They are several steps ahead of their time, thus anticipating the future. That is to say, the 79 technology centers that exist in Spain are the spearhead of the most disruptive innovation. Some have even celebrated half a century, such as the Institute of Ceramic Technology or the Ikerlan center. There are some where more than a thousand people work. And they are all very present in the sector in which they specialize with the strong vocation of impacting the closest business environment. They participate in the agri-food industry, in construction, in footwear or toys, even in aeronautics-space or biotechnology. They may be either researching a new material for buildings or developing the latest advance in nanotechnology or quantum computing. They are so avant-garde that they sometimes develop solutions that respond to needs and challenges that are so cutting-edge that there is no market that currently absorbs them, or it is still very incipient.

Today these veins of science and research have become a breeding ground for new startups that consolidate over time, giving rise to mature companies. 95% of spin-offs that are born from technology centers remain operational five years after their creation, when in the entrepreneurial ecosystem only 30% of startups survive 3.1 years, according to the 'Entrepreneurship Map 2023', prepared by South Summit.

This has happened in the startups that emerged from the 49 technology centers and the four autonomous groups (they bring together several centers in an area), distributed throughout our geography that are associated with Fedit, the Spanish Federation of Technology Centers. Together they have a workforce of more than 9,500 people and provide service to around 25,000 companies each year. In 2022 they acquired revenues worth more than 718 million euros and carried out more than 19,000 R&D&I projects. From all that value and that colossal source of innovation, 36 spin-offs have appeared, of which 34 are still on the market five years later. 

What's the secret to getting these startups to become veteran companies? "When a technology center creates a startup, it's not such a risky proposition. We are more practical, we have a vision of the market that is closer to reality. That's why our startups survive. We may believe less, but we know how this market is going to evolve: we are on the safe side," says Áureo Díaz-Carrasco, executive director of Fedit.

Technology centers usually accompany their startups during all (or a good part) of the path of their development. Either as main partners (or with a lot of weight) or with technological support. "The center itself usually has departments that provide support in business management and entrepreneurship to the researcher. It's one of the problems that other startups have: a university researcher knows about technology, but if he's not well advised by professionals who talk to him about seed capital, investment funds, the structure he needs to move the company forward, he's going to have a very difficult time," Díaz-Carrasco acknowledges.

Companies turn to technology centers in search of innovation, when they need an improvement or a new technology or positioning. However, these centers also analyze trends and develop "of their own accord" solutions. When they find the keys to a disruptive technology that is going to have a market, they try to offer it first to an already consolidated company that will give it an outlet. "But sometimes it's not easy to find such an advanced company to work with us, it depends on the level of disruption of the technology we're creating. It's easier for them to absorb less advanced projects. If the risk is higher, the most viable option is to go for the creation of a new company. A technology center does not have the capacity to commercially exploit technology, which is why it resorts to the creation of a startup," says Díaz-Carrascosa.

And there are those who bet on solutions that are difficult to imagine for the rest of human beings and that are making their way into the market over the years.Neos Surgery,For example, it has earned its place in the competitive surgical implant market. Headquartered in Barcelona and San Sebastián, this company, which was founded in 2007, has been accompanied from the outset by the Eurecat technology center and shortly afterwards by Tecnalia.

It has managed to develop a cranial closure with a very specific technology that is already consolidated in the sector. This is a clamp that allows the surgeon to attach a standard bone flap to close the skull after neurosurgery. "This way the skull is completely aligned and fuses again. The closure has a very special design that is linked to a production process where a biocompatible material called Peek, which is a thermoplastic polymer, is pushed to the limit, says Lluís Chico, CEO of Neos Surgery.

Peek is the future of surgical implants, Chico predicts. "In the long term, it will replace the titanium used in prostheses because it is more inert, it adapts better to our body, it has more design possibilities and at a more reasonable cost," he says.

To the Peek material, Neos added carbon fiber and got another implant to attach the sternum. "Now a very obsolete technique is used that joins this bone with steel wires, the patient suffers a lot of discomfort, it is a very unstable technique and healing is slower. Our closure achieves more forces to join the sternum and with greater stability in all directions," explains Chico.

This device is already marketed in the US, a market more open to innovations, as Chico comments. In Europe it will do so shortly. "It is much more complicated to introduce new medical devices in the Old Continent because it generates enormous regulatory costs," he complains.

Neos Surgery continues to work on a new implant for lumbar disc herniation. "We are the first in the world to achieve a solution to close a herniated disc. We have a very sophisticated product clinically validated in Spain and we are going to start studies on patients in Europe." But it will take time before it can be marketed, because in this sector it usually takes ten years from the time a product is conceived until it comes to market. Therefore, the support of Eurecat and Tecnalia has been decisive. "We would not have survived without the support of these technology centers that have a vocation to create value-added industry in the territory. In addition, the environment of a technology center is connected to the entire network of most competitive public funding. And this "You have made it possible for us to access strong subsidies, as well as having venture capital funds that have believed in our products." In fact, Neos Surgery has received €1.9 million in funding from the EIC Accelerator programme, awarded by the European Innovation Council, to clinically validate the device for lumbar disc herniation. And Eurecat and Tecnalia are its partners.

The Basque technology center Tekniker also continues to be the majority shareholder ofAtten2,which appeared in 2012 to market a technology that had been researched for years in Tekniker's industrial oil laboratories. "We have developed optical sensors (some with machine vision) to identify wear particles, compounds and bubbles in oils that lubricate machines," explains Eneko Gorritxategi, CTO of Atten2.

To understand this solution, compare it to a medical example. "We do the same thing as in a blood test where different parameters are measured," Gorritxategi explains. We analyze the oil that passes through the machines to see how it is doing and we evaluate and predict how that machine is doing so that we can anticipate future failures." 

The advantage of this technology is that it can be used in any type of machinery that needs a lubricant, in any sector, from a gas or steam turbine, to tunnel boring machines for mines, car engines and wind turbines. So Atten2 sensors can be found anywhere in the world. "In Latin America, Australia, the US and Canada we work for several mining companies," says Gorritxategi. And that has also allowed them to grow. «Turnover increases by 40-45% each year – adds Gorritxategi – and we have gone from two to 15 people. " We have incorporated marketing, commercial and business strategy profiles that support the technical vision that we researchers have."

Atten2 has research imprinted in its DNA. That is why he continues to look for new sensors to measure the characteristics of other industrial fluids. And "Tekniker continues to offer its technical support. It is a center that is very focused on applied research to provide solutions to the needs of companies in the area and make them more competitive," says Gorritxategi.

The Itene technology center is also not detached from the startupAdbioplastics,which was born from its laboratories in 2014. "If we hadn't had Itene, it would have been impossible to develop the project. It would have been one more innovation that remains in the drawer," says Carmen Sánchez, Chair and CEO of Adbioplastics.

This startup has obtained an additive that improves the properties of a bioplastic called PLA that is compostable, ie biodegradable. "This bioplastic comes from natural products such as beets and sugar cane. But in its virgin state, its properties are limited to be used as a container. The additive we have developed improves those properties. We obtain a Premium PLA that can be used in many applications: such as packaging, 3D printing... And it's still compostable. In fact, in three months it begins to disintegrate," explains Sánchez.

Its applications are endless. It can be used for film and food packaging; for jars of cosmetic creams or on labels and hangers for textiles, including for orthopedic products.