“The Green Innovation Forum will help us learn from other successful projects and models, broaden our perspectives, and exchange experiences”

Organized by AseBio, and Government of Navarra through Sodena, the financial agent of the Government of Navarra, the Green Innovation Forum will bring together more than 300 professionals on November 19th in Pamplona to discuss the opportunities biotechnology can offer as a key tool in the transition to a more sustainable, carbon-neutral, and greener economic model.

The Green Innovation Forum 2024 provides a unique meeting point for cutting-edge Spanish and international companies and research institutions in the field of green biotechnology. It is a must-attend event for the sector, which we explore with one of its sponsors: the Salamanca City Council. The city is becoming a leading technological hub in southwestern Europe, thanks to the convergence of a thriving ecosystem composed of universities, research centers, and the business sector, with the support of the City Council, which is materialized through the Salamanca Tech brand. Pedro Martínez Córdoba, councilman for Economic Promotion of the Salamanca City Council, tells us more.

AseBio. The Green Innovation Forum focuses on biotechnology as a key tool in the transition to a more sustainable, carbon-neutral, and greener economic model. What motivated you to take the step to support this event?

Pedro Martínez Córdoba. The biotechnology industry is proving that it plays a key role in addressing some of the great challenges we face as citizens on a planet that is already demanding more sustainable human behavior. All of this is related to climate change and the strategies to build a greener, more sustainable, and circular economy. As a City Council committed to these challenges and a strong supporter of the biotechnology sector, we felt it was essential to be present at an event where, without a doubt, strategies will be discussed that cities like ours will need to take note of to implement in our public policies.

AseBio. What is your commitment to sustainability? What kind of policies is the city council working on in this regard?

Pedro Martínez Córdoba. New cities can no longer be built with the parameters of the past. The future is green and sustainable, or there will be no future. For that reason, we have been planting the seeds for a more promising future in Salamanca for years, getting ahead in designing a new city with nature-based solutions that highlight our rich green heritage.
In recent years, with European funds, we have undertaken the EDUSI TORMES+ strategy, which has integrated the Tormes River into the city by transforming its banks into a large green corridor with rehabilitated heritage spaces. Nearly 700 urban gardens have been created in a large public park spanning 100,000 square meters, along with an event market and pedestrian and cyclist walkways over the river, connected to a network linking the city to surrounding municipalities.

We are one of the Spanish cities that has grown the most in green areas, now exceeding 2.7 million square meters, thanks to the introduction of shrub and tree species in numerous neighborhood spaces, but also in the historic center, merging attractively with our UNESCO World Heritage monuments.

In this vein, we have firmly committed to sustainable and green mobility with a bike rental service, SALenBICI, which has 47 stations throughout the city. Simultaneously, in Salamanca, you can enjoy over 123 kilometers of bike lanes that also connect us to neighboring municipalities.
In the last year, 25 electric buses have been added to the city's public service, joining 45 gas-powered buses, making Salamanca's fleet 100% eco-friendly.

Likewise, the City Council is making a significant effort to incorporate more environmentally friendly vehicles into its municipal fleet. The fleet includes electric, hybrid, and gas-powered vehicles, both owned and leased, in addition to the vehicles of companies providing municipal services.

The renewal of water supply pipes, with the introduction of the Active Pressure Management system, known as GAP, has reduced breakdowns and therefore helped optimize water usage. What does all this translate into since 2017? A saving of nearly 15 million cubic meters, or the equivalent of the city's entire consumption for one year.
We have implemented a Low Emission Zone in the city center, and we have a fully pedestrian and accessible historic center.

AseBio. The city of Salamanca is establishing itself as a technological hub of reference in southwestern Europe, thanks to the convergence of a thriving ecosystem made up of universities, research centers, and the business sector, with support from the City Council materialized through the Salamanca Tech brand. What does it involve?

Pedro Martínez Córdoba. With the knowledge and experience of our universities, research centers, and business sector, we have built a network of municipal infrastructures to promote areas such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, digital production, animation, and video games... We have the ideal ecosystem for companies in these sectors to set up in Salamanca. They have the young talent from our universities. They have the tools to grow thanks to the support of the City Council. And we want them to also have modern communication systems to establish synergies with other parts of Spain and Portugal.

We have a pioneering Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things center, which will make us a reference point in a technology that is here to stay. We have just completed construction of a High-Tech Incubator for biosanitary companies, and we are building a Technological Innovation Space to complement the entrepreneurship hub we already have (Tormes+). We are also creating a new Technological District to facilitate the installation of new companies. All of this in a feasible environment for knowledge transfer, composed of the hospital complex, the university campus, the University Science Park, which is very close to the State's road network, the railway line, and in conjunction with Salamanca's new Intermodal Platform (Dry Port) and the new industrial sector that will create a new business specialization hub in the city.

AseBio. ABIOINNOVA, the Biotechnology, Bioengineering, and Health Business Incubator, has recently been launched, built on the new Agro-environmental Campus. What does its launch represent?

Pedro Martínez Córdoba. The construction has been completed, and we are now working on the equipment and selecting the companies that will work there to carry out their projects. ABIOINNOVA offers 1,800 square meters available for companies, with the capacity to house 30 entrepreneurial initiatives that will have access to advanced services for incubating and accelerating biotech initiatives, utilizing 7 individual labs, 2 shared labs equipped with the latest technology, and coworking spaces.
All of this is aimed at conducting research in various fields, such as rare diseases, personalized medicine, the design of medical devices, cancer treatments, or healthy eating. Additionally, ABIOINNOVA offers a wide range of services to ensure that all research projects are successfully completed and grow into large companies. From business model validation, to training, mentoring, and financing search, everything necessary to support and collaborate with entrepreneurial initiatives.

AseBio. What do you expect from your support and participation in an event like the Green Innovation Forum?

Pedro Martínez Córdoba. On one hand, the dissemination of the ‘Salamanca Tech’ project to amplify the message that we are strongly committed to a complementary city model that facilitates the establishment of projects related to technology, innovation, research, science, and the green economy. We have the talent provided by the universities and also the appropriate spaces to develop these entrepreneurial ideas in fields so relevant to our society. And on the other hand, the Green Innovation Forum will help us learn from other successful projects and models, broaden our perspectives, and exchange experiences.