On Thursday 20th September ClusterFY organized a meeting with local industrial actors, research centers related to the renewable energy sector and policymakers. The meeting was held at the premises of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Experimentation National Center (CNH2) in Puertollano (Ciudad Real).

The most important point in the agenda was the establishment of a working group that will be in charge of the elaboration a joint roadmap, that will lead to the creation of a clean energy cluster in the city. ClusterFY is a key asset in this process sharing the know-how and expertise gathered during the study visits.

The renewable energy sector is very relevant for the city as one of the principal engines of Puertollano’s industrial development. This sector takes over the important heritage of the city as an industrial pole around energy (coat, oil refinery, …) that has driven the growth of the territory since the 40’s.

This sector is also of extreme importance for the region since it was identified by RIS3-CLM as one of the productive sectors with the greatest potential for specialisation in Castilla-La Mancha. For all the previous reasons, ClusterFY CLM advocates for this location to become the seed of a cluster. Given the high potential of this city, Puertollano will be the setting of the morning session of the study visit that the consortium will done next Tuesday, 23rd October, as part of the activities of the V Interregional Seminar, which will be hosted by the Region of Castilla-La Mancha.

The meeting gathered around the table triple helix actors as HEI (UCLM, represented by Juan Carlos López, ClusterFY regional coordinator); Carlos Mora, Delegate for Economic Promotion and Tourism of the Puertollano City Council; and the scientific and R&D managers of the CNH2, CLAMBER Biorefinery, and ISFOC (Research Center of Concentration Photovoltaics Energy).

Firstly, the attendees worked on the agenda of the next Interregional Seminar and organizational aspects for the study visits to take place in Puertollano. The different study visits aim to raise awareness of the potential of the city and promote it as an innovative industrial hub in the field of renewable energy.

On the other hand, the attendees laid the foundations for the creation of a working group aimed at studying and designing a joint action plan for the city. The goal, with the guidance of ClusterFY, is the promotion and development of a sustainable energy cluster in Puertollano.