EIC at Barcelona Deep Tech Summit 2024: researchers-turned-entrepreneurs bring implantable sensors and bio-based surfactants to the stage
- ›The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme will attend Barcelona Deep Tech Summit 2024 from 5 to 7 November with two project teams: FORESEE and PureSurf.
- ›FORESEE is developing ultra-thin, battery-less implantable microsensors for remote monitoring of chronic heart failure.
- ›PureSurf aims to manufacture high performance bio-based surfactants from underused renewable waste streams and has two patent applications from earlier work.
- ›The EIC will host a panel on 6 November titled Medical Devices Innovations with speakers from startups, research and industry to discuss the Commission's role in driving medtech innovation.
- ›Participation is framed as market exposure and networking support but significant regulatory, clinical and scale-up challenges remain for both projects.
EIC goes to Barcelona Deep Tech Summit 2024
From 5 to 7 November 2024 the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit will convene researchers, startups, investors and policy actors. The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme will be present with two supported projects, FORESEE and PureSurf, and will run a panel session on 6 November on the role of the European Commission in medical device innovation. The projects will exhibit at the MWCapital booth with the stated aim of increasing visibility and creating business and investor connections.
What the EIC is showcasing
The two EIC-backed projects announced for the Summit represent different parts of the deep tech to market pipeline. FORESEE targets a clinical application through hardware miniaturisation and wireless powering. PureSurf addresses a materials and manufacturing challenge by creating bio-based surfactants from renewable waste streams. Both are typical examples of EIC-funded research seeking the jump from lab prototypes to commercial products.
| Project | Technology type | Intended market / application | Key claim | Near-term challenges |
| FORESEE | Implantable microsensors, ultra-thin flexible electronics, battery-less | Remote monitoring of chronic heart failure | Battery-free, wirelessly powered microsensors for continuous patient monitoring | Clinical validation, regulatory clearance for medical devices, reliable wireless powering in vivo, manufacturing and biocompatibility |
| PureSurf | Bio-based surfactants, green synthetic pathways, feedstock from renewable waste | Detergents, personal care, agrochemicals and industrial formulations | High-performance surfactants made from underused renewable waste streams, two patent applications | Feedstock variability, scale-up costs, life cycle environmental proof, market price competitiveness |
EIC panel on medical devices: who and why
On 6 November from 17:00 to 18:00 the EIC will host a panel titled Medical Devices Innovations: The European Commission’s Key Role in Driving the Boom. The session is positioned to highlight how the European Commission and the European Innovation Council support collaboration between research and industry through programmes such as EIC Tech to Market. The EIC frames this as part of a wider effort to showcase European leadership in medtech.
Panel moderator and speakers are listed as follows. The EIC has chosen a mix of startup founders, a researcher from an EIC-supported project and industry leaders to cover perspectives from invention to market.
| Role | Name | Affiliation |
| Moderator | Enric Claverol | Advisor Medtech Startups, Former EIC Programme Manager for Medical Technologies and Medical Devices |
| Speaker | Susana Amorós | CTO and Co-founder, Nimble Diagnostics, Barcelona |
| Speaker | Laura Becerra-Fajardo | Postdoctoral Researcher, FORESEE, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona |
| Speaker | Núria Amigó | CEO, Biosfer Teslab, Tarragona |
| Speaker | Markus Wilhelms | CEO & Co-Founder, MOWOOT |
Context on the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit
The Barcelona Deep Tech Summit positions itself as a European hub for science driven entrepreneurship and technology transfer. Held alongside the Smart City Expo World Congress, the Summit aims to connect startups, researchers, corporates, investors and public actors. Since 2011 the Smart City event has drawn policy makers and companies focused on urban innovation. The Deep Tech Summit is designed to create a critical mass for deep technologies across health, energy, computing and other domains.
Technical concepts explained
Commercialisation and regulatory realities
Both projects illustrate common hurdles for EIC-backed deep tech. For FORESEE the path to patients is long. Medical devices require preclinical and clinical evidence and compliance with the EU Medical Device Regulation. Manufacturers must plan for conformity assessment, quality management systems and often for clinical investigations. For PureSurf the business risk centres on securing reliable feedstock, demonstrating production economics at scale and proving environmental benefits with full life cycle analysis. Both teams will need investors and industry partners comfortable with high technical and regulatory risk.
What to watch next and likely risks
Presence at a major summit is useful for signalling and networking but it is not a substitute for the technical, clinical and commercial milestones that investors and large customers require. For FORESEE the milestones to watch are demonstrations of reliable wireless powering in relevant biological conditions, biocompatibility results and a clear regulatory strategy. For PureSurf the key indicators will be pilot scale production runs, independent life cycle assessment data and customer trials in target formulations.
There is also a broader policy angle. EIC activity highlights the Commission’s active role in seeding technologies. That role matters because public backing can de-risk early stages and signal quality to private investors. At the same time public programmes cannot remove downstream market and regulatory risks. Observers should therefore treat EIC-backed demonstrations as important steps rather than guarantees of future commercial success.
Practical information and contacts
Event dates are 5 to 7 November 2024. The EIC panel is scheduled for 6 November from 17:00 to 18:00 at the Auditorium Barcelona Deep Tech Summit. FORESEE and PureSurf will exhibit at the MWCapital booth. For enquiries about the EIC Tech to Market services the EIC Community contact options and the EIC helpdesk list the EIC T2M Venture Building Programme as the subject to choose.
Disclosure. This article uses information published by the European Innovation Council and event organisers. The material is presented to inform readers about activities and claims made by funded projects. Readers should note that project claims and pilot results will need independent verification as the teams progress through clinical and commercial validation phases.