013, with a total of 102,000 units sold. This latest creation is the new Leon Cupra, by far the most powerful and the fastest vehicle manufactured by the Catalan company, whose main factory is located in Martorell (Greater Barcelona). With its 280 horsepower, this sports model will hit the market in both 5-door and 3-door versions. Coinciding with the opening of the event this Tuesday, SEAT also presented the Mango version of its Mii city car, a special edition resulting from the collaboration between designers at the SEAT Martorell plant and the Catalan fashion multinational which includes, amongst other novelties, exclusive paintings in beige and black.

Barcelona, Grenoble (France), and Groningen (the Netherlands) are the three final contestants competing to be named the first European Capital of Innovation. The award, worth half a million Euros, will distinguish the city that has created “the best innovation ecosystem, connecting citizens, public organisations, academia, and businesses”. The six initial contestants have been judged according to their past achievements and future initiatives encouraging innovation. The name of the winning city will be announced during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Innovation Convention, organised by the European Commission in Brussels on the 10th and the 11th of March.

GSMA, the organisers of the Mobile World Congress, have announced on Thursday that more than 85,000 visitors from over 200 countries participated in this year’s event. The figure sets a new impressive attendance record with an overall increase of 18% on last year’s edition. Around 80,000 attendees participated at the Mobile World Congress at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venues and more than 5,000 visitors attended mPowered industries programme at Fira’s Montjuïc venues. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and IBM CEO Virginia Rometty delivered highly anticipated keynote speeches, while close to 1,800 international market leading companies presented their latest innovative products and services. In the Global Mobile Awards, the HTC One scooped top award of the Best Smartphone of the year, while Apple iPad was announced the Best Mobile Tablet. Wearable devices were also an exciting highlight of the 2014 MWC.

The profits of Catalan pharmaceutical company Grífols in 2013 grew by 34.6% over the previous year, reaching €345.6 million, as reported by the multinational to the Spanish Stock Exchange Regulation Authority (CNMV). The turnover of the company, based in Greater Barcelona, amounted to €2.75 billion, representing a 4.6% increase on 2012 figures. The geographical expansion of the pharmaceutical company has helped mitigating the effects of volatility in currencies, especially between the euro and the dollar. The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) grew by 9.6% compared to 2012 and stood at €864.6 million, driven by an increase in the sales of plasma proteins and the optimization of the expenses for raw materials and manufacturing.

‘elBulli1846’, the ambitious initiative of acclaimed Chef Ferran Adrià, could well become a reality in March 2016 thanks to a €9 million investment made through the Catalan Chef’s foundation. The Catalan Government described such an initiative as “a national project”. ‘elBulli1846’ is named after the number of dishes created in the 3-Michelin-star El Bulli, which was awarded the world’s best restaurant on 5 occasions. Adrià’s new project is notably looking to establish a unique centre in the world for innovation, research, and training in the field of avant-garde cuisine. Besides, for 20 days a year, visitors will have access to ElBulli restaurant, with half of the available entrances awarded for free through a lottery. The centre will be located in the old restaurant’s venue in the Cap de Creus Natural Park (Costa Brava). 3,000 square metres will be added but built respecting the environment.

The telecommunications company Cronos Group, based in Hong Kong, is opening its European offices in Barcelona to offer services throughout the continent and worlwide. According to the Catalan Ministry of Business and Employment, the company is expected to create 25 new jobs in the first year operating from the Catalan capital. Currently 10 people are already working in Cronos’ Barcelona offices. The project received the assistance of the Catalan Government’s programme ‘Invest in Catalonia’, which focuses on attracting foreign investment and international business. Cronos’s Managers explained they have decided to settle in Barcelona because it had become the world capital of the mobile phone and of telecommunications, since each year it organises the main international event in this sector. Furthermore, Cronos Group praised the talent and skills of Catalan workers.

Over 4,000 people have visited the 27^th edition of the World Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS27), which is the main international congress and trade fair in this field. It was held from the 17^th to the 20^th of Novemberin Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue. According to the organisers, this year’s edition which took place in the Catalan capital for the first time was “the most successful” and also “the most international”, with attendees from 58 countries, 1,300 delegates and 232 exhibitors. During the fair, the major brands exhibited their new electric models while the latest technologies for electric vehicles, especially batteries and charging systems, were also on display. Meanwhile, the World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) awarded on Wednesday afternoon the E-Visionary Prize, distinguishing Malaga (Spain), Indianapolis (US) and the Japanese Goto islands as the three most sustainable urban environments in the world.

Barcelona’s City Council has launched idBCN, a mobile application that allows citizens to make themselves identified through their cell phone. This new digital identification system is a world pioneer in this field and allows citizens to access all kinds of paperwork and online services in a legal and safe technological framework. The initiative follows a series of actions promoting Barcelona’s current status as the Mobile World Capital, while also stressing the city’s commitment to becoming a leader in the world of ‘smart cities’, new technologies and mobility sectors.

The German chemical and pharmaceutical company has picked Barcelona to provide shared services to its subsidiaries in Greece, Turkey and Latin America, which account for 25% of the total group sales. Bayer’s Shared Service Centre in the Catalan capital will expand its tasks and responsibilities by taking over the accounting, controlling and IT services for these geographical areas. The expansion will take place over 2014 and the centre will pass from being in charge of 11 countries to 22, managing over 50 Bayer subsidiaries. The General Manager of Barcelona’s Centre, Erik Schonebeck, stated the project would “consolidate” the 300 existing jobs in the Catalan capital but no further new jobs would be created in the short-run. Barcelona hosts one of Bayer’s 5 global headquarters.

Barcelona has hosted the CitiSense forum on smart cities on the 17^th and the 18^th of November. Over 250 mayors and representatives from a hundred different countries have shared their knowledge and experience on smart cities, open innovation, energy savings and efficient mobility with 69 experts. Barcelona was chosen because it serves as a laboratory for both innovation and knowledge and also for its proud history among smart cities. By organising this forum, the World Bank was hopeful that other cities with a margin of “smart” growth would take advantage of the experience of more advanced cities in this area such as Barcelona. The CitiSense forum was intentionally launched simultaneously with the Smart City Expo, which takes place in Barcelona and aims at promoting internationally methods and projects in this field.

Researchers from Barcelona’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CMRB), the Catalan capital’s Hospital Clínic and the Salk Institute of California have successfully created three-dimensional renal structures which are virtually indistinguishable from embryonic kidneys. They have started creating kidney cells from human stem cells, and ultimately proven that these newly created cells could aggregate in vitro to form a “micro-kidney”. The team led by Juan Carlos Izpisúa, from the CMRB, said that this scientific breakthrough would facilitate the study of kidney diseases and enable scientists to work on new treatments. He added that this achievement was a great step towards developing therapies based on the use of stem cells.