News
27/06/2017
Barcelona Synchrotron Park’s sustainable brownfield restoration program presented at AquaConSoil 2017
Barcelona Synchrotron Park’s sustainable brownfield restoration program presented at AquaConSoil 2017
Barcelona Synchrotron Park (BSP), locally known as Parc de l’Alba, covers 400 Ha. This area has been partially occupied in the past by different types of industrial activities mainly ceramic and related industries and former clay pits extractions that have been transformed into landfills.
These plots are currently under remediation thanks to a sustainable brownfield restoration program presented this week at the 14th AquaConSoil international conference on Sustainable Use and Management of Soil, Sediment and Water Resources held in Lyon, France (26-30 June 2017). This work (paper here) is the result of a partnership between BSP, the MediTerra Consultors Ambientals Company, the CTM technology centre and the UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech).
BSP is an example of how the development of an extensive degraded area can be done using urban planning tools in a sustainable way with the objective of balancing economic viability, nature conservation and improvement of ecological systems and biodiversity, and the enhancement of the quality of life in surrounding communities.
This restoration program presented at AquaConSoil 2017 is part of the global BSP action program (here) designed to support its Green Infrastructure: it is structured in 5 strategic axes including Restoration and improvement of the ecological connectivity, implementation of nature-based solutions, ecological management of green spaces and pending building areas or support for agriculture.
These plots are currently under remediation thanks to a sustainable brownfield restoration program presented this week at the 14th AquaConSoil international conference on Sustainable Use and Management of Soil, Sediment and Water Resources held in Lyon, France (26-30 June 2017). This work (paper here) is the result of a partnership between BSP, the MediTerra Consultors Ambientals Company, the CTM technology centre and the UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech).
BSP is an example of how the development of an extensive degraded area can be done using urban planning tools in a sustainable way with the objective of balancing economic viability, nature conservation and improvement of ecological systems and biodiversity, and the enhancement of the quality of life in surrounding communities.
This restoration program presented at AquaConSoil 2017 is part of the global BSP action program (here) designed to support its Green Infrastructure: it is structured in 5 strategic axes including Restoration and improvement of the ecological connectivity, implementation of nature-based solutions, ecological management of green spaces and pending building areas or support for agriculture.
21/06/2017
Catalonia confirms itself as pole of attraction for foreign investments
Catalonia confirms itself as pole of attraction for foreign investments
The Barcelona Synchrotron Park is a strategic project of the Catalan government whose mission is to attract innovative international companies around the ALBA synchrotron. This business park is currently under development with 7 companies (IBM, Natura Bissé, SENER, SILC Immobles, ALBA Synchrotron, Stradivarius, T-Systems) growing in the favorable context of a very attractive region for foreign investment.
According to the latest data updated these days by the Spanish government, Catalonia effectively received € 5.1 billion of foreign investment in 2016, the best record of the last 25 years, and € 856 million in the first quarter of this year, best quarter of the series.
These figures are coherent with the Financial Times ranking that sees Catalonia as the best Southern European Region of the Future 2016/17 in its latest report on the most attractive European locations for future investments. Barcelona comes first in the continent by foreign direct investment strategy and policies for attracting investors.
15/06/2017
Construction of the Natura Bissé’s new world headquarters is well on its way
Construction of the Natura Bissé’s new world headquarters is well on its way
The first construction phase (excavation and slurry walls) of the Natura Bissé’s new headquarters in the Barcelona Synchrotron Park (BSP) recently concluded and foundation works now have begun. Everything is progressing as planned and Natura Bissé, a Spanish family business leader in innovation and development of high-end cosmetic products, will be able to move to the new building by the end of 2018, as scheduled.
The future 13,500 sqm building will host the research center, the business and logistics departments, the production plant and an area specially devoted to training and innovation. The corresponding investment is € 15 million.
The company is present in 35 countries and is currently committed to a growth plan that includes the consolidation and the expansion in high potential cosmetic markets such as the Asian one, which already represents 14% of Natura Bissé’s turnover. The company employs 300 people and generated a € 49.7 million turnover in 2015, which is expected to double in 2020.
With a business based on R&D added value, the future establishment of Natura Bissé’s world headquarters in BSP is great news for the park.
The future 13,500 sqm building will host the research center, the business and logistics departments, the production plant and an area specially devoted to training and innovation. The corresponding investment is € 15 million.
The company is present in 35 countries and is currently committed to a growth plan that includes the consolidation and the expansion in high potential cosmetic markets such as the Asian one, which already represents 14% of Natura Bissé’s turnover. The company employs 300 people and generated a € 49.7 million turnover in 2015, which is expected to double in 2020.
With a business based on R&D added value, the future establishment of Natura Bissé’s world headquarters in BSP is great news for the park.
06/06/2017
Walk in the Park: the biodiversity routes await you
Walk in the Park: the biodiversity routes await you
Attracting innovative companies around the synchrotron is not incompatible with the protection of biodiversity: this is what the Park proposes as a founding principle and this was acknowledged last fall by the European Commission with the attribution of the Business & Biodiversity label.
In this way, the dossier available here synthesizes all past and present actions. On the other hand, the Park has taken advantage of the last European Forum on Urban Forests (EFUF 2017), organized in Barcelona last week, to present the different projects and works carried out during urbanization in terms of ecological restoration and creation of new ecosystems (defragmentation of the territory, recycling of soils, restoration of natural forest habitats, riverside vegetation, etc.) to restore and enhance biodiversity and connectivity in green areas that account for 40% of the park’s total area.
To make known all these achievements and to enjoy these rehabilitated natural spaces, the Park, together with the City Council of Cerdanyola, has created two didactic routes to walk on foot (leaflet in Catalan here) that will be inaugurated on next Sunday June 11 at 11.30 am: we are waiting for you!
In this way, the dossier available here synthesizes all past and present actions. On the other hand, the Park has taken advantage of the last European Forum on Urban Forests (EFUF 2017), organized in Barcelona last week, to present the different projects and works carried out during urbanization in terms of ecological restoration and creation of new ecosystems (defragmentation of the territory, recycling of soils, restoration of natural forest habitats, riverside vegetation, etc.) to restore and enhance biodiversity and connectivity in green areas that account for 40% of the park’s total area.
To make known all these achievements and to enjoy these rehabilitated natural spaces, the Park, together with the City Council of Cerdanyola, has created two didactic routes to walk on foot (leaflet in Catalan here) that will be inaugurated on next Sunday June 11 at 11.30 am: we are waiting for you!
31/05/2017
UAB second most innovative university in Spain
UAB second most innovative university in Spain
The second edition of the Reuters News ranking of most innovative universities in Europe places the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in 81st position. It is the second university in Spain, following the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) which ranks 63rd in this year's edition. The ranking identifies and classifies the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies, and help drive the global economy.
The classification assesses the level of innovation of universities according to data related to the number of patent applications presented by each institution between the years 2010 and 2015, relation between the patents presented and those approved, and the commercial impact of the university's basic research, measured through the academic articles cited in the patents' registry.
According to the classification, the most innovative university in Europe is KU Leuven in Belgium, followed by the Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge and the Technical University of Munich.
The ranking is based on data provided by Clarivate Analytics (before it separated from Thomson Reuters) and identifies 600 institutions in order to conduct an in-depth analysis of those which applied for a minimum of 50 patents during the 2010-2015 period.
Congratulations!
The classification assesses the level of innovation of universities according to data related to the number of patent applications presented by each institution between the years 2010 and 2015, relation between the patents presented and those approved, and the commercial impact of the university's basic research, measured through the academic articles cited in the patents' registry.
According to the classification, the most innovative university in Europe is KU Leuven in Belgium, followed by the Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge and the Technical University of Munich.
The ranking is based on data provided by Clarivate Analytics (before it separated from Thomson Reuters) and identifies 600 institutions in order to conduct an in-depth analysis of those which applied for a minimum of 50 patents during the 2010-2015 period.
Congratulations!
24/05/2017
PRUAB: 10 years in strengthening relationships between research and business fabric
PRUAB: 10 years in strengthening relationships between research and business fabric
The main mission of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Research Park (PRUAB), which is associated with the Barcelona Synchrotron Park and celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, is technology transfer: how to transform the results achieved in UAB research centers into economic growth (jobs, patents, start-up companies…).
The Ideas Generation Program organized by PRUAB, is an original initiative, among others, supported by Barcelona Synchrotron Park that sponsors the top prize: every year, it aims at offering companies the benefit of the UAB researchers’ wealth of creativity to get proposals to their technological challenges.
Congratulations!
The Ideas Generation Program organized by PRUAB, is an original initiative, among others, supported by Barcelona Synchrotron Park that sponsors the top prize: every year, it aims at offering companies the benefit of the UAB researchers’ wealth of creativity to get proposals to their technological challenges.
Congratulations!
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