30 Oct Navarra seeks innovation opportunities with Europe in the second edition of NEXUS
Vice President Ollo highlighted Navarra’s readiness and suitability to host large European projects in this event organised in collaboration with ADItech.
The NEXUS event, where Navarra meets Europe, took place on 26 October 2023 at the Navarra Congress and Auditorium Palace in Pamplona, Spain. It brought together members of the Navarre R&D&I System (SINAI) and other entities interested in making sustainability the main driver of economic transformation. In this second edition, Ana Ollo, the Second Vice President and Minister of Memory and Coexistence, Foreign Action, and Basque, highlighted Navarra’s high readiness to host and develop large European R&D&I projects.
Ollo also noted that Navarra is one of the four Spanish regions classified as “Strong Innovator” in the 2023 Regional Innovation Ranking, a European index constructed by the European Commission using 21 indicators for 240 regions.
The event, funded by the Directorate-General for Foreign Action and organized by ADItech, coordinator of the Navarre R&D&I System (SINAI), featured six sessions aligned with the thematic priorities of the regional economic transformation S4 agenda: green energy industry, personalized medicine, healthy and sustainable food, electric and connected mobility, ecological transition, and digital transition. Each session began with a presentation of a leading European project, some of which are considered emblematic.
Subsequently, a roundtable discussion was held in which members of SINAI and other Navarre entities analyzed whether the region has the capacity to develop a similar project. Throughout the morning, a space was available for meetings, and the event was concluded by Sergio Pérez García, the Director-General for Foreign Action.
Six Highlighted Projects
In this edition of NEXUS, six reference projects were presented concerning major European R&D&I projects. In the session on the green energy industry, the project H2HEAT was presented, with the goal of demonstrating the complete value chain of green hydrogen (H2) heating for commercial buildings.
In the field of personaliSsed medicine, the CGI-Clinics project was presented, focusing on improving precision medicine in oncology by optimizing the interpretation of genomic data. The healthy and sustainable food session featured the FEAST project, aiming to promote healthier and more sustainable dietary behaviors at all levels and throughout the food system’s value chain.
The electric and connected mobility session introduced the SHOW project, with the objective of supporting the deployment of shared, connected, and electrified automation in urban transportation to advance sustainable urban mobility. The project will conduct real urban demonstrations in 20 European cities during its course.
The session on ecological transition presented the REDOL project, which seeks to transform cities into centers of circularity by implementing zero-waste strategies. Lastly, in the digital transition panel, the DIHNAMIC project was introduced. It is a digital innovation hub in Aquitaine, offering a range of services to promote SMEs’ access to artificial intelligence-based technologies, accelerating and guiding digital and sustainable transitions in the industry.
Horizonte Redes
NEXUS is part of the Horizonte Redes initiative coordinated by ADItech and funded by the Directorate-General for Foreign Action of the Government of Navarra since its launch in 2020. This initiative aims to raise awareness among SINAI agents and companies about the importance of preparing for the European multi-year research framework program Horizon Europe (2021-2027) and encourage their continuous and proactive participation throughout the program. The value of this initiative lies in the establishment of a working methodology that connects the regional interests of SINAI agents and companies with Navarre’s antennas in Brussels.