After the event had been opened by the Mayor of Muskiz and the Director of the Muskiz Training Centre (where the event was held), Cristina Oyón and José Ignacio Hormaeche discussed the objectives, participants in and most important aspects of the “Net-Zero Basque Industrial Supercluster” (NZBISC) initiative. Its aim is to accelerate the path towards net zero emissions in the Basque Country, by promoting the decarbonisation of energy supply and energy efficiency in industrial sectors, and creating market opportunities based on the scaling up of new technologies and innovative services.

During the conversation, they explained that NZBISC is part of the “Transitioning Industrial Clusters towards Net Zero” initiative promoted by the World Economic Forum. They also highlighted the presence and co-leadership of Iberdrola and Petronor together with the Basque Government, and the participation of the clusters in preparing the decarbonisation roadmaps for the 5 prioritised sectors: Iron & Steel, Casting, Paper, Cement and Refining.

In the last part of the discussion, Cristina Oyón and Hormaeche stressed that NZBISC has identified the value chains and companies in the Basque Country to tackle the technological challenges and offer the decarbonisation solutions required by industries. They concluded with the message that it is not enough to decarbonise our industry, as, at the same time, we need to apply the same level of priority to ensuring that a major part of the necessary technologies are developed and produced in the Basque Country.

This was followed by the presentation of the Marcelo Gangoiti Award, which this year went to the company TEKNIA Bilbao, and was presented by the General Manager of SPRI, Aitor Urzelai. The event ended with a speech by Elixabete Etxanobe, General Deputy of Bizkaia.