The Innovation Committee of the Bahia de Algeciras Port held a new working session last Thursday, March 26, at the R&D&I Building of the Algeciras Technological Campus Foundation (FCTA), a meeting that served to evaluate the second year of the group's activities, present technological solutions developed in the Algeciras port environment, and open a collective debate on the opportunities and risks posed by artificial intelligence in the logistics-port industry.
The choice of the venue allowed participants to learn first-hand about the capabilities of the FCTA. Jesús Verdú, coordinator of the foundation, detailed the role the entity plays in the economic and technological development of the region, as well as its service portfolio and the specialized spaces it makes available to companies and researchers.
Jesús Medina, head of the Technological Development Area of the APBA and president of the Committee, was in charge of opening the session with an assessment of the results achieved in this second year. Medina highlighted the joint innovation initiatives launched and the increasing level of collaboration among the agents of the port ecosystem. In addition, he outlined the main lines of the work plan for 2026, in which the Committee will play a central role in renewing the APBA Innovation Strategy, a process that will set the technological priorities of the Port Authority in the coming years.
The session led to the presentation of two new memberships to the Committee: Agsa-Partida, which joins as a vocal member, and Telefónica, which does so as an expert advisor. Both incorporations expand the knowledge base of the group and reflect the growing interest of the business fabric in participating in the port's innovation processes.
One of the most notable blocks of the day was the section dedicated to the innovations developed in the Algeciras ecosystem itself. Carlos Navas, automation and development engineer at TTI Algeciras, presented the appointment system for truck access to the terminal, a recently deployed digital solution that organizes and streamlines the flow of heavy vehicles in the operator's facilities. Next, Fernando González and Ismael Rivera, senior engineering manager and senior software engineer at Maersk Technology, presented an artificial intelligence-based assistant they have developed internally to optimize communications between the shipping company and the terminals. The two presentations offered concrete examples of how digital transformation is permeating the day-to-day operations of the port and generating competitive advantages for the port community.
The program also included an update on the Digital Entrepreneurship Center of the Port of Algeciras, an initiative aimed at port logistics and promoted by the Junta de Andalucía as part of the Misión Andalucía program. In this section, three technology-based business projects with direct applications to the sector intervened: Víctor Manuel Díaz, founder of SonaGrid, a startup affiliated with the Misión Andalucía program; Manuel Muñoz, CEO of Surcontrol; and Oumnia Chaara, CEO of Chaara App, a SME that emerged as a spin-off from the University of Cádiz. The three presented their proposals and the application possibilities of their technologies to the port and logistics environment.
Subsequently, the status of the proposals that the APBA and its ecosystem members have mobilized — including those backed by the Committee itself — was reviewed within the framework of the fourth call for Ideas and Commercial Projects of the Ports 4.0 Fund, the innovation program promoted by Ports of the State.
The day ended with a participatory dynamic dedicated to artificial intelligence applied to the logistics-port sector. The debate brought attendees together around the strategic priorities for the adoption of this technology, the barriers hindering its implementation, the risks linked to its governance, and the use cases with the greatest potential in port operations. The discussion highlighted both the Algeciras ecosystem's interest in incorporating these tools and the need to address regulatory and data management issues before undertaking large-scale deployments.