VDS+ 2026
What does it actually take for a city to become resilient, and how do we move climate innovation from a good idea to something deployed on the ground?
VDS is one of Europe’s leading international tech events, positioning Valencia as a global innovation hub and a business bridge between Europe, Latin America and the United States. Its ninth edition takes place on 21–22 October 2026 at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, bringing together startups and scaleups, corporates, investors and public leaders. vdsvds
Climate KIC’s Celsa Monrós takes part in a round table exploring how cities can build the impact ecosystems that turn climate innovation into real-world deployment.
Resilient Cities Need Impact Ecosystems: From Innovation to Deployment
Wednesday 22 October | 11:40–12:00 CEST | Discovery Stage
Cities are increasingly where climate resilience is won or lost, but moving from promising innovation to large-scale deployment takes more than technology. It takes the ecosystems, partnerships and enabling conditions that let good solutions take root and scale.
This round table works through three questions in turn: what cities genuinely need to become more resilient, and where the gaps lie between innovation, deployment and impact; how the different players — startups, corporates, clusters, public administrations, investors and regions — connect, and what role each one plays; and, finally, the practical one: if we wanted to make a single city or region significantly more resilient within three years, what is the one ecosystem mechanism we should build or change?
Speakers:
- Thaïs Glod — Moderator; EU Climate Pact Ambassador and Senior Project Manager, Startup Europe Regions Network
- Leticia Rayas — Global Leader, Global Entrepreneurship Network
- Celsa Monrós — Climate Adaptation and Regional Innovation Expert, Climate KIC