The Industry Office was created to promote the industrial sector linked to Big Science in Granada
The IFMIF-DONES España Consortium, the University of Granada, the Astrophysics Institute of Andalusia-CSIC, the Granada Chamber of Commerce and INEUSTAR have signed the creation of an initiative in the form of an association to work to generate an industrial ecosystem linked to the large science sector in Granada.
The science industry sector comprises the set of companies that work for the conception, design, construction, operation and maintenance of Large Scientific Facilities (GICs) and the set of scientific facilities and instruments of any field that offer the means for cutting-edge scientific research and also contribute to technological development and innovation.
The University of Granada and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), through the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, joined today the formalisation of this initiative initially promoted by Cámara Granada and the INEUSTAR Association, together with the IFMIF-DONES Spain Consortium, which has been promoting a powerful industrial sector linked to science in Granada for the last year and a half. To this end, the Industry Office focuses especially on two parallel objectives: to train and educate companies in Granada to take advantage of the window of opportunity that opens up for them in the science industry, and to encourage national and international companies to approach the challenges presented by Granada in this industrial sector with such high added value.
The representatives of the five institutions, the rector Pedro Mercado, the president of the Granada Chamber of Commerce, Gerardo Cuerva, the director of the IFMIF-DONES Spain Consortium, Ángel Ibarra, the director of the Astrophysics Institute of Andalusia-CSIC, Antxon Alberdi and the president of INEUSTAR, Marcos Sánchez, signed today in the presence of all the provincial and regional authorities, the statutes that formalise this entity.
The initiative made official today will also count on the collaboration of essential agents and institutions such as the CDTI, CIEMAT, the Diputación de Granada and the city councils of Granada and Escúzar, among others.
The president of the Granada Chamber of Commerce has expressed his satisfaction, especially for adding to the Industry Office ‘two key players’ to achieve its objectives, such as the University and the CSIC through the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia and pointed out that from the beginning of the project, when it was just an idea in the business and university environment, the entrepreneurs were clear that to its apparent scientific dimension had to be added a crucial economic character.
‘IFMIF-DONES, said Cuerva, will generate an impact that will transform the economy of Granada and I am talking about research, technology, construction, components, materials, energy and even health’.
In this sense, the president of the Chamber of Commerce has pointed out that the Office ‘is going to be, together with the Granada Global Agency, the protagonist of the economic impulse of Granada and the internationalisation of its economy in the next decade’. For this reason, Cuerva was pleased that the instrument formalised today was born in the business fabric of Granada, ‘which shows that civil society is capable of generating resources for the development of the province’.
The Rector of the UGR, Pedro Mercado, stressed that the University ‘is and will be involved in all initiatives that involve developing the economy and contributing to society from science and innovation, hand in hand with the institutions and the business community’. ‘Investing in science and knowledge is investing in the future’, stressed the rector, who focused on the need for research to be “transferred to society and the territory”. An example of this said Pedro Mercado, ‘is the start-up of the IFMIF-DONES particle accelerator in Granada’.
Ángel Ibarra has pointed out that “for IFMIF-DONES it is essential to have a nearby industry that can help us in the coming years, both in the construction of the same and in the future operation and maintenance. We must bear in mind that an international infrastructure of this level must have services throughout its life cycle that provide industry and personnel of very high value, and having it as close as possible to our installation is very positive.”
In addition, he has highlighted that “it is essential for the region in general and Granada in particular that we all, as we are doing today, work together to promote a sector with a great capacity for social, economic and cultural transformation. The international appeal of the province will be boosted if we continue working in this direction, opening up new opportunities in the area of enormous added value for all”
Antxon Alberdi has pointed out that “institutional cooperation between the scientific and business leaders of our city is crucial to face our great challenges in technological development, both in the field of space missions and in that of large astrophysical infrastructures on land”. He has also highlighted that “an initiative such as this will allow us to strengthen public-private collaborations, promote technological innovation, the transfer of knowledge, and encourage high added value employment in our province”.
Finally, Marcos Sánchez, representing INEUSTAR, has highlighted that, based on the experience of the Association with scientific facilities around the world, the impact of high added value and the multiplier effect of investment is not achieved spontaneously. This result requires a proactive and strategic approach. Precisely, the Industrial Office arises to provide that additional impetus necessary to transform scientific excellence into industrial excellence, thus generating sustainable added value in the long term.
The event was closed by the First Deputy Mayor of Granada City Council, Jorge Saavedra, who guaranteed the support of the city council for this initiative.
Industry Office until today
Physically located in the Granada Chamber of Commerce, the office has been operating since the end of May 2023. Since then and among the wide range of activities carried out, it is responsible for the fact that a dozen companies from Granada have been able to participate in the various tenders and innovative public procurement published about IFMIF-DONES and that many others will be able to do so in the following opportunities that arise in this vital sector.
To this end, and in an extensive awareness-raising effort, it has organised more than 40 meetings with companies from Granada interested in entering the science industry or potentially interested in doing so, in addition to other events such as the R+DONES Forum, in whose two editions almost three hundred companies have taken part, many of them from outside Granada.
In addition, in its role of facilitating the arrival of foreign companies, the Industry Office is behind two arrivals that will take place in the coming months, one from a large engineering company present in seven countries and another from another technology company.
In addition, and with the collaboration of CDTI, the Office is developing the Capabilities Catalogue of companies wishing to join this industry, not only in the different areas of their experience but also in exploring their future interests.
Finally, and together with other functions related to training and dissemination, the Industry Office acts as a connection platform for European companies from countries such as France, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, with special relevance in the case of Croatia, whose Chamber of Commerce, they maintain close relations.
