Assigned the “PNI 2022”, national innovation awards, promoted by the Italian Association of University Incubators PNICube and organized by the University of L’Aquila in collaboration with the Gran Sasso Science Institute and the Innovalley Association.
Established in 2003, the award was created to spread the corporate culture in universities and enhance the dialogue between researchers, business and finance, bridging the gap between research and the market. And at the end of forty-eight hours of presentation and pitch, the winners of the XX edition were announced.
The best hi-tech business projects that win the 15 regional competitions (StartCup) involving 53 universities, incubators and research institutions in 16 regions of Italy compete in the PNI, in which over 3,000 new entrepreneurs took part in 2022 with nearly 1,000 business ideas and over 400 business plans. The winners were selected from among the 65 finalist startups by a jury made up of representatives of the business, research and venture capital worlds, on the basis of criteria such as the value of the technological content or knowledge, technical feasibility and development potential, adequacy of skills of the team, attractiveness for the market.
“Over the years, the PNI has selected and accompanied 964 startups to the market, around 50 a year, networking the local networks – public bodies, investors, local businesses – and the universities participating in the circuit – commented Alessandro Grandi, president of PNICube – Today more than ever, research proves to be a fundamental competitive lever for the country system and the projects presented at the PNI demonstrate, once again, that they are able to provide a decisive contribution to the major issues of our time, first and foremost that of sustainability environmental”.
WHO ARE THE WINNERS OF AWARDS AND SPECIAL MENTIONS 2022
• e-CO2-Synth (StartCup Piedmont/Valle d’Aosta) – scalable electrodes make it possible to exploit CO2 and store electrical energy in resalable chemical consumables.
• Enigma (StartCup Lombardia) – Fight against counterfeiting thanks to the new labels equipped with a unique code based on special carbon nano-structures
• FiberEUse Tech (Lombardy StartCup) – Mechanical recycling of thermosetting fiberglass through a Cyber-physical system with an integrated value-chain demand-driven approach.
• Impavid (StartCup Piedmont/Valle d’Aosta) – Patch that repairs, protects and regenerates the heart after a heart attack. Not a simple therapy, but a definitive cure.
• Mespac (StartCup Piemonte/Valle d’Aosta) – cloud service using SatEO data, in-situ data and advanced AI to provide marine weather analysis to offshore wind developers.
• Protein Italy (StartCup Lazio) – startup that revolutionizes the food supply chain, producing insect proteins, sustainable energy and fertilisers.
• Rehub (StartCup Veneto) – laboratory that gives glass waste a second chance by exploiting high-tech processes.
• Robosect (Emilia-Romagna StartCup) – startup that aims to automate the quality control of electrical panels through an autonomous test of the connections.
• Sieve (Lombardy StartCup) – filter for the treatment of waste water by exploiting the circular economy of the “Red Mud” which will allow for the unification of various tertiary treatments.
• Worldy (StartCup Sardegna) – Startup created to make the world of information accessible and understandable to young people, today the largest generalist and horizontal information community in Italy.