Secpho continues to lead the list of Spanish clusters that receive the most aid among a total of 88 entities that have benefited from the call of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, with more than 2.4 million euros in subsidies obtained.
Secpho, which brings together technology companies, academic institutions and research centers from all over Spain, has once again demonstrated its ability to drive innovation and strengthen the position of its ecosystem in the national innovation landscape.
The cluster’s work as a catalyst for collaborative innovation through Deep Tech has been recognized in the call for aid for clusters certified by MINCOTUR as Agrupacione Empresariales Innovadoras (commonly known as AEI call), in which secpho has managed to mobilize more than 3 million euros for its members this year, of which more than 2.4 million euros will be in the form of non-refundable grants. This capital injection makes it possible for secpho and its partners to continue working on innovative projects that have the potential to transform industries and improve people’s lives.
Specifically, of the 13 proposals defended by secpho, 8 projects have been granted aid, which means a success rate of 62% in a call where the competitive concurrence has been the highest in the history of this line of aid. This high success rate is a strong recognition of the quality of the projects defended by the cluster.
The various projects in which secpho participates involve a total of 30 of its partners. This large participation – 20% – is a clear reflection of the collaborative and innovative essence that characterizes the Deep Tech ecosystem that secpho represents. The beneficiary partners are the following:
2 Eyes Vision, 5Skill Solutions, Air Drone Logistics, Alter Technology,
Aotech, ARCbcn, Asincar, BCB Informática y Control, Beamagine, CD6-UPC, CELSA Group, COVAP, Draco Systems, Dronomy, Indo Optical, Instituto de Fotomedicina, IOVI Intelligent Vision, LVD Biotech, Mapsi Photonics,
Nulab, Plug:Chain, Pyroistech, Radiantis, Sensofar, Snell Optics,
Stimulo, Subsea Mechatronics, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, UPV-EHU y Vidorreta Design.
It should be noted that this call aims to strengthen the capacities of SMEs through non-repayable funding, a mechanism that is reserved for clusters certified as AEI by MINCOTUR and, therefore, its partners. In this case, the funded projects combine the collaboration of young and innovative deep tech SMEs, expert centers in the research and transfer of deep tech technologies in our country and companies using all this technology.
The projects to be promoted are aimed at the development of devices based on deep tech applied to fields as diverse as oceans and seas, food, health, steel and energy.
Regarding initiatives focused on the health sector, we find projects such as the development of an integral manufacturing system for bioprosthetic heart valves, a medical device to reduce cholesterol levels without drugs and in a non-invasive way and, on the other hand, a compact demonstrator of progressive ophthalmic lenses and a software platform to treat presbyopia.
At the Industry 4.0 level, in the iron and steel sector, the project is based on monitoring the iron and steel process by means of filters based on macroporous silicon technology. In logistics, the project is the second part of the development of an autonomous 5G drone for indoor monitoring of warehouses using advanced vision and artificial intelligence techniques.
In the maritime field, the initiative proposes the design and construction of a proof-of-concept lidar for use in autonomous underwater vehicles. In food safety, a sensor based on NIR and fluorescence spectroscopy will be developed for real-time monitoring of Listeria in the maturation of sausages using predictive AI models and chemometrics.
In addition to innovation among our ecosystem, we also continue in the intercluster collaborative line, which is of course part of secpho’s DNA. For this reason, secpho also participates in projects funded by three other AEIs: INOLEO, AMETIC and Nagrifood (Agrifood Cluster of Navarra).
All in all, these successes demonstrate that secpho remains at the forefront of research and innovation, and that its ongoing work contributes to technological advancement and economic growth in Spain and beyond.
We look forward to helping to generate the positive impacts that these projects will have on society and industry, as our previous projects that you can see here have already done.
Congratulations to all participating partners!