From Lab to Spin-off: ALUVia Photonics and the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Journey

Since early 2023 the European Innovation Council Tech to Market Venture Building Programme has offered a structured route for EIC Pathfinder and Transition projects to move from research outcomes towards commercial ventures. One beneficiary that has followed that path is ALUVia Photonics, a University of Twente spin-off led by Professor Sonia Garcia Blanco. ALUVia entered the Venture Building Programme in May 2023 and has completed the programme's four phases. The company positions an aluminium oxide based photonic integrated circuit platform as the first European solution for efficient ultraviolet photonics and for broadband operation into the mid infrared.

What ALUVia says it is building

ALUVia Photonics emerged from an EIC Transition project with the explicit objective of maturing Al2O3 technology to the point that it can be offered commercially. The spin-off was formed to commercialise two demonstrators developed under the Transition project. The first demonstrator is a photonic integrated circuit aimed at ion trap quantum computing and has been developed in collaboration with a research group at ETH Zurich. The second demonstrator is an on-chip ultraviolet Raman spectrometer intended for in-situ monitoring of bioprocesses, developed with industrial partner InSpek.

Why aluminium oxide on silicon dioxide matters

ALUVia promotes aluminium oxide on silicon dioxide as a high-value material stack for integrated photonics because it can operate across an unusually broad spectrum. The company claims operation from ultraviolet wavelengths near 200 nanometres up to about 3 micrometres in the mid infrared. The platform is presented as enabling efficient UV transmission together with low propagation losses and the potential for optical amplification on-chip through rare-earth ion doping.

If the claimed performance holds at production scale, this material approach could enable compact systems that were previously difficult to achieve. That includes integrated components for trapped-ion quantum computers that require ultraviolet wavelengths for certain ion species and compact Raman spectrometers that use UV excitation for molecular sensitivity.

What the EIC Venture Building Programme provided

The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme supports EIC Pathfinder and Transition beneficiaries with a phased offering. The four main phases are Tech Demo Days, Opportunities exploration, Team creation and Venture support services. ALUVia reports that it engaged across those phases and is concluding the venture support phase. The company describes multiple concrete benefits that are often hard to secure in early stage deep tech ventures.

Claims, caveats and practical hurdles

The technical claims around spectral coverage, low loss and on-chip amplification are notable. They are also typical of early stage photonic platforms where lab results do not always translate seamlessly into cost-effective, high-yield manufacturing. ALUVia states that it uses 200 millimetre CMOS-compatible materials, which can help with integration into established semiconductor foundry processes. Nonetheless the company will face the hard practical steps of process transfer, yield ramp, quality control and supply chain for materials and packaging.

Market dynamics are also challenging. Photonics is a competitive field with established silicon photonics players, specialised foundries and incumbent suppliers. ALUVia aims to compete in niche segments where ultraviolet capability or on-chip amplification offers a decisive advantage, such as quantum ion traps and UV Raman spectroscopy. Those niches can be attractive because they combine technical differentiation with smaller initial volumes. Success will depend on proving reliability, repeatability and ease of adoption for system integrators.

Concrete milestones and next steps

During its participation in the EIC programme ALUVia reports it has completed core team formation, refined the business plan and market strategy, matured the technology within the EIC Transition project resources and hired a CEO. The company now describes the next phase as preparing to scale up production capability and be ready to respond to identified market needs. For that step extra funding will be required.

Implications for the European innovation ecosystem

The ALUVia case illustrates a broader objective behind the EIC Tech to Market Programme. The EIC aims to close the gap between research and commercialisation by providing targeted business support and facilitating team formation. For deep tech, where capital requirements and technical risk are high, these services are useful because they lower the initial barriers to company creation. That said, programme support alone does not replace the capital and manufacturing partnerships needed to scale hardware platforms.

ALUVia's approach of focusing on niche, high-value markets mirrors how other European deep tech teams aim to gain traction. The combination of university research, EIC Transition funding to mature technology, and EIC venture building services to form a company is a model the Commission is promoting. The critical next step for many such ventures will be attracting industrial customers, securing manufacturing partners or foundry agreements and raising scale-up capital either from specialised VC, corporate partners or later stage EIC instruments.

Final assessment

ALUVia Photonics presents a credible early stage deep tech trajectory. The technology claims are technically interesting and the EIC Venture Building Programme appears to have delivered practical, measurable help particularly in team building and IP strategy. The common caveats about scaling from lab demonstrations to production apply here. The company will need to demonstrate consistent yield, cost control and clear system-level advantages to win design-in with customers. For the European innovation ecosystem, this remains a useful example of how layered EIC support can accelerate spin-off formation while highlighting that scaling hardware platforms requires further funding and industrial partnerships.

Where to learn more

For other researchers or teams interested in similar support, the EIC Tech to Market Programme offers entrepreneurship training, team creation services and venture support. Note that the programme was reported as paused and expected to resume activities in 2026, so prospective applicants should check the EIC Tech to Market pages for updated calls and helpdesk contacts.