The Local Governing Board approves the protocol that will allow resources from the Port of Valencia to be used to test innovative solutions under real-world conditions
This is the Urban Sandbox’s first agreement to expand its portfolio of resources beyond the municipal level and connect urban innovation with logistics and port activities
Tomorrow, Friday the 26th, the Local Governing Board will approve the General Protocol of Action between the City of Valencia and the Port Authority of Valencia to promote a “strategic port-city alliance in the areas of innovation and experimentation in real-world environments.”
“This agreement represents a significant step forward for the Urban Sandbox (or Valencia’s testing environment) by allowing the city to expand the resources available for innovative projects beyond municipally-owned spaces, infrastructure, and assets,” as announced today by Paula Llobet, Councilor for Innovation, Technology, the Digital Agenda, and Investment Attraction.
In fact, through this partnership, the Urban Sandbox will be able to access resources from the Valencia Port Authority at the Port of Valencia, including public port spaces, physical and technological infrastructure, and other resources
suitable for conducting testing, validation, and experimentation of innovative solutions under real-world conditions.
“The initiative strengthens the partnership between the city and one of its key strategic assets, the Port of Valencia, and opens up new opportunities for companies, startups, universities, technology centers, research centers, and other stakeholders in the ecosystem who need to validate solutions in urban, logistics, and port settings,” the councilwoman said.
Paula Llobet also emphasized that “this partnership allows us to move toward a more open sandbox model, one that is connected to Valencia’s major assets and designed to make it easier to test innovative solutions under real-world conditions before they reach the market.” “Once again, Valencia is taking a bold step and looking beyond the horizon, seeking opportunities as an innovative city,” she said.
In this regard, the councilwoman explained that “Valencia has created an environment unique in Europe to facilitate testing and experimentation in real-world settings for innovation projects by companies and researchers that need validation on their path to market success.”
The councilwoman also added that “through this strategic alliance, Valencia and its urban sandbox include a port, and the Port of Valencia includes a city—all with the same goal: to innovate and attract talent and investment that will drive economic development based on science, technology, and innovation.”
The port environment offers “unique capabilities” for projects related to logistics, sustainability, digitalization, the circular economy, decarbonization, mobility, the energy transition, connectivity, security, data, smart cities, and advanced infrastructure management.
The protocol provides for collaboration in various areas: making adequate resources available for testing and experimentation; the identification and attraction of innovation projects; the exchange of lessons learned from experiences carried out in urban and port environments; and the joint promotion of the partnership in forums and networks related to innovation, technology, and real-world experimentation.
“All of these initiatives will be carried out within the scope of each entity’s authority and in accordance with applicable regulations, with the goal of creating value for the city, the port, and the innovation ecosystem,” clarified Llobet, who emphasized that “this partnership strengthens the link between the Valencia City Council’s innovation strategy and Valenciaport’s commitment to digitalization, innovation, and the
“decarbonization and the development of test environments and ‘living labs’ in ports.”
In this regard, the councilwoman noted that “both institutions share the goal of attracting talent, investment, and technology projects, as well as fostering collaboration with startups, universities, technology centers, companies, and other stakeholders in the ecosystem.”
The Valencia Urban Sandbox is a tool that makes the city and its urban resources available to companies, startups, research centers, universities, and other innovation stakeholders so they can test products, services, and business models in real-world environments. “Its purpose is to facilitate the validation of solutions, accelerate their technological maturity, and promote their potential entry into the market,” LLobet said.
“With this strategic alliance, Valencia is moving toward a more connected model of urban innovation, capable of integrating new, high-value spaces for experimentation and strengthening its position as a leading hub for urban innovation, technology, advanced logistics, and port-city collaboration in southern Europe,” the councilwoman concluded.