The National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at promoting industrial development and innovation through the strengthening of research activity within Italian companies. The collaboration, in force until the end of 2024, will allow INFN to exploit the opportunities offered by the InvestEU Programme, with the support of CDP as Advisory Partner of the European Commission in the Consultancy Hub promoted by the European Union.
The INFN, as part of its Research for Innovation (R4I) programme, focuses on scientific research in fundamental, nuclear, subnuclear and astroparticle physics, as well as on the development of related technologies. Collaboration with companies and the dissemination of research in the business world are an integral part of the mission. CDP will provide consultancy on four macro-areas, including the analysis of the technologies developed by the INFN, the definition of the priorities of advanced scientific Proofs of Concept, the evaluation of the skills of the project groups, and the promotion of partnerships for the industrial diffusion of the developed technologies.
Mariangela Cestelli Guidi, coordinator of the INFN Technology Transfer Committee, underlines the importance of the agreement in promoting and enhancing the innovation capabilities of the institute. “The signing of the agreement with CDP represents a fundamental stage in the path that INFN has undertaken for a long time to promote and enhance its innovation capabilities”. And he adds: “The Proof of Concept R4I program is one of the strategic actions in which the INFN, through its National Committee for Technology Transfer, is investing to add value to the Institute’s excellent technologies and find a way for their use, also by society and the productive world“
Simone Aibino, Head of Innovation at CDP, states that supporting the INFN in reducing the gap between research and innovation is crucial: “Italy presents a significant gap between the excellent quality of its scientific research and the effective transformation of this heritage into projects innovative competitive products and services. With this collaboration, leveraging our role as Advisory Partner of the InvestEU Programme, we intend to make our skills in the field of innovation, tech-transfer and venture capital available to the INFN, thus promoting support actions aimed at maximizing the impact of the INFN and the entire Research and Development ecosystem on the country’s society and industry”.
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