Turning expertise into innovation: six women shaping Europe’s deep-tech future

Innovation rarely arrives from technology alone. It requires scientific expertise, strategic thinking, leadership and the persistence to convert laboratory findings into solutions that work in the real world. Across Europe, women researchers and entrepreneurs are taking that path in very different domains. This article profiles six founders and scientific leaders who are moving from research to companies or planned spin-offs, and explains the technical concepts and practical barriers they face as they try to scale deep-tech solutions.

Profiles: who they are and what they build

Alicja Dzieciol — SilviBio, Livingston, United Kingdom

What began as R&D in soil additives evolved into a company making peat-free propagation mixes. SilviBio develops science-backed growing media for food, tree and ornamental production while aiming to use locally available raw materials. The stated objective is to reduce reliance on peat and imported coconut coir, while delivering consistent germination, water retention and porosity for growers. The company has developed a manufacturing process focused on batch consistency. Alicja Dzieciol is co-founder and CEO and represents a generation of women converting laboratory and field research into alternatives for a resource-intensive sector.

Beatriz Farola Barata — KU Leuven and planned spin-off, Leuven, Belgium

Working at the intersection of robotics, sensing and medical imaging, Beatriz focuses on perception and navigation in endovascular interventions. Her research includes using intravascular ultrasound and other sensing methods to build three-dimensional representations of blood vessels during catheter procedures. She is a co-founder of a planned spin-off emerging from PROMPT, an EIC Transition project that aims to bring advanced robotic catheterisation technology closer to clinical and commercial readiness.

Greta Skemaite — Freyia Labs, Nicosia, Cyprus

Freyia Labs builds a software-first operations layer for fermentation-led food and beverage production. The platform F.O.R.S.E.T.I.X., branded FiX, is designed to gather live tank and environmental signals, learn from historical batches and recommend actions to prevent drift or fermentation failure. Greta, co-founder and CEO, brings a legal and corporate background and leads customer discovery, business modelling and fundraising readiness as the company prepares for pilots and commercial validation from a pre-seed position.

Laura Vallés Saiz — ELE Biotech, Madrid, Spain

ELE Biotech is a deep-tech firm aiming to move healthcare upstream by offering molecular risk stratification for neurodegenerative diseases. Its first product, ELEarly Dementia, combines proprietary genomic biomarkers measured in standard molecular labs with a digital interpretation layer. Laura, co-founder and CEO with a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biosciences, leads scientific strategy, validation planning and go-to-market efforts. The company is at MVP and seed stages and is supported by Women TechEU.

Meghan Perkins — Proskope, Paris, France

Proskope is developing TumorScreen, a blood test intended to accelerate early cancer detection. Founded in 2022, the company is at MVP and seed stage. Meghan, co-founder and CSO, is a cancer biologist who moved from academic research into product development. She leads scientific development and helps translate biological signatures into an assay pipeline with potential clinical application. The work is supported by Women TechEU.

Ramona Samba — sync2brain, Tübingen, Germany

sync2brain develops personalised brain stimulation therapies for mental and neurological disorders. The company seeks to move brain stimulation beyond standardised protocols by tailoring treatment parameters to individual patients. Dr. Ramona Samba, CEO and co-founder, holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry and has leadership experience in neurotechnology. Founded in 2019, sync2brain is at seed stage and reports early market traction while being supported by Women TechEU.

Shared themes and realistic hurdles

Across these six profiles there are repeated technical and commercial patterns. First, converting lab-scale or prototype solutions into reliable products requires engineering rigour and process controls. Second, health and neurotechnology ventures must navigate demanding clinical trials and regulatory approvals that often extend timelines and cost structures. Third, even in agriculture and fermentation the difficulty of consistent supply and reproducible performance is a major barrier. Finally, all companies need credible go-to-market plans, partners and follow-on capital to scale.

The EIC Women Leadership Programme and other support

The women featured in these stories have participated in EU-backed schemes. The EIC Women Leadership Programme provides tailored training, mentoring and networks to female researchers and entrepreneurs. Launched as a pilot in 2021 it has supported nine cohorts and more than 300 participants. Complementary initiatives include Women TechEU which funds early-stage women-led deep-tech start-ups and EIC Transition or EIC Accelerator instruments that fund development towards commercialisation.

Implications for Europe’s innovation ecosystem

These stories illustrate how Europe’s ecosystem can shepherd research into applications across diverse sectors. Public funding and acceleration programmes play an important role in de-risking early stages and increasing visibility for founders who are women. That said, systemic change is slow. Moving from pilot to meaningful scale often requires patient capital, industrial partnerships and supply chain adjustments. Outcomes that matter to users and systems, such as demonstrable clinical benefit or reduced environmental impact, will determine long term adoption.

What to watch next and how to follow them

Follow validation milestones such as clinical study starts and regulatory clearances for health ventures. For agricultural and fermentation solutions look for independent field trials, reproducibility data and partnerships with growers or food manufacturers. The EIC Community platform and EIC Business Acceleration Services publish open calls, pilot opportunities and newsletters where these teams often surface updates and invitations to engage.

If you are a researcher or entrepreneur interested in similar supports, check the EIC Community for calls to the Women Leadership Programme, Women TechEU and other EIC Business Acceleration Services. These programmes provide coaching, mentoring and route-to-market services. Keep a cautious eye on stated timelines and claims, and demand evidence from pilot data and third party validation before assuming impact.

Final note

The six women profiled show the diversity of paths from expertise to entrepreneurship in Europe. Their projects cover urgent societal needs from sustainable horticulture to earlier disease detection and personalised therapies. Their progress will depend on the usual mix of science, engineering, clinical evidence, regulatory navigation and commercial execution. Public programmes can accelerate this journey but they are only one piece of what it takes to build durable deep-tech businesses.