How an EIC Procurers Day turned an electricity‑analysis startup into a CUF hospital partner
- ›Sigma Industrial Precision, a Spanish startup that uses electrical analysis for predictive maintenance, closed a pilot deal with CUF after an EIC Procurers Day in March 2021.
- ›CUF, Portugal's largest private healthcare operator, is testing Sigma’s sensors and analytics across hospital machinery to monitor energy use and detect electrical or mechanical problems.
- ›The collaboration started with a 12-month proof of concept during which Sigma installed sensors, configured systems, and collected operational data in 2022.
- ›The match was brokered under the European Innovation Council's Business Acceleration Services procurement initiative, which aims to connect procurers and innovators.
- ›The case illustrates the potential and limitations of entering regulated markets such as healthcare via procurement events, and highlights technical, operational, and validation challenges that remain.
From a matchmaking event to hospital floors: Sigma and CUF
A targeted European Innovation Council (EIC) Procurers Day held with José de Mello Group in March 2021 led to a commercial relationship between Spanish electrical analysis company Sigma Industrial Precision and CUF, the largest private healthcare operator in Portugal. The deal illustrates how demand‑side procurement activities can accelerate pilot projects for deep tech startups, and how hospitals are increasingly using energy analytics as part of asset management and risk reduction strategies.
Who is Sigma Industrial Precision and what they offer
Founded in 2017 by Patricio Sáez Morales, Ramón Serra and Carles Paul Recarens, Sigma Industrial Precision is a Spanish ICT small or medium enterprise focused on predictive maintenance driven by electrical analysis. Its product suite—branded in communications as predictive sigma—relies on automatic electrical monitoring and analytics to infer machine and process behaviour without requiring intrusive mechanical sensors on each asset.
In practical terms, this means installing non‑intrusive sensors and gateways on electrical lines, streaming the measurements to a cloud analytics platform and producing alerts, reports and lifetime estimations. The method reduces the need for direct mechanical probing of each machine and can flag issues before they escalate into failures that disrupt production or critical services.
Why CUF contracted Sigma: energy visibility in healthcare
CUF is a longstanding private healthcare network in Portugal with 77 years of history. The CUF network comprises 19 healthcare units across nine hospitals, nine clinics and one institute and reaches patients across thirteen municipalities. Energy intensive hospital equipment and reprocessing workflows motivated CUF to explore whether electrical analysis could reduce risk and improve availability of critical devices and systems.
CUF’s engineering and maintenance team was looking for greater visibility into how machinery performs in energy terms and for early warnings of electrical faults. André Vieira d’Almeida from CUF described the collaboration as primarily about installing hardware to control and monitor the electrical system so that the derived parameters can be analysed to understand energy quality and to prevent electrical problems.
How the collaboration unfolded
Sigma presented its solution during the Procurers Day and attracted interest from CUF. According to CEO and co‑founder Patricio Sáez Morales, discussions about improvements and functional features took less than a year. After developing configuration and deployment plans, Sigma installed electrical sensors and configured its systems after summertime and commenced data collection and monitoring.
The initial engagement was a 12‑month proof of concept. During 2022 Sigma collected operational data from the installations to characterise energy behaviour of CUF’s key machinery and to monitor for potential electrical or mechanical issues. CUF said the contracting and negotiation process was smooth and practical. At the end of the 12‑month period CUF planned to assess whether to expand the programme across more hospital facilities, which the parties expected to happen early in the following year.
Roles, impressions and cultural fit
Patricio Sáez Morales framed the work as a strategic market entry for Sigma into healthcare, emphasizing the importance of a first reference customer in that sector. CUF’s representatives praised Sigma’s responsiveness and ability to grasp CUF’s operational challenge. Catarina Mendanha Moreira from CUF’s Strategic Planning, Control and Innovation department said the process was straightforward and collaborative, and that Sigma’s team adjusted to CUF’s required pace.
For Sigma as a startup the deal represented an important credibility milestone for business development outside Spain and an opportunity to show relevance across sectors beyond traditional industry clients.
The EIC context: Procurers Days and procurement matchmaking
The match was brokered by the European Innovation Council through its Business Acceleration Services Innovation Procurement Partnership Programme. EIC Procurers Days are bespoke events that bring large public or private procurers together with EIC‑funded innovators to accelerate procurement of innovation. The service aims to expose startups to concrete procurement needs and to open routes to pilot and deployment contracts with large buyers.
Between March 2020 and July 2022 the EIC organised 15 initiatives labelled as EIC Procurers Days or EIC Multiprocurers Days with participation from more than 100 public or private procurers. These events are part of broader efforts to use demand‑side instruments to scale up innovations developed in Europe.
| Actor | Role in the project | Notes |
| Sigma Industrial Precision | Solution provider | Provides non‑intrusive electrical sensors and predictive analytics for machine condition and energy quality |
| CUF (José de Mello Group) | Procurer and pilot customer | Portugal’s largest private healthcare operator; contracted Sigma for a 12‑month proof of concept |
| CENES | Operational partner within group | Handles reprocessing services such as sterilisation and inspection; relevant to monitored equipment |
| EIC Business Acceleration Services | Matchmaker and facilitator | Organised Procurers Day that led to the commercial engagement |
Technical and commercial caveats to bear in mind
The case shows a practical route for a startup to win pilots in regulated sectors through procurement events. At the same time several caveats apply. First, claims that electrical analysis is the "most efficient way" to characterise machine behaviour should be treated as a vendor claim until confirmed by independent evaluation across asset types and operating conditions. Electrical signatures are a powerful data source but they do not automatically identify every failure mode and typically work best when combined with domain knowledge and, where necessary, additional sensors.
Second, hospital deployments raise non‑technical constraints. Data privacy, medical device regulations, safety certifications, infection control procedures and integration with hospital asset management systems can add time and cost to pilots and scale‑up. Procurement‑driven pilots reduce market access friction but do not eliminate these operational and regulatory requirements.
Why this matters for EU innovation policy and startups
The Sigma‑CUF story highlights the role that demand‑side innovation procurement can play in the EU innovation ecosystem. Procurers Days and similar EIC services lower the barrier for innovators to access pilot customers and create real operational feedback loops. For startups, procurement wins build references that help entry into regulated sectors. For procurers, engaging early with innovators can accelerate access to new capabilities.
At the same time, individual success stories require follow‑through. To achieve systemic impact the EIC and national systems must combine matchmaking with support for standards, interoperability, validation procedures and funding models that reduce risk for both suppliers and buyers during scale‑up.
Further reading and resources
Readers interested in procurement of innovation can consult the EIC Business Acceleration Services pages for details on Procurers Days, SPIN4EIC and related programmes. Startups considering procurement as a route to market should prepare for technical validation, legal and data protection issues and the need to demonstrate outcomes with measurable KPIs.