It will develop into an Advanced Mobility District over the coming years.

The President of AIC and Deputy General of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe, welcomed more than 200 professionals from the mobility sector who had gathered to celebrate the Centre’s 20th anniversary. Among the guests were some of the figures who launched this pioneering project two decades ago. The event was brought to a close by the Lehendakari.

The Deputy General of Bizkaia and President of AIC, Elixabete Etxanobe, emphasised that “companies competing in the market collaborate here to improve their capabilities” and stressed that “AIC exists to create opportunities in a sector that needs to make decisions amidst enormous uncertainty”. With an eye to the future, she emphasised the importance of developing technologies, making decisions and creating skilled jobs here: “So that our companies can grow and participate in the new value chains. And we want young people to find in this industry a place where they can build their future”.

For his part, Lehendakari Imanol Pradales highlighted collaboration as a hallmark of the Basque Country and one of the keys to its transformation into a competitive, cohesive and advanced country. In this regard, he emphasised AIC’s pioneering role in driving open innovation and stressed that the Basque Country has the strengths to capitalise on new opportunities in the field of mobility. This potential is something the Basque Government seeks to harness through the Basque Country Industry Plan 2030, in which the automotive sector is one of the driving forces, because “what is good for the automotive sector is good for our industry, and what is good for our industry is good for our well-being and for the growth of our country”.

The event comprised several segments. Throughout the morning, Antón Pradera, Chairman of CIE Automotive and Vice-Chairman of AIC, provided an overview of the past, present and future of the automotive sector.

Also in attendance was Jean Luc di Paola, Global External Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer at Valeo, as well as Vice-President of CLEPA, who spoke about Europe’s position vis-à-vis its North American and Chinese competitors.

During the event, the CEO of AIC, Inés Anitua, highlighted the centre’s development in Phase 5, a new expansion that will enable the current open innovation centre model to evolve into the Advanced Mobility District, AIC District.

The initiative, funded by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia to the tune of 37 million euros, will enable the incorporation of new capabilities and an additional 21,900 square metres of floor space in a building adjacent to the current AIC facilities.

The AIC District has been conceived as an evolution of the current AIC model and will incorporate areas of work that complement the existing ones, in order to comprehensively cover the key areas of future mobility and strengthen new fields of work.

According to Anitua, “This new phase for the Centre is a response to its success in generating and attracting projects, as well as to the need to continue creating spaces for collaboration, experimentation and knowledge transfer for the automotive and mobility industry.”

The new AIC District will incorporate new corporate innovation units, experimentation centres – such as smart mobility, data space labs, advanced charging systems and heavy-duty and smart vehicles – and new forms of advanced mobility.

In addition, the event provided an opportunity to experiment with autonomous vehicles, humanoids, drones and eVTOLs.

Finally, during the morning, a tribute was paid to José Ignacio López de Arriortua, a world-renowned engineer who recently passed away.

AIC, a unique centre that generates value

AIC-Automotive Intelligence Centre is a private foundation that brings together knowledge, training, technology and industrial development with the aim of improving competitiveness in the automotive and mobility sectors. Its model is unique due to the integration of value-added activities within a single space and its mission to foster collaboration amongst companies in the sector, thereby enhancing their competitiveness.

The board of trustees of the AIC Foundation comprises the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Amorebieta-Etxano Town Council, Ermua Town Council, CIE Automotive, Gestamp, Tenneco, Pierburg, Teknia and ACICAE – the Basque Country Automotive Cluster. This composition reflects the public-private nature of the project and the industry’s direct involvement in its development. With 10 buildings and over 60,000 m², it is home to 31 organisations from 9 countries, employing 950 professionals working on innovation projects.

With Phase 5, AIC is embarking on a new phase aimed at extending its capacity to generate value across multiple areas of advanced mobility, with a regional approach that connects industry, public authorities, knowledge centres and people within an open innovation ecosystem designed to boost Bizkaia’s competitiveness.