The Andalusian Minister of Economics, Rogelio Velasco, highlights the regional government’s support for investment in the advanced transport industry through the Andalusia Innovation Strategy S4 2021-2027.
The Andalusian Ministry of Economy reinforces the consolidation of Malaga as the headquarters of the Railway Innovation Hub (RIH) after ensuring the permanence of Adif Railway Technology Centre (CTF) in Malaga TechPark. This is what Rogelio Velasco said at the opening of the General Assembly of this hub, which is an international benchmark in high technology in this field, has invested 2,600 million euros in research and innovation in the last five years, has generated more than 11,300 direct and indirect jobs and has promoted more than 450 technological solutions.
In his speech, Velasco said that after the transfer of the building that currently houses the CTF and the hub, owned by the IDEA Agency, a period of collaboration is now opening up to jointly promote new lines of work with Adif and the rest of the member companies, focusing on research, development, innovation, Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. However, he indicated that “this cooperation framework is open to the incorporation of new actors: technological, institutional and financial agents”.
The head of Economic Transformation has recognised “the value of the railway sector as an area of specialisation and dynamiser of strategic initiatives of great relevance for Andalusia”, adding that “the region has clear capabilities to form an innovation ecosystem of international reference”. In his opinion, “the almost one hundred companies that make up the RIH are companies that trust in the region to create and innovate and increasingly find here a favourable environment for growth”. Velasco also stressed that the companies and technologies that are being mobilised from this cluster go far beyond the railway sector, so that “segments such as naval and aerospace can take advantage of this excellent field of knowledge”.
On the other hand, Velasco has explained the different support measures and policies that are being deployed from his department in favour of the industry linked to transport and the railway sector, in particular. In this regard, he referred to the commitment to promote investment in advanced industry linked to transport from a more cross-cutting approach that will be reflected in the new Andalusian Innovation Strategy S4 2021-2027, currently under development.
Likewise, he pointed out that the Regional Ministry, through IDEA, is working on a collaboration model with Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (ERJU), the new R&D&I partnership of the European Union specifically dedicated to railways. This programme will last until 2031 and is endowed with a budget of 1,212 million Euro, with a 600 million Euro funding from the EU. The Minister of Economic Transformation explained that this new collaboration model will favour ‘business promotion and the attraction of entities that see added value in the cooperation with Andalusian companies in consortiums’.
Apart from these actions, Velasco pointed out that the new European Next Generation funds “open up a favourable context”. “Projects to connect the Central-Atlantic and Mediterranean rail corridors must become the best example of the railway technology to which both the CTF and Andalusian companies can be linked,” he said.
Railway Innovation Hub
Railway Innovation Hub is the Spanish cluster in innovation of the railway sector integrated by 90 enterprises from the entire value chain of the sector mentioned and with the intention of becoming an international reference in railway innovation. Their mission is to impulse the technology and the knowledge of the sector through the generation of collaborative projects in R&D, the commercialization of know-how technologies, the promotion of entrepreneurship and the delivery of specialized services.