From lab to license. How the NARCISO Pathfinder project and SOLNIL used EIC Venture Building to reframe commercial strategy
- ›NARCISO, an EIC Pathfinder project, entered the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building programme in May 2023 and advanced through Tech Demo Days, Opportunities exploration, and Venture support services.
- ›The project spawned SOLNIL, a 2020 spin-off developing sol-gel based resins and nanoimprint lithography methods for optical and photonic components.
- ›EIC support delivered a Freedom to Operate assessment and independent market intelligence that validated opportunities in photonic metasurfaces, AR/VR and bio-chip markets.
- ›As a result SOLNIL adjusted its go-to-market approach from building a foundry to licensing materials and processes to OEMs and foundries while retaining in-house production for niche, low-volume markets.
- ›SOLNIL outlines a staged commercial roadmap with specific time to market estimates for licensing and product development across AR/VR, metalenses, displays and high-power optics.
From lab to license. How the NARCISO Pathfinder project and SOLNIL used EIC Venture Building to reframe commercial strategy
NARCISO began as an EIC Pathfinder research project and later joined the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building programme in May 2023. The project has produced a spin-off named SOLNIL and progressed through the programme stages that include Tech Demo Days, Opportunities exploration and Venture support services. This article synthesises an interview with Marco Abbarchi, Associate Professor at Aix-Marseille University and Chief Scientific Officer at SOLNIL, and adds context about the technical and market dynamics that shape deep tech commercialisation in Europe.
Who are the founders and what is SOLNIL trying to do
SOLNIL was created in 2020 by three co-founders: two academics and one business professional. The technical leadership comprises Prof. D. Grosso as CTO and Associate Professor Marco Abbarchi as CSO. The CEO, B. Kerzabi, brings business and industry experience. Together they hold IP and know-how in sol-gel chemistry, nano-fabrication and photonics and are pursuing several application verticals. The company lists target activities such as structural colour for luxury watches, optics for high power lasers, glass texturing for displays, and spectral and 3D sensing for smartphones and augmented reality and virtual reality headsets.
What the technology claims to enable
SOLNIL’s core offering is a family of patented resin formulations and a nanoimprint lithography based process. The company says its materials achieve a wide range of refractive indices across the visible spectrum and that the materials can be deposited and patterned under ambient conditions. The stated advantages are improved optical performance, lower capital and operating costs, and a reduced environmental footprint relative to vacuum based thin film and conventional nano-fabrication methods.
Claims, practical benefits and caveats
SOLNIL claims several practical benefits. Their materials are described as optical quality with low optical loss. They say deposition and nano-fabrication occur at room temperature and ambient pressure which reduces requirements for vacuum equipment and energy. The process is said to avoid toxic materials and intense UV or thermal curing steps. According to the founders, these attributes lower CapEx and CoO and reduce CO2 and emissions harmful to the ozone layer.
These claims are plausible given the properties of sol-gel routes and NIL. However, scaling wet-chemistry routes to industrial throughput while maintaining uniformity, yield and long term stability is non trivial. The environmental benefits depend on the entire process chain and on comparisons with high throughput deposition tools used in volume industries. Independent verification of optical loss, durability under operating conditions, and manufacturing yield will be essential before OEMs adopt the technology at scale.
Target markets and expected impact
SOLNIL targets multiple markets with different risk and volume profiles. For AR and VR headsets they highlight an ability to increase field of view. For optics in high power lasers they claim to increase the maximum power optical elements can withstand while improving transparency and angular performance. They also list glass texturing for displays, microfluidics for biotech, structural colour for luxury goods and spectral and 3D sensing for smartphones as potential applications.
The company emphasises cost reduction due to liquid chemistry routes to hard ceramics and nanoscale imprinting for 3D structures. That combination could change cost dynamics for devices where current methods rely on vacuum deposition, multi-step etching or complex assembly. Still, each end market has distinct qualification, lifetime and regulatory requirements. For example bio-chip and DNA sequencing markets require strict material compatibility and traceability while AR/VR and consumer electronics focus on yield, cost per wafer and integration with existing opto-mechanical assembly lines.
How the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building programme helped
SOLNIL joined the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building programme in May 2023. The programme offers a staged venture building process starting with Tech Demo Days, followed by Opportunities exploration, team creation and venture support services. SOLNIL used the programme for targeted market intelligence and IP due diligence that influenced strategic choices.
According to Abbarchi, the most valuable outputs were a Freedom to Operate study in photonic metasurfaces and a deep market study for bio-chips and AR/VR. The market study produced a SAM estimate that the team says closely matched an independent study from Yole Development. Experts from the programme also helped improve the investor pitch deck and clarify the value proposition.
Concrete milestones reported
SOLNIL lists two milestones from the Venture Building engagement. One was validation of Freedom to Operate in the field of photonic metasurfaces, relevant for AR/VR. The other was a detailed market study for bio-chips and AR/VR that yielded a SAM estimate corroborated by an independent consultancy.
How programme engagement changed strategy
Original ambitions included building a European foundry for photonic devices. After working with mentors and market experts the team concluded that a more viable short term path is licensing materials and nano-fabrication methods to third parties such as OEMs and foundries. Licensing reduces the immediate capital intensity and leverages existing industrial capacity while preserving upside through IP. SOLNIL still intends to serve niche, low volume markets in-house when orders exceed a threshold that justifies production.
This kind of pivot is common among deep tech spin-offs in Europe. Foundry scale-up requires large capital and access to qualified manufacturing talent while licensing can accelerate revenue and market reach if IP and process transfers are robust.
| Activity | Target market | SOLNIL stated time to market |
| License materials and deposition process to lead AR/VR customers | AR/VR optics and displays | ~18 months |
| Develop nano-fabrication for 3D structures and transfer to licensees | AR/VR displays and metasurfaces | ~24 months |
| Apply same licensing approach to metalenses, glass texturing and diffractive optics | Smartphones, imaging, automotive displays | ~36 months |
| In-house production for niche markets once order threshold met (>100 wafers/year) | High-power lasers, space optics, luxury goods | ~18 months |
Resources and support SOLNIL found most useful
SOLNIL highlights the team of external experts, mentors and programme staff as the most valuable resource. Support areas included market intelligence, IP counsel, investor pitch coaching and strategic feedback. Abbarchi summarised the experience in three words as Train, sustain, and direct.
Wider context and why this matters for European deep tech
Europe has strong research capabilities in photonics and materials but faces persistent challenges in translating lab prototypes into manufacturing scale. The European Innovation Council and initiatives such as Tech to Market attempt to bridge gaps by providing tailored business and IP support. For capital intensive hardware ventures there is often a trade-off between building manufacturing capacity in Europe and partnering with established foundries globally. Licensing and process transfers are a pragmatic route to growth but require rigorous process documentation and quality assurance to satisfy industrial partners.
SOLNIL’s plan illustrates a typical pathway where initial R&D is followed by licensing and selective in-house production for premium niches. The approach reduces upfront capital risk while keeping options open for future vertical integration if market traction justifies it.
Remaining questions and risks
Key uncertainties remain. Industrial adoption will depend on independent validation of material performance, reproducibility at production scale, lifetime and reliability under operating conditions and cost comparisons against incumbent manufacturing routes. The FTO assessment reduces some IP risk but does not eliminate potential obstacles in cross-licensing or future patent disputes. Market entry in AR/VR or bio-chip ecosystems also requires integration with existing supply chains, standardisation and often long qualification cycles.
Finally, claims about environmental benefits should be assessed with life cycle analyses that include chemical inputs, solvent handling and end of life. These analyses will matter to buyers and to procurement teams in regulated markets.
Bottom line
The NARCISO project and its spin-off SOLNIL show how targeted venture building services can change early commercial strategy for deep tech spin-offs. Access to FTO and market intelligence prompted a shift from an asset heavy foundry plan to a licensing led model that aims to accelerate market entry while limiting capital exposure. The technology is promising and technically plausible. The commercial outcome will depend on independent performance validation, manufacturing yield at scale and the ability to execute IP and transfer agreements with industry partners.
About the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme
The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme is designed to help EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition beneficiaries bridge the gap between research results and market exploitation. The programme offers themed Tech Demo Days, feasibility and opportunity studies, team creation services such as entrepreneurs in residence, and venture support in areas such as IP, finance and HR. Interested projects and experts can consult the EIC Community pages for calls and helpdesk information.
Disclaimer. The information in this article is based on an interview and publicly available material. It should not be interpreted as an official endorsement by the European Commission.