The port of Valencia will be a pioneer in Europe in introducing hydrogen energy into maritime machinery.
Valencia, September 25, 2019.- The president of the Port Authority (PAV), Aurelio Martínez, participated this morning in the inauguration of the first edition of the Vlc Tech Forum, which is held in the Clock Building until next Friday .The event has been attended by the vice mayor of Valencia, Sandra Gómez; and the Minister of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility, Arcadi Spain. The Vlc Tech Forum is aimed at professionals from the world of industry, especially sectors such as the automotive, construction, textile, agri-food, ceramics or port, who seek to know first-hand the latest technologies applied and those that are under development
In his speech, the president of the PAV has been very satisfied that the Clock Building was used for an event with a strong innovative component since “the interoceanic ports have always played an extraordinary role in the processes of innovation and research to world scale. Valenciaport is a leader in container traffic but we aspire to be also in innovation, sustainability and environmental actions”.
In this sense, Aurelio Martínez has highlighted the strong innovative component of the port of Valencia, especially in environmental matters. “We will be the first port in Europe to use hydrogen energy. The port, the Valenciaport Foundation, the National Hydrogen Center, MSC, Grimaldi, Hyster-Yale, Atena, Ballard Power Systems Europe and Enagas are investing 4 million euros for the terminal machines to work with hydrogen cells.”
Also, during the event, Aurelio Martínez recalled that “the most important investments in environmental matters that the PAV will undertake will be aimed at the fight against climate change and the reduction of CO2 emissions and other polluting particles. Therefore, we work with renewable, wind and photovoltaic energy plans because we want to be energy self-sufficient in 2030 and that ships can disconnect their engines when they are docked at our port.”
During his speech, Aurelio Martínez has also emphasized the importance of innovation for society since, as he has pointed out, “all the per capita GDP growth of developed countries in the long term is associated with increased productivity and, for this, it is important to bet on innovation and, fundamentally, that the expenditure on innovation that we make in Spain is reflected in patents since although we allocate 1.2% of GDP to innovation, we only request 0.015% of patents of the world. And that is precisely one of the fundamental reasons why the Puertos 4.0 fund was designed, a fund to which Spanish ports are going to allocate 25 million euros to encourage the creation of a fabric of emerging companies or new business lines in existing companies that develop innovative products, services or processes for the port-logistics sector, with a clear vocation towards the market ”.25