EIT Manufacturing

🚀 Exciting to see the continued momentum of the EIT Community Supernovas initiative! Programmes like Rocket Up are instrumental in supporting women-led startups to scale internationally—combining market validation, expert mentoring, and access to a strong pan-European ecosystem. Within the Manufacturing track, we are especially proud to see three outstanding participants selected: 🔹 LAM'ON® Compostable Films 🔹 Adapta Robotics 🔹 Planck Technologies A big congratulations to all selected teams and to the Supernovas community for driving forward a more inclusive and diverse innovation ecosystem 👏 #EITCommunity #Supernovas #Manufacturing #WomenInInnovation #StartupGrowth #Innovation

🤖 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀? We keep hearing the same fears circulating in the media. What does the data actually say? 5 myths. All debunked. The numbers tell a very different story than the headlines. What other myths have you heard? 💬 #robotics #cobot #futureofjobs #manufacturing #automation

What if the factory floor worked for everyone? 42.8 million people of working age in the EU have a disability. As less than half are employed,  over 20 million people remain an untapped talent pool. We spoke with three organisations building practical solutions to change that: 🦾 Erika Triviño from CTAG – Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia breaks down why companies struggle to adopt exoskeletons for workers with disabilities and how the NEXUS project closes the evidence gap with personalised, sensor-based assessments. 🤟 Vassilis Papataxiarhis from Intellia demonstrates how SpeakAR uses AR glasses and real-time AI translation to enable full, independent participation for deaf and hard-of-hearing workers on the factory floor. 🤖 Panos Papadatos from Neuron AI shows how Optiplant4All makes predictive maintenance accessible to workers with disabilities and why step-by-step guidance designed for cognitive accessibility reduces errors for everyone under pressure. The pattern across all three? Designing for inclusion doesn’t limit performance — it improves it. Read how inclusion is becoming a competitive advantage 👇

🚀 More women are stepping into leadership roles in Europe’s innovation ecosystem — but there’s still work to do. The EIC Women Leadership Programme supports women researchers and entrepreneurs in turning their ideas into impact and strengthening their leadership skills. Through tailored training, mentoring and peer exchange, participants gain the tools and network needed to grow their ventures and lead with confidence. 👉 Why it matters: Empowering more women leaders helps build a stronger, more diverse innovation landscape in Europe. 📢 Interested or know someone who could benefit? Discover the programme and upcoming opportunities: https://lnkd.in/dTUrAmY8 #EUeic #WomenInScience #DeepTech EIC - European Innovation Council

🚛 Rewriting yard logistics with autonomous precision Ksenia Duarte, Co-Founder of ex9, is transforming one of the most overlooked parts of industry: yard logistics. Since 2021, ex9 has been deploying autonomous electric yard tractors to automate repetitive trailer movements — delivering: • Up to 30% cost reduction • Up to 94% lower CO₂ emissions • 99% coupling & docking success rate From bootstrapping to a 2025 pre-seed round, with 30+ industrial sites engaged and a EUR 0.6M project with DHL, the momentum is real. What stands out? Focus. Ksenia doubled down on high-impact use cases and turned complex tech into clear business value. 💬 “International expansion isn’t about translation — it’s about understanding how people think and decide.” A powerful example of leadership and innovation in logistics. 🗞️ Read more about Ksenia's story and ex9: https://lnkd.in/dG-vsfDP EIT Community Supernovas EIT Hub UK Ana I. Alcaine #Startups #AI #Logistics #WomenInTech #Innovation

EIT Manufacturing at the Plug and Play Germany Summit 2026 Last week, EIT Manufacturing joined the Plug and Play Germany Summit, where our Head of Investments, Jasmina Popovska, contributed to a high level panel on the state of AI investments in Europe’s industrial and mobility sectors. Together with experts from Plug and Play Tech Center, Matterwave Ventures and Rethink Ventures, the discussion explored some of the most pressing questions in today’s AI landscape: • Where AI creates real value today - and why adoption in manufacturing can be improved • What defines a defensible moat for AI products in an increasingly competitive market • How to think about exits in a world with rapid changes. • What the next 12 months may bring in terms the possibility of an AI bubble. Jasmina highlighted a critical gap: while AI adoption in Europe is rising, only a fraction reaches the production floor. Even in Germany, just one in four manufacturers feels they are using AI effectively - and only 20% apply it in operations. Across Europe, adoption reached 20% in 2025, but mostly in administrative tasks, not in core industrial processes. The speakers also shared what distinguishes the industrial AI startups most likely to scale and exit successfully: • deployment and payback times under twelve months • fully on premise operation without external data transfer • automatic expansion across customer sites • deep integration into daily production workflows. One of the strongest exit paths ahead may be vertical integration - where industrial players acquire AI companies not for technology alone, but to secure the AI layer that will protect their margins in the next decade. A big thank you to Plug and Play for bringing together such a sharp group of investors and innovators. Events like these help shape the future of industrial AI - and we’re proud to contribute. Fabian Scheugenpflug, Jasmina Popovska, Lorenzo De Angeli, Matthias Schanze

📣 Junior women investors in Europe: ready to accelerate your VC career? Applications are now open for VC Academy 2026, a programme by the EIT Community Supernovas for women working in early-stage venture and investment. Built with venture capital firm Backfund, the programme is designed by practitioners who understand the realities of investing and bring hands-on experience from the field. Participants will gain practical VC skills — from deal sourcing and due diligence to financial modelling and exit strategy — while learning from experienced investors and connecting with a strong European network of women in venture. Selected participants will also receive personalised career coaching and an official certificate from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). 📅 21 April – 26 May 2026 ⏳ Apply by 12 April (23.59 CET) 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/dg4niybT Ana I. Alcaine

👩💻 Data spaces in manufacturing: The technology is ready – the regulatory pressure is here. Your customer's carbon report is due in 2026. Your emissions data needs to be in it – whether you send it or not. That is the reality facing thousands of manufacturing SMEs right now. CBAM, CSRD and the incoming Digital Product Passport are creating a chain reaction: every large manufacturer's compliance obligation becomes a data demand on their suppliers. And most SMEs are still responding with spreadsheets and email. There is a better way. In our latest article, we look at why industrial data spaces – the governed infrastructure behind initiatives like Gaia-X – are the most pragmatic answer to this challenge. And why the same infrastructure that solves the compliance problem also opens up entirely new revenue models.   𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: → What PCF regulations CBAM and CSRD actually mean for SMEs → How data spaces enable verified CO₂ data exchange without surrendering control → A real-world use case: how GMN Paul Müller Industrie GmbH & Co. KG is turning IIoT spindle data into a governed, multi-party data product under the EU Data Act → Why data sovereignty is a technical guarantee, not a trust exercise → Where to start – even without an in-house Industry 4.0 team   The question is whether your company leads – or follows.   👉 https://lnkd.in/gaRtvbsN   #DataSpaces #GaiaX #Sustainability #CBAM #CSRD #IIoT #SME #DigitalTransformation #Industry40

The manufacturers who will lead the next decade aren't just investing in technology — they're rethinking how they operate, compete and create value.   In 2026, five trends are emerging to make this possible: from agentic AI and quantum computing to circularity, advanced materials and industrial cybersecurity.   Which of these trends is your organisation prioritising? We'd love to hear your perspective 👇   #Manufacturing #Industry40 #AgenticAI #QuantumComputing #Circularity #AdvancedMaterials #Cybersecurity #DigitalTransformation

What does it take for a European innovation to move from development to real-world deployment in new markets? 🇪🇺🇮🇳 The journey of ISCLEANAIR offers a clear example. Through an international collaboration initiative supporting the globalisation of European clean-tech solutions, the company is working to bring its APA (Air Pollution Abatement) technology to India, a context where air pollution remains a critical environmental and public health challenge. The project focuses on validating and adapting the technology in local conditions, while building partnerships that can support its integration in industrial and urban environments. Beyond the technological aspect, the initiative also explores how European startups can scale internationally by combining innovation, market understanding and collaboration with regional stakeholders. At the centre of this effort is Giuseppe Spanto, founder of IsCleanAir, who is leading the deployment of the solution and working to translate a technology developed in Europe into practical applications abroad. 🤝 Cooperation between innovators, industry partners and international ecosystems can help promising technologies move from innovation to implementation, creating impact beyond their original market. ⚙️ Read more: https://lnkd.in/evHwxnfd