Milan, 4 October 2022 – Tech Transfer Day, organised by CDP Venture Capital and dedicated to environmental sustainability, was held today at the Aula Magna Carlo de Carli at Politecnico di Milano. The first results of Tech4Planet, the National Technology Transfer Hub entirely dedicated to sustainability, were presented. Tech4Planet was set up last year on the initiative of CDP Venture Capital in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano, and with the participation of Politecnico di Torino and Politecnico di Bari.

The initiative is worth a total of 65 million euro: funds partly intended for direct investments in start-ups born from the research and partly aimed at financing venture capital managers specialised in strategic frontier technologies for ecological transition. A strategy to facilitate market access and the growth of new enterprises conceived within Italian research laboratories in the fields of energy, circular economy, sustainable manufacturing and management of water resources.

The funds allocated by CDP Venture Capital, which have a potential leverage effect estimated at over 130 million euro over four years, have also mobilised leading institutions and players in the energy sector that have already co-invested in Tech4Planet, such as Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, A2A and Iren, in addition to Joule, Eni’s business school, which is involved as a corporate partner.

More than 60 research projects have been evaluated by Tech4Planet, which has already approved 1.5 million euro for five technological projects and for start-ups. The entrepreneurial acceleration phase for the transfer of inventions to the market will then be coordinated by PoliHub, the Innovation Park & Startup Accelerator of Politecnico di Milano, together with national and international partners.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the technologies currently available in research laboratories are able to reduce annual global CO2 emissions by more than 70%. This data shows the high potential of DeepTech enterprises, that is, companies that develop frontier technologies and whose distinctive feature is scientific discovery, and the contribution they can make to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Venture capital investing in the environmental sustainability sector worldwide increased more than 8 times from 2014 to 2019, reaching 16.2 billion dollars: a growth rate 5 times higher than venture capital investing in general. 

These are the issues at the centre of the discussion that took place during the Tech Transfer Day sessions attended by the Rector of Politecnico di Milano Ferruccio Resta, CEO and General Manager of CDP Venture Capital Enrico Resmini, President of Fondazione Politecnico di Milano Andrea Sianesi, Vice-Rector for Technology Transfer of Politecnico di Torino Giuliana Mattiazzo and Rector of Politecnico di Bari Francesco Cupertino, in addition to representatives from big energy players A2A, Iren, ENI and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, the Councillor for Budget and Finance of the Lombardy Region Davide Caparini and the Councillor for Budget and Real Estate Assets of the Municipality of Milan Emmanuel Conte.

The event was an opportunity to explore the role of scientific research in ecological transition, an area in which Italy comes fifth in the world and third in Europe in terms of the quality of publications, in relation to the number of inhabitants, and to promote discussion between the big energy players and DeepTech start-ups during special matching sessions on stage.

During the day, some of the most promising research projects already set up as enterprises from the network of Italian Universities and Research Centres were also presented in a dedicated demo area.