14 July 2023
The Deusto Research Social Impact Label annually recognises several projects developed at the university for their transformative action and potential social impact on people, organisations, the environment or society in general.
Among the selected initiatives is PORTRE, a project led by Orkestra researcher Macarena Larrea that explores the role of ports in the energy transition.
La The University of Deusto has recognised the work of 11 new research projects for their positive impact and social transformation as part of the seventh edition of the Deusto Research Social Impact Label.
Among those selected is PORTRE, project developed by Orkestra that explores the role of ports in the energy transition from a dual perspective: the port as a driver of port activity and as a link in the maritime-port clusters. This is a research project developed within the framework of the Institute's Energy and Environment Lab and led by Macarena Larrea.
The main result of the project has been the publication of an Orkestra report entitled "The role of ports in the energy transition". This report reviews the trends in the sector, analyses some of the main guidelines to which both the ports and the means of transport they connect are subject and develops an analysis model to compare their progress in the energy transition. This model is also applied to the ports of Bilbao, Valencia, Rotterdam and Los Angeles.
The role of ports in the energy transition
This report aims to assess the role of ports in the energy transition from a double perspective, the port as a driver of port activity and as a link in maritime port clusters.
Macarena Larrea has shared the results of the research both with entities in the port field, such as the Pasajes Port Authority, and in the academic field, among the students of the Master's Degree in Renewable Energies and Energy Transition of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Her report also served as the starting point for a conference organised by Orkestra and the Port Authority of Bilbao in which professionals from the port sector, the energy sector and business reflected on the future of ports as sustainable hubs.
Larrea also presented the report at the Basque Association of Civil Engineers and at the Congress of Naval Engineers held last May in Bilbao.
Other projects with the social impact label
Since the launch of the Deusto Research Social Impact Label, several Orkestra projects have obtained this recognition.
These include Bizkaia Orekan Sakonduz, a project funded by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia that studies how to build a collaborative governance model for territorial development, or COMPETITIV'eko, a cross-border project aimed at boosting innovation and competitiveness of companies in Aquitaine, the Basque Country and Navarre.
Other projects from the Energy and Environment Lab on energy prices and industrial competitiveness, alternative energies for passenger transport or energy transition have also been recognised with this label.
