ISCLEANAIR: converting trade fair meetings into a global expansion effort

Following its presence at Gastech 2023 ISCLEANAIR reports tangible business impact. The company says five of the meetings established at the event turned into concrete cooperation agreements and contracts covering innovation, technology and commercial collaboration. Those early deals are described by the company as the foundation for broader partnerships and new projects to validate and deploy its Air Pollution Abatement technology more widely.

What ISCLEANAIR says it achieved at Gastech

ISCLEANAIR’s managing director, Giuseppe Spanto, frames the Gastech participation as a turning point. The company reports that the outcomes allowed it to scale its operational footprint. It now says it is working simultaneously in the United States and Canada, Mexico, across Europe including the UK, and in India, China, Japan, Turkey and parts of Africa. The company also mentions an editorial recognition, being selected as one of 30 leading 'Born Global' enterprises for an upcoming book.

How the EIC programme contributed

ISCLEANAIR credits the EIC Overseas Trade Fairs 2.0 programme for sharpening its international visibility and market awareness. Management says the programme helped the company approach Asian markets more knowledgeably and provided a platform for conversations with potential partners. The company underlines that, for technology-heavy products, trade fairs rarely convert directly into immediate product sales. Instead they serve as a credible environment to open dialogues with industrial partners, investors and potential licensees.

The business results and what they mean

The headline result is five deals initiated after Gastech that ISCLEANAIR describes as cooperation agreements of different types. The company says these deals enabled immediate business activity and expanded its operational markets. That is a positive outcome for a trade-fair deployment. At the same time trade fairs produce many contacts that require sustained, resource intensive follow up. Turning initial cooperation agreements into repeatable, large scale industrial deployments will depend on financing, local regulation, long term operating performance and credible references from pilot projects.

Commercial and IP strategy for distant markets

ISCLEANAIR says its preferred approach for complex and distant markets is to operate through local partners and joint venture models. The company describes flexible licensing, production and distribution agreements and the possibility to transfer intellectual property rights where required by market conditions. It also outlines an alternative model that keeps the company’s core IP in-house while licensing non-core production to local manufacturers and collecting royalties tied to business development.

Practical advice for exhibitors based on ISCLEANAIR’s experience

ISCLEANAIR offers hands-on recommendations for companies preparing for trade fairs. The guidance focuses on mindset as much as on logistics and covers pre-event, on-stand and post-event actions. The company highlights the importance of aligning exhibition goals with the company strategy and having a clear plan for commercial and investor engagement.

Operational tips include having at least two company representatives in attendance so one person can staff the stand while the other conducts meetings and screens other exhibitors. The company also recommends scheduling meetings efficiently and prioritising the most promising leads rather than trying to meet everyone.

Ambitions, target applications and governance moves

ISCLEANAIR lists several technical and market priorities for next stage validation and scaling. These include ammonia absorption for agricultural applications with potential energy re-use, HVAC integration at equipment level for improved building performance, components of green hydrogen value chains and attention to emissions from methane combustion. The company says future work will prioritise commercial and sales activities and the replicability of projects for ambient air pollution abatement and energy efficiency.

Context and analysis: what this case tells us about EIC-backed deep-tech scale up

The ISCLEANAIR story illustrates a pattern seen in many deep-tech firms supported by the EIC. Trade-fair programmes can raise visibility, put companies in front of strategic partners and accelerate initial dealmaking. However converting early agreements into industrial scale deployments remains work intensive and often requires complementary financing, local technical approvals and long pilots. Claims of global leadership should be judged against independent performance data and third party references as pilot projects mature.

For prospective applicants the broader lesson is that EIC trade-fair support is most valuable when combined with a clear commercial follow-up plan, legal protection for IP, and the internal capacity to do candidate screening and post-event business development. Public programmes can open doors and lower barriers to access. The heavy lifting of industrialisation, certification and market scaling still falls on the company and its industrial partners.

ISCLEANAIR’s final advice to other applicants

The company’s so called golden tips include preparing thoroughly in line with the company profile, using promotion and marketing to maximise visibility, planning the event schedule efficiently and making sure someone is always available at the booth to engage visitors. It also suggests bringing a partner or second representative to run external meetings while the booth remains staffed. Finally it emphasises consistent messaging, a clear pitch tailored to investors and commercial prospects and disciplined follow up after the event.

Practical checklist for trade-fair participation

ISCLEANAIR’s experience is one example within the EIC International Trade Fairs programme. The EIC and implementing agencies provide structured support to help innovators translate visibility into partnerships. Survivorship bias matters in success stories however. Many companies attend trade fairs without immediate publicised deals. For deep-tech innovators the combination of technical validation, procurement readiness and channel partnerships will determine whether early agreements lead to repeatable revenue.