From 3 to 5 November, Bilbao Exhibition Centre will gather the industry’s key players for the first edition of DS – Decarbonized & Sustainable Industry. This international meeting will establish Bizkaia and the Basque Country as benchmarks in tackling one of the sector’s great challenges: the move towards more competitive, efficient and sustainable models.

Over two days, DS Industry will combine an exhibition, congress and networking activities in a unique event that will bring together more than 140 international speakers, over 100 exhibiting companies and 190 scheduled B2B meetings. Together, they create a strategic setting in which to discover new technologies, learn from real-world applications and generate opportunities for collaboration and business. The third day is reserved for Technical Visits to a range of industrial plants.

The event comes at a particularly significant moment for industry, now driven to adapt its production processes to a new technological, regulatory and energy context. In this landscape, Bizkaia and the Basque Country stand on a solid industrial base, backed by a leading science and technology ecosystem and firm institutional support for the sector’s transformation.

Presenting the first edition of DS Industry at today’s press conference were Ainara Basurko, Provincial Minister for Economic Promotion at the Provincial Council of Bizkaia; Irantzu Allende, Deputy Minister for Energy Transition at the Basque Government; José Ignacio Hormaeche, Managing Director of Basquenergy Cluster; Olga Martín, Managing Director of Aclima; Xabier Basañez, Managing Director of Bilbao Exhibition Centre; and Adriana Martínez, Event Manager at DS Industry.

 

Three pillars to drive the industry of the future

DS Industry will bring together visitors with real decision-making power from more than twenty industrial sectors, including refining, pulp and paper, foundry, rail, aeronautics, capital goods, chemicals and petrochemicals, energy (generation and distribution included), cement and lime, steel, automotive, glass, ceramics, food and beverage, textiles, plastics, construction, shipbuilding, agri-food and waste treatment. Joining them will be representatives of technology and research centres, environmental management and infrastructure companies, engineering firms and EPC contractors, as well as specialist consultancies.

Many of the challenges facing these sectors are shared. To respond to them, we have built DS Industry around three areas: Knowledge, Innovation and Networking.

Conceived as a forum for sharing knowledge and debate, the Knowledge area will host an international conference programme with more than sixty speakers from countries including Germany, Denmark, the United States, Greece, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France. Alongside professionals from Spain, they will tackle the main trends and challenges in decarbonization, the circular economy and sustainability.

Conference content will run across three main tracks. The Technologies Track will examine how solutions such as CO₂ capture and utilization, thermal storage, heat pumps and green hydrogen are applied. The Circularity Track turns the spotlight on the value chain, from eco-design and product life extension through to new business models, product-as-a-service and waste valorization. And in the Sectors Track, the focus shifts to the challenges and trends shaping decarbonization in refining and renewable fuels, steel, cement, food and ceramics. Debates, round tables and Expert Talks complete the programme: open sessions in the conference area, with participatory formats in which experts and attendees share ideas, opinions and experiences.

The Knowledge area will also feature the Innovation Workshops, where more than fifty companies will showcase their technologies and solutions through real-world experiences and practical case studies developed in operational environments. It will also host the Startup Talks, a space designed to connect industrial companies and startups, fostering the exchange of solutions, the exploration of synergies and the development of new innovation projects.

In total, more than 140 speakers will take part in the various sessions that make up the Knowledge area.

With more than 100 exhibiting companies, Innovation will serve as DS Industry’s technology showcase, bringing professionals closer to solutions and developments with direct industrial applications. This area will bring together leading companies and industry benchmarks alongside startups that are driving new solutions to address the challenges of industrial transformation.

Companies exhibiting at the event include Afesa, Agaleus, Ayesa Digital, Brenmiller Europe, Carlo Gavazzi, Dominion, GE Vernova, Global Factor, Iberdrola, Petronor, PKF, PwC España, Rank, Sener, Stratenergy, Tamoin, Telur, Tecnalia, Técnicas Reunidas and Tempo, among others.

In the Innovation area, a Poster display of 36 panels will also give visibility to innovative projects, new technologies and solutions developed by companies in the sector.

The third area, Networking, is geared towards fostering direct contact between participating professionals and organisations. Its flagship initiative is the B2B programme, run by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) through SPRI, which will arrange pre-scheduled meetings between exhibitors, visitors and organisations working in decarbonization and energy efficiency. Industry interest speaks for itself: 190 meetings are already scheduled between professionals from countries such as Germany, Slovenia, France, Belgium, Italy, Turkey and Pakistan, as well as from Spain.

The Hosted Buyers Programme, for its part, will strengthen the presence of key buyers from sectors such as refining, pulp and paper, foundry, chemicals and petrochemicals, energy, cement and lime, steel, glass, ceramics and food, among others.

Networking does not stop at the exhibition stands and conference sessions. As day one draws to a close, the Afterwork Drinks will offer a relaxed setting in which to keep building contacts and carry on conversations more informally. On 4 November, the Gala Dinner will bring together delegates, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors and buyers for a special evening in Bilbao, culminating in the DS Awards ceremony.

To close this edition, on 5 November participants will head out on scheduled technical visits to the facilities of Zabalgarbi, Biscay Eco Aggregates, PepsiCo, Petronor and the Port of Bilbao, where they can see benchmark decarbonization and industrial sustainability projects and initiatives on the ground.

 

WORKinn for DS Industry

Attracting talent is key to the future of industry, a sector with highly appealing career prospects and quality employment. With this in mind, on the morning of 4 November we will open WORKinn for DS Industry, a space dedicated to talent featuring 13 exhibiting companies. Its aim is to connect specialist profiles with leading companies, helping them recruit the talent the industrial transition needs.

WORKinn will be a meeting point for talent and companies, a place to explore real opportunities for employment, professional development and growth. It also sets out to encourage generational renewal, giving students and professionals the chance to discover new career paths and connect with companies looking to bring new profiles on board.

DS Industry 2026 is organized by Bilbao Exhibition Centre with the support of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Basque Government as Institutional Partners; Iberdrola and Petronor as Platinum Sponsors; KPMG as Gold Sponsor; and Aclima, Basquenergy Cluster, EVE-Ente Vasco de la Energía, IHOBE, Net Zero Basque, Grupo SPRI and Tecnalia as Sector Partners.