(Finance) – Iren joins Tech4Planetthe first National Technology Transfer Center dedicated to environmental sustainability, born on the initiative of CDP Venture Capital Sgr with i Polytechnics of Milan, Turin and Bari in the quality of scientific promoters and the involvement of incubators PoliHub and i3P.
Tech4Planet – explains the note – supports the birth and development of startups conceived within research laboratories and dedicated to environmental sustainability, in particular in the energytech, circular economy, sustainable manufacturing, smart mobility and water management sectors.
The entry in Tech4Planet allows to Iren to enhance the skills in the sectors in which it is a national leader and further strengthens the venture capital instruments that the company has equipped itself with, first of all the Iren-Up Corporate Venture Capital program to support the start-up ecosystem.
The Iren operation is in line with the new 2030 business plan which envisages, as part of a ten-year investment program of 12.7 billion euros, approximately 1.6 billion dedicated to innovation to support development and decarbonisation targets. The innovation tools that Iren has adopted, to which the entry into Tech4Planet is now added, aim to provide impetus to the scouting activity of innovative solutions, increasing synergistic investment operations with the Group’s businesses Iren.
“This operation that involves various players in the world of innovation, from universities to accelerators – declares the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Iren Gianni Vittorio Armani – represents a fundamental piece for bridging the investment and development gap of Italian companies between the creation of intellectual property and the definition of a business model suitable for the market. Technology transfer is a very complex step to be faced for innovative companies, in particular for those operating in the cleantech sector, where the realization of Proof of Concept can involve huge costs and not immediate development times. This phase of growth must be monitored and financed through funds and structured operations such as that of the Tech4Planet hub which integrates all the key players for effective entry into the technology market “.
“Iren’s choice to invest alongside an institutional fund specialized in a particular segment of startup development such as CDP Venture Capital – underlines the President of Iren Renato Boero – it is a key element in implementing the Group’s open innovation process Iren and will allow us to be faster and more effective in identifying high-potential technological opportunities “.