The facilities of the ICIQ in Tarragona have hosted the second session of the Innovation Camp ‘Net-Zero Industry in the Camp de Tarragona’. After a first meeting in March focused on the diagnosis of the system, the objective of this Tuesday was to take a new step to define what its industry will be like in the coming decades and to plan actions to turn the territory into a benchmark for climate-neutral industry.
This initiative is fully aligned with the territory’s commitment to maintain its industrial competitiveness and employment in a global environment marked by decarbonisation. The Innovation Camp is part of the line of work promoted by the ICIQ through its participation in the Call for Regions of Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya, with co-financing from the European Union, within the framework of the ERDF Programme of Catalonia 2021-2027. As part of this programme, the centre has created its Social and Transformative Innovation Laboratory (LIST) to articulate territorial dynamics of collaboration.
Quadruple helix attachment for a systemic challenge
The success of this space lies in its cross-cutting nature, as it brings together more than 40 representatives of the pillars of the quadruple helix. Participants include large corporations and SMEs in the chemical and energy sectors, academic and research institutions, public authorities, and civil society and trade union organisations.
Dr. Júlia Viladoms, head of the Industrial Decarbonisation Unit at ICIQ and member of LIST, highlights the importance of the moment: “With this session we want to consolidate a territorial driving group that defines a consensual roadmap. The Camp de Tarragona has all the potential to become the great test and industrial scale-up of decarbonisation in southern Europe, but we will only achieve this if the different agents work in a systemic and coordinated way.”
The first session confirmed that the transition to the Net-Zero industry is not an exclusively technological challenge, but a structural, economic and social challenge that requires stable spaces for coordination and public-private collaboration.
Five areas of opportunity for tangible projects
On Tuesday, the different working groups focused their efforts on transforming the challenges detected into real proposals for action linked to the 5 areas of opportunities collectively prioritised:
Social story: Design a shared narrative and communication and dissemination actions that value green reindustrialization in front of citizens.
Stable framework: Promote shared governance structures and call for stable long-term regulatory frameworks.
Market and demand: Stimulate demand for decarbonised local products through green public procurement and environmental valorisation.
Talent: Adapt training programmes (such as dual vocational training) and promote training programmes for key profiles for emerging technologies.
Technology transfer: Create stable structures for collaboration between cutting-edge research and industry to solve complex technological challenges
The Innovation Camps are one of the key actions within the ICIQ project: ‘Tarragona: Health and Circular Economy (TRAC)’, funded by the Regions of Knowledge programme and co-financed by ERDF funds. This initiative aims to connect scientific research with the real needs of southern Catalonia through three major strategic areas: industry with zero net emissions, the circularity of raw materials and the recovery of waste, and social medicine.
This project is co-financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Catalonia ERDF Programme 2021–2027.
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