A group of representatives from several Economic and Innovation Development agencies from Gauteng province (South Africa) visited the Basque Energy Cluster headquarters to learn about the activities and capacity of Basque companies in the different energy sector value chains.

Following the intense activity carried out over recent weeks and the very recent business mission to South Africa organised by the Basque Government and SPRI led by the Economic Development and Competition Counsellor Arantxa Tapia, we received the visit of 5 representatives from the Economic Development Agency, Growth and Development Agency and Innovation Hub from the Gauteng province where Johannesburg is located.

Through a presentation, South African representatives acquired detailed knowledge of the skills and strengths of Basque companies in different technological fields, as well as their strong international expansion and most representative support infrastructures to carry out R&D and product validation activities. One of the areas which drew most of their attention were Smart Grids, where they believe they may learn a great deal from initiatives such as Bidelek Sareak, as well as Energy Storage and Efficiency.

The representatives were very pleased to discover the potential of the Basque business fabric in the energy sector as well as the driving activity of the Basque Energy Cluster, which has no equivalent in Gauteng. They expressed their desire to stay in contact to explore collaboration opportunities among Basque and South African companies with which the support of the South African Government energy development plans may contribute to promote the country's wealth.