Drive innovation. It is the ultimate sense of being of the Free Trade Zone Consortium and the philosophy that drives an activity that is structured through three axes of transformation and economic promotion, all of them with the common denominator of creating and manufacturing opportunities for society as a whole. and the economic sector of the country.
Firstly, the CZFB promotes innovation through two spectacular tools such as the 3D Incubator and the High Technology Incubator in Logistics 4.0. The Consorci not only understands itself as a transformative agent in itself, but also strives to be a catalyst of innovation and growth for other companies, offering them the necessary instruments so that they can prosper in their business, projects and services.
Today, the activity of the Barcelona Free Zone generates more than 137,000 jobs directly and indirectly, with various global business opportunities in a space of more than 10 million square meters and approximately 300 companies – from the service and industrial sectors. and logistics – that contribute more than 9,000 million euros to the Spanish GDP. The Consorci is a creator of spaces for the development and promotion of the productive economy and technology transfer, and projects the local and regional economy through its own, disruptive, innovative and international events.
The 3D Incubator, the first European high-tech incubator in 3D printing, was inaugurated in 2019 with the impetus of the CZFB and the Leitat technology center. It has a budget of three million euros, granted in part by the Incyde Foundation and European FEDER funds. Its facilities occupy a thousand square meters in office spaces, coworking, training rooms and laboratories equipped with ten industrial and small-format 3D printing equipment, as well as equipment for cleaning, polishing and painting parts. Since its creation, it has helped 112 companies and startups in the creation and development of their projects in a wide variety of sectors.
The Logistics 4.0 Incubator, also known as the High Technology Incubator in Logistics 4.0, is the first incubator in Spain dedicated to industry 4.0 in the field of the logistics sector. Its main objective is to promote the productive fabric, increase the economic impact and develop greater digital skills within the logistics sector. 29 emerging companies, based on robotics, automated storage, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, the last mile or green logistics, are already developing their projects in the exceptional incubator. Less than a year old – Logistics 4.0 Incubator was inaugurated last July – the incubated companies hired more than 55 people, closed 324 new clients and raised 13.6 million euros.
At the end of 2021, DFactory Barcelona was born. This ‘cathedral of industry 4.0’ has already established itself as the main technological ecosystem of reference worldwide. It is a technological hub that generates a space based on talent and innovation that brings together the main business corporations, startups, research centers and technological laboratories, both national and international. The 30 companies installed in this ecosystem – that is, 80% of the hub’s occupancy – are based on a coordinated and collaborative management model to generate joint technology and new business models.
The technology hub currently has more than 500 professionals, in facilities of 17,000 square meters divided into four floors with open, diaphanous and digital spaces. Companies in 3D printing, AI, robotics, sensors, blockchain, IoT, data management, augmented and virtual reality… make up this industry 4.0 ecosystem that has already become an international benchmark. And it is the spirit that must also permeate the industrial estate of the Free Trade Zone with the will and ambitious objective of becoming District 4.0 of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona.
Future District 4.0 The CZFB wants to become the great District 4.0 of the metropolitan region of Barcelona. The ambition of the public institution is to transcend the borders of a physical space and become an epicenter of innovation and transformation that impacts the entire community.
To this end, the Free Trade Zone Consortium is advancing, following its Strategic Plan for 2024, in the execution of the second phase of the DFactory Barcelona, ??a project that will be carried out in the location adjacent to the current facility, and that will add an extension of 72,500 square meters to the current ones – thus offering a space of 100,000 square meters of technological innovation. It is currently projected that this extension will generate direct employment for approximately 1,500 people, and that its impact will extend with the creation of 5,000 indirect jobs.
With the promotion of innovation and the transformation of the industry towards 4.0, the Free Trade Zone Consortium also connects the new economy on a global scale. As a public organization, its activity does not have a local scope, but rather extends to Latin America, thus consolidating international relations with associations and public and private entities of the regions and countries with which it shares international economic projection and industrial sector activities. The Free Trade Zone Consorci has the firm conviction that collaboration and synergy between various industries and disciplines are essential to promote economic and social progress on a large scale: areas such as mobility, sustainability, digitalization or science are pieces of a global and complex puzzle that defines the modern economy.
In this context, the public institution organizes various events throughout the year to promote the new economy, the international projection of the city and the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. This is the case of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW). , the largest reference event in the field of the new economy, characterized by its disruptive nature, its hybrid format (in-person and online) and the technological focus, singularities that allow it to position Barcelona as the capital of the new economy. It also promotes SIL Barcelona, ??one of the largest global logistics, transport, intralogistics and supply chain fairs, a benchmark in Spain, the Mediterranean and Latin America, with the aim of continuing to promote the logistics fabric on a global scale and promoting connections between the various actors involved in the supply chain. And it organizes the Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW), the event promoted to energize and accelerate gender equality to help achieve full participation and equal opportunities for women in the local and global economic sphere, coinciding with the International Day of Women (8M).
