Four projects supported by the Marine & Maritime High Tech Incubator, selected by the Spanish Ports 4.0 funding programme
The second call from the Plan to Promote Entrepreneurship for Innovation in the Port Sector (Ports 4.0) being promoted by the Spanish ports authority (Puertos del Estado) will finance 30 pre-commercial projects throughout the country, of which eight are backed by the Port Authority of Las Palmas. Four of these projects, which have obtained a combined total of close on 1.4 million euros between them, received advice from the Economic Promotion Agency of Gran Canaria (SPEGC) - a body run by the Island Council of Gran Canaria - under the specialised service offered by the Marine & Maritime High Tech Incubator to help Spanish companies and startups in the maritime and naval sector gain access to this funding initiative.
The Silex project presented by Apsu Agua Limpia S.L. aims to develop a prototype microwave reactor capable of absorbing combustion gases from ship engines and transforming them into salts with a neutral impact on the environment, thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions produced by seagoing vessels.
The Carbon Wave Gauge project by Vázquez Torres Ingeniería, S.L. and Automation Designs and Custom Applications, S.L. seeks to develop a portable system for precisely measuring swell and tides in real time using carbon fibre threads.
In turn, the Beta-Blue project by Tiamet Energy S.L. will develop undimotor (wave) power prototypes for installation on maritime buoyage systems. The company will also make use of spaces owned by the Port Authority to test the system in a real environment.
The fourth project to have received funding from this call for proposals is Smart Coast AI Solutions 4.0 by the consortium set up by QAISC (Qualitas Artificial Intelligence and Science, S.A) and Plocan. The project aims to design and develop new technology solutions applied to the coast and port-maritime space based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) capable of efficiently and sustainably automating maritime transport.
Gran Canaria offers the ideal maritime-marine ecosystem for developing a wide range of productive and business activities related to this sector: ship repair, port services, power generation, logistics, transport and off-shore services are just some of the areas in which data analytics and artificial intelligence technology solutions are playing a major role.
Against that backdrop, the High-Tech Incubator for Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence applied to the maritime-marine environment promoted by the Island Council of Gran Canaria via SPEGC is a benchmark centre in Spain that supports entrepreneurs and SMEs engaged in innovative projects tied to these fields of technology. It offers technical support and technological-business guidance through integrated incubation and acceleration programmes, custom advice and consultancy, workshops, testing and experimentation opportunities in real environments, cloud computing services and work spaces, among other things.
Gran Canaria improves its competitiveness in the marine- maritime sector with new programs and spaces for companies and entrepreneurs
Gran Canaria is the ideal destination for the development of companies and projects related to the marine-maritime sector, given its strategic position between Africa, Europe, and America, its natural and economic characteristics and its role as a logistics and industrial hub of the Canary Islands archipelago.
Gran Canaria's advantages in the sector lie in the activities linked to the Port of Las Palmas (bunkering, ship repair, offshore wind, cargo traffic, cruise ships or crew changes), the attractive tax incentives and the presence of blue research spaces, such as The Canarian Oceanic Platform, which provides efficient access to the ocean in an environmentally sustainable way.
To all this, with the promotion and financing of Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria and Cabildo de Gran Canaria, there are two new offers that will boost Gran Canaria's competitiveness to hold blue economy business projects: the new services of IAT Marino Marítima are launched and the new spaces of Centro de Innovación Marino Marítima get started.
The novelties that reinforce Gran Canaria as a leading destination:
Marine-maritime IAT
The High Technology Incubator in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, IAT Marino Marítima is a national reference center to attend entrepreneurs and SMEs that develop innovative projects in the artifitial intelligence and conected technology fields, with potential for local, national, and international projection and represents a decisive impulse for companies to be provided with technical support and technological-entrepreneurial accompaniment in their process of project acceleration and generation of new business models.
In addition, it has specialized advisory and consulting services in the areas of business, internationalization, legal and tax advice, finance, and technology consulting; group and specialized workshops and programs, testing and experimentation opportunities; promotion programs and knowledge dissemination actions; cloud computing services; and promotion of collaboration between the entrepreneurs of the different projects, companies and collaborating entities.
Marine-Maritime Innovation Center
The building has meeting and office rooms, recreation areas and training rooms. The minimum stay will be six months and the maximum three years, with the possibility of an extension.
The Marine Maritime Innovation Center is located in the Fundación Puerto de Las Palmas Building, in a privileged location in the Port-City environment, within the space recently renovated by the SPEGC. It is a strategic location within the port area of the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, perfectly communicated with the rest of the city's services, as it is located next to the Santa Catalina bus station and Maritime Avenue, which connects with the Gran Canaria Airport.
Taxation and financing: a unique framework in Gran Canaria
Canary Island enjoys a special Economic and Fiscal Regimen (REF) that contributes to business development:
- Free Trade Zone: with its special conditions of tax exemption and customs simplification.
- Deductions applicable to RD&I expenses: which can reach up to 75. 6% of the eligible expenses executed in the Canary Islands.
- Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC): 4% corporate tax rate.
- Tax deduction for the production of physical goods: 50% reduction in company tax, applicable to businesses producing fishing and industrial goods.
- Deduction for investment in fixed assets: reduction of company tax equivalent to 25% of the amount destined for the acquisition of fixed assets.
- The Canary Islands Investment Reserve (RIC): the tax burden can be reduced by up to 90% of the company’s profits.
The Canary Islands benefit from other incentive instruments of investment such as the Special Regime for Ships and Shipping Companies in the Canary Islands.
To receive personalized information on the different instruments of the SPEGC, such as financing or advice, you can access the Business Support Service (SAE) of the Sociedad de Promoción Económica of Gran Canaria.