SmarportLab | Smart Port Lab Challenge 2024: winners

The Port of Bahía Blanca, along with the Town Hall of Bahia Blanca , announced the winners of the third call for the open innovation program "Smartport Lab Challenge."

This initiative consisted of open innovation challenges to bring talents to co-create innovative solutions for the port-industrial ecosystem together with the port and the participating companies. There were 10 finalist projects, but the four winners were: CrowdLabel AI, HD Photovoltaic, CERH, and Ecolysium.

Smartport Lab Challenge 2024 is the open innovation program organized by the Port of Bahía Blanca and the Town Hall, along with the support of major companies in the petrochemical hub, the logistics-port sector and our local scientific and technological institutions.
The third call 10 finalist projects were:

Ecolysium: bioinputs for agriculture Esquel, Chubut
Crowd Label AI: Crowdsourcing for data labelling, Bahia Blanca
Biolube-CO2 (PLAPIQUI UNS/CONICET): Biolubricant bases from vegetable oils (biodiesel) and polyalcohols that use CO2 as a solvent, Bahia Blanca.
H2 turquesa (UTN-FRBB): Local project, Microwave Non-Thermal Plasma Generator (PNTM) applied to the separation of gas molecules with low CO2 emissions.

Safe and sustainable waste management (CERH-UNS): Valorization of industrial waste through its incorporation into cementitious mixtures, Bahía Blanca

Búho solutions: Advanced Iot Platform to optimize active management, Neuquén.

HD Fotovoltaica: Multipurpose polycarbonate sheet integrated with semi-transparent solar cells for solar energy generation, CABA.

Smartports: Digital Twin to optimize the operation and decision making in real time, CABA.

EasySpot (UNS): Georeferenced data collection and visualization system.

Emerald Energy: Hydrocarbon absorbers with biopolymer fibers developed in collaboration with the Laboratory of Polymers and Materials and the Faculty of Exact Sciences (UBA/CONICET).

Santiago Mandolesi Burgos, president of the CGPBB, celebrated: “ Bahia Blanca has a remarkable the capacity for development, innovation and entrepreneurship. It is necessary to generate the connection between companies, the scientific network and the Port. We want to continue to be part of this area that brings together the productive sector, the academy and the scientific pole.

Hernan Vigier, Director of the Innovation, Productive Development and Urbanism Agency of the Municipality stated: “It was a pleasure to be a member of the jury in this Smart Port Lab Challenge. There were 22 projects submitted, we listened to the 10 finalists and came up with the four winners. This relevant call has consolidated the networking among the scientific field, business and the Port”.

The winning projects will receive a financial contribution of AR$10,000,000 each and the support to validate the business model and technology, in a real environment together with the port, the municipality and the participating companies.

Many thanks to the participating companies for their support and also to the local academic institutions for their support.