The Basque Energy Cluster held its 2019 Annual General Meeting at Bizkaia Technology Park in order to take stock of a positive 2018 financial year for sector companies, with overall growth of around 2% compared to the previous financial year. The best results corresponded to companies in the renewable energy markets at international level, especially in wind and photovoltaic energy, which show significant prospects for growth in the years ahead.

José Ignacio Hormaeche, Director of the Basque Energy Cluster, presents the main contributions in the field of innovation in the energy sector being carried out by Euskadi, as well as the main value propositions of the Cluster for its members.

The 'Oil & Gas supply chain opportunities in Saudi Arabia’ conference, organised by Aramco and the Basque Energy Cluster, was held on Tuesday 11 June at the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao. The event offered a comprehensive overview of business opportunities for companies working with Aramco, a world leader in energy and petrochemicals, particularly highlighting challenges that may be addressed by those undertaking investment projects in Saudi Arabia.

A delegation of representatives from the Fukushima Prefecture (Japan) visited the Basque Country, under the guidance of the Basque Trade & Investment Agency, part of the SPRI Group, in order to strengthen relations between the two regions in the field of renewable energies. The visit was also the framework for the signing of a collaboration agreement between the Fukushima Energy Agency and the Basque Energy Cluster, focusing on four energy areas: wind, solar photovoltaic, smart grids and hydrogen.

The launch meeting of the European Project DURABLE was held on April 12 in Bidart (France), with the objective of promoting the development of renewable energies in the Atlantic Area (France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom). The Project has a budget of €3.9M and it is co-financed by the Interreg Atlantic Area Program through the European Regional Development Fund.

The activity consisted of a total of 7 public meetings held at the EVE stand (central part of the Basque hall, 1-D30) in which several Basque companies participated with wind power experts. The purpose was promoting knowledge on onshore and offshore wind power, both within and beyond the Basque Country.

On 6 June, Enerclub, the Spanish Energy Club, presented the book “Energía y Ciudades (“Energy and Cities”) in Bilbao. The event, sponsored by Iberdrola, took place in the Torre Iberdrola's auditorium and was attended by representatives of Iberdrola, the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), Bilbao City Council and the Basque Energy Cluster, as well as 50 other people.

Representatives of the Bizkaia Provincial Council (DFB) presented Biscay Startup Bay, the International Entrepreneurship Centre, to Basque Energy Cluster companies. At the event, Iberdrola, one of the partners in the initiative, presented its entrepreneurship and innovation strategy, and Arrecife Systems shared its enriching experience at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Boston.

BIDELEK 4.0, the new Smart Grids strategic initiative, was presented in a ceremony held on 9 February at Torre Iberdrola in Bilbao, chaired by the Minister for Economic Development and Infrastructures of the Basque Government, Arantxa Tapia.

On 22nd February, the Basque Government Delegation in Brussels hosted the kick-off meeting of the ELBE project which seeks an alliance between leading marine energy clusters across Europe, with the aim of defining a joint internationalisation strategy