A promising technological discovery does not automatically become a product. In fact, many innovations never make that transition, and the obstacle is often not the technology itself. Understanding what prevents research from reaching the market was the starting point of Weletech Talk #3, “Industry Hardware: the future of electronics for deep tech”, held on 21 October at Eletech, the Head of the International Design Centres, R&D division of the Elemaster Group.
The event opened with an introduction by Ivo Boniolo, head of Elevo Innovation Hub, before a discussion moderated by Dario Colombo, Editorial Director of the ESTE publishing group. The conversation brought together Roberto Siagri, founder of Eurotech and CEO of quantum startup Rotonium, Giorgio Dell’Erba of Fondazione Chips-IT, and Valentina Cogliati, CEO and President of Elemaster Group.
From promising research to market success
The discussion highlighted a central challenge for Italian innovation: the country has no shortage of ideas, but the connections needed to transform them into marketable products remain insufficient. For Roberto Siagri, commercial success is what ultimately demonstrates the impact of an innovation.
“An innovation becomes a success when you start selling it,” he explained. “If you sell, it means you have an impact on the social context.”
According to Siagri, three elements are particularly important in strengthening this transition: laboratories capable of connecting research with production, public institutions prepared to act as initial customers through pre-commercial procurement, and a shared industrial direction for technology transfer. “We don’t need to turn everything upside down. Changing three to five percentage points would be enough.”
Giorgio Dell’Erba, Director of Industrial Partnership and Tech Transfer at Fondazione Chips-IT, approached the issue from the perspective of organisational fragmentation. With “40-50 technology transfer offices” operating without a central point where available technologies can be collected, the system, he observed, “slows things down and creates confusion”.
The challenge of bringing innovation to market at the right time
Beyond the structure of the innovation ecosystem, the speakers also examined the importance of timing. Research can be pushed towards commercialisation before a technology, or the organisation developing it, is adequately prepared. Drawing on his previous experience as both a researcher and a startup CEO, Dell’Erba recalled: “My startup was born at an extremely premature moment.”
This difficulty becomes clear when founders first encounter potential customers. Questions such as “how many can you make for me, and in how long” introduce industrial considerations that researchers may not have previously addressed. At the same time, the limited availability of laboratories offering certification and validation testing creates further obstacles.
Siagri described this transition through the metaphor of crossing a desert, a journey whose difficulties can be anticipated but whose duration and requirements remain uncertain.
“I can warn you that you will cross it, so you must prepare. But I cannot tell you how long it is or how much water you will need.”
For this reason, he argued that research institutions should continue incubating promising technologies until market conditions are ready to support their development.
Quantum computing beyond the data centre
The discussion also explored the technological vision behind Rotonium, the quantum startup founded in 2022 that develops photonic quantum computers operating at room temperature. Siagri described an approach based on achieving more with fewer resources, using the concept of “compressing” space, time, energy and matter.
Rather than replacing classical computing systems, quantum technologies could address problems that currently require enormous amounts of energy or cannot be solved within a human timeframe. Potential applications range from the development of new drugs to the creation of new materials.
For Siagri, however, the transformation enabled by quantum computing will not necessarily originate in large data centres. “It comes from the periphery, from the edge of the network.” He drew a parallel with earlier technological developments, recalling how Nvidia began with video games and Intel with the personal computer. In his view, the evolution of quantum computing could similarly emerge from applications at the edge of the network.
Europe’s technological challenge: demand, competitiveness and speed
Looking at the European semiconductor ecosystem, Dell’Erba examined the relationship between technological capabilities and industrial demand. The first European Chips Act contributed to developing chip design expertise. However, without sufficient domestic demand, those capabilities risk being “given away”. The proposed second act, he explained, places greater emphasis on the demand side of the semiconductor industry.
For Dell’Erba, the underlying problem is also the pace at which Europe develops and brings technologies to market. “I think the root cause of all the problems in technological development in Europe is slowness.” He also questioned the effectiveness of discussing technological sovereignty without addressing the competitiveness of the products being developed, arguing that doing so “makes little sense”.
Siagri pointed to the industrial strategies adopted by Germany and France, where research organisations such as Fraunhofer and CEA-Leti have become instruments supporting national industrial priorities. Germany has focused particularly on small and medium-sized enterprises, while France has directed attention towards startups.
Elevo Innovation Hub: supporting startups through industrialisation
Returning to Siagri’s metaphor of the desert, Valentina Cogliati focused on the importance of providing startups with the industrial support needed to complete their journey. “If, in this desert, startups found travelling companions and oases,” she observed, “perhaps they would reach the end of it.”
This is the role assigned to Elevo Innovation Hub, which Cogliati described as the central element of Elemaster Group’s strategy for developing new businesses. Its purpose is to address a specific challenge faced by emerging companies: transforming their technologies into industrially manufacturable products. Some startups, she explained, approached Elemaster with designs selling approximately ten units per year and subsequently developed products capable of maintaining a presence on the market. Others were eventually acquired by larger industrial groups.
An essential part of this process concerns the supply chain, whose conditions can significantly influence product development and industrialisation. According to Cogliati, since the beginning of 2026, supply pressures have shifted from memories to printed circuit boards. Chinese policies prioritising industries such as automotive have made base laminate increasingly difficult to source in Europe for low-volume, high-tech applications. Her recommendation was therefore to avoid relying on single-source components and to monitor component obsolescence from the earliest development stages.
A practical example of Elemaster’s industrial approach is the Square Kilometre Array project. Following an international tender, Elemaster was selected to co-design and manufacture the telescope’s signal processing subsystem, demonstrating the application of its capabilities to a complex technological initiative.
Manufacturing expertise and the future of innovation
The final part of the discussion returned to the capabilities needed to strengthen industrial innovation and competitiveness. For Valentina Cogliati, the ability to manufacture complex products remains a distinctive strength.
“Our competitive advantage lies in manufacturing skills,” she stated.
At the same time, she highlighted the need for a clearer industrial policy and the willingness to recognise that certain sectors may no longer retain a central position in the industrial landscape.
Despite the challenges discussed, Siagri expressed what he described as “an optimism of reason”, maintaining confidence in the possibility of improving Europe’s technological position.
“We haven’t lost the war, we lost a battle, and we can still win.”
For Cogliati, however, progress must begin with companies themselves, through concrete initiatives rather than waiting for change to come from elsewhere. “Innovation must be born from us.” Within Elemaster Group, Eletech and Elevo Innovation Hub represent the company’s contribution to this process, connecting technological development with the industrial capabilities required to bring new products to market. As Cogliati concluded, “Alone it is not enough, but it is a beginning.”