technology

Barcelona has hosted the CitiSense forum on smart cities on the 17^th and the 18^th of November. Over 250 mayors and representatives from a hundred different countries have shared their knowledge and experience on smart cities, open innovation, energy savings and efficient mobility with 69 experts. Barcelona was chosen because it serves as a laboratory for both innovation and knowledge and also for its proud history among smart cities. By organising this forum, the World Bank was hopeful that other cities with a margin of “smart” growth would take advantage of the experience of more advanced cities in this area such as Barcelona. The CitiSense forum was intentionally launched simultaneously with the Smart City Expo, which takes place in Barcelona and aims at promoting internationally methods and projects in this field.

Emin Capital will buy Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, designed by Jean Nouvel, for €150 million. North-American Hyatt will invest a further €35 million to transform the 145-metre-tall building into one of its grand luxe hotels. Grand Hyatt hotels – the US company’s luxury brand – tend to occupy iconic buildings in the world’s main business cities. The Agbar Tower has become one of the most emblematic buildings of the Catalan capital, with its blue and red lightening and bullet shape imitating a flame. Nouvel’s tower was unveiled in 2005 to host the main headquarters of the water distribution multinational Agbar. The Catalan multinational, which owns the 50,000-square-metre tower, will now look for another building in Barcelona to place the 700 people working in its central offices.

The founder and CEO of technology company GFT announced that they will create 500 new jobs in Catalonia in the coming years. In an exclusive interview with the CNA, Ulrich Dietz, stated that he has “aggressive plans to increase the staff” in Greater Barcelona and Lleida. GFT  specialises in developing technological solutions for the banking and insurance sectors, with a turnover of €231 million in 2012. With several offices in Germany, the company is based in Stuttgart and is present in Brazil, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, US and UK. A quarter of GFT employees throughout the world are based in Catalonia. Most of them work in Greater Barcelona, which is the company’s “hub” for the European market. Dietz explained that he has plans to develop Lleida’s facilities, which currently employ 40 people, “significantly”.

The Catalan Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), based in Greater Barcelona, is the highest ranked centre in the world in the fields of physics and astronomy, according to a survey carried out by Excellence Mapping. This ranking sorts the world’s leading research centres according to 17 different areas of academia. The ICFO was ranked first in physics and astronomy, while the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) was placed third in this category. Other Catalonia-based institutions that were included in the list were: the Institute for High Energy Physics, IFAE (18^th place), the Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona (UAB) and the Polytechnic University of Barcelona (UPC). The Director of the ICFO, Lluís Torner, told the CNA that the Catalan model of research is “highly competitive”.

Barcelona-based telecommunications company has bought 16.42% of Hispasat, which added to its previous shares means that Abertis now controls 57.05% of the satellite operator. The Catalan company has bought the shares from the Spanish Ministry of Defence, paying €172.5 million.  The deal included €153.5million to buy the shares, as well as €19million more to take full control of the operator. The transaction now has to be approved by the Spanish Government and the competition regulation authorities. According to a press release by Abertis, the company pledges to “develop the full potential for growth and value” of the satellite operator. In total, Abertis has invested €475million to obtain its current stake in Hispasat. In 2013, Hispasat is expected to generate €200million in revenue and it has a strategic importance for Spain and Spanish-speaking countries.

On Thursday, the European Space Agency will launch Europe’s largest telecommunications satellite, Alphasat I-XL, into space using technology designed and built by Catalan company MIER Comunicaciones. The device, weighing 6.6 tonnes, will allow secure connections to be made via the satellite and mobile terminals around the world. The company, based in La Garriga (Greater Barcelona), has produced 240 low noise amplifiers capable of receiving signals from mobile terminals up to 36,000km away. The technology created is of a compact design and uses a very low consumption of energy. The satellite will be launched on Thursday from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Many international and national companies have set up their headquarters in the 22@ area during the last decade, located in Poblenou, an old industrial district known as the “Catalan Manchester”. The borough continues to change and grow in many ways. Improved traffic distribution for the Plaça de les Glòries or the Design HUB are just some of the new proposals. At the moment, Poblenou is a landscape of contrasts: from hi-tech buildings to abandoned factories. It is a unique urban landscape as well as an ongoing challenge from an architectural, economic and social point of view.

The British financial magazine ‘Euromoney’ has named the Catalan CaixaBank the world’s best bank in a technological innovation ranking. Furthermore, the publication considered CaixaBank to be the best Spanish bank for the second consecutive year. The Catalan entity is the largest bank within the Spanish market, ahead of the two world giants Santander and BBVA. Furthermore, CaixaBank leads online banking in Spain with 8.8 million clients.

The 9th edition of the Videogame and Interactive Entertainment International Conference, Gamelab, takes place in the Catalan capital from the 26th to the 28th of June. This year the business fair and conference has moved to a smaller location – Catalonia’s Cinematheque. However, the number of participants remains the same and the expectations generated are probably bigger, since this year’s conference displays a top selection of “frontline speakers” at international level. In fact, Barcelona’s event has gradually become “one of the world congresses with the greatest influence” within the videogame industry and an “international reference” point, according to the organisers.

Telefónica’s R&D centre in Barcelona’s 22@ technological district will lead the company’s innovation internationally and will significantly increase its staff numbers, which currently stands at 220 workers. The decision strengthens Barcelona’s position as the Mobile World Capital, as it already hosts the main event of the mobile technology industry at an international level. In total, Telefónica has 6 R&D centres spread throughout the world. Besides Barcelona, the company’s innovation centres are based in Silicon Valley, Sao Paulo, London, Tel Aviv and Madrid. The Barcelona centre is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. In the last decade, Telefónica has invested up to €200 million in its Catalan centre, €28 million of which was in 2012.

The company working on creating mobile applications and payment systems will arrive in the Catalan capital in July. It will start by creating 75 direct jobs but its plans are to gradually increase staff figures. Transax will operate from Barcelona to Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The Catalan Government’s Invest in Catalonia programme has facilitated the Canadian company’s arrival. Furthermore, the Catalan Business Minister emphasised that Catalonia was the European region that received the greatest direct foreign investment in 2012, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The IBM Group has opened a software development centre in Reus, a city in Southern Catalonia near the Costa Daurada and Tarragona. The new centre will initially employ 50 highly-qualified professionals, mostly graduates from the local Rovira Virgili University. However, the plan is to reach 100 workers in one year’s time and 250 in two years. The company envisages they might even end up employing up to 450 people in Reus, but they have refused to make any commitment on such an ambitious target. The centre will initially have a 700,000 euro investment and will occupy 600 square metres, but double this space will be used after its enlargement.

The world’s main event of the mobile technology industry, which takes place in Barcelona every year, ended on Thursday. This year’s event broke all records, going beyond all expectations. This was the 8th consecutive year the event has been organised in Barcelona, and this year the GSMA Mobile World Congress moved to a new venue in Fira de Barcelona, which has a much larger capacity. “We are very happy with the record results for the 2013 MWC in our first year in Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue”, stated John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA, which organises the congress. Over the four days, senior executives of the world’s main companies of this industry gathered in the Catalan capital. It had an impact of more than €320 million for the local economy.

Catalan companies at the Mobile World Congress increased their presence in the international event by 40% in comparison with 2012. 56 companies were supported by the Catalan Government, which grouped 48 of them together under the Catalonia Stand. They also introduced to the technologic market new apps in different fields and closed deals with other international companies. Most of them are formed by small teams of young entrepreneurs who were looking for venture capital and were making contacts with international businesses to launch their latest technological projects.

This week the GSMA Mobile World Congress is in full swing in Barcelona. From the 25th to the 28th of February the MWC has opened its gates to more than 70,000 participants. On Tuesday, the 18th edition of Global Mobile Awards took place in the Catalan capital. The Android system and software was acclaimed for its role in the current mobile technology and in this regard the Samsung Galaxy S III won best Smartphone and Nexus 7 the best Tablet. 32 prices in six different categories were awarded to advances in mobile technology of several companies.