Barcelona will become, on September 22 and 23, a meeting point for some of the leading players in research, innovation, and knowledge transfer in Spain. The auditorium of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) will host SOMMa Connect 2026, organised by the Alliance of Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence and María de Maeztu Units of Excellence (SOMMa), together with the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG).

Several members of the Institute for Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of València, will participate in this edition, particularly as representatives of the institute’s Business Innovation Scientific Unit (UCIE).

Over the course of two days, scientific leaders, companies, investors, entrepreneurs, and representatives of public institutions will come together to discover first-hand some of the technologies and projects with the greatest potential to emerge from the cutting-edge research being carried out in Spain, as well as to explore new opportunities for collaboration, investment, and knowledge transfer.

The scale of the community represented by SOMMa highlights the enormous potential of the event. According to the latest available aggregated data, corresponding to 2025, SOMMa centres and units bring together more than 18,000 researchers and generate nearly 15,000 scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals. In addition, their researchers held 313 European Research Council (ERC) projects in 2025.

SOMMa Connect was created precisely to bring this scientific capacity closer to the business sector and the innovation ecosystem, creating a space where science, industry, investment, and public administrations can meet, share needs, and identify opportunities to transform new knowledge and technologies into solutions with economic and social impact.

The 2026 edition will bring together representatives of some of the leading institutions driving and funding innovation in Spain and Europe, including the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology and Innovation (CDTI); the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; the European Innovation Council (EIC); and the European Investment Fund (EIF), alongside investors, companies, and organisations linked to the knowledge transfer and innovation ecosystem.

A showcase for innovation emerging from cutting-edge research

One of the central themes of SOMMa Connect 2026 will be to showcase the innovation and knowledge-transfer potential of the centres and units that form part of SOMMa. The programme will provide an opportunity to discover projects and technologies developed at institutions accredited with the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu excellence distinctions and to explore their potential to lead to new collaborations with companies, technology-transfer agreements, investment, or new business ventures.

The alliance’s knowledge-transfer indicators reflect the capacity of this research to generate value beyond the academic sphere. In 2025, SOMMa members filed 246 priority patent applications, maintained 113 active spin-offs, and formalised 301 licences related to intellectual property rights. That same year, they initiated collaborations with companies and foundations worth €140 million.

SOMMa Connect aims to bring this scientific and technological potential into contact with those who can help bring it to the market and to society.

The afternoon of September 22 will be devoted to an Investment Pitch Session, in which various projects will present their proposals to experts from the investment and business ecosystem. The sessions will be organised into four broad areas: HealthTech; Agro-Food & CleanTech; DeepTech & Advanced Engineering; and Better Societies, reflecting the diversity of disciplines and technologies being developed at Spanish centres of excellence.

The programme will also include networking sessions and a showcase of SOMMa success stories, designed to facilitate direct contact between researchers, companies, and investors and to foster the creation of new collaborations.

From knowledge to innovation

The second day, September 23, will focus on the mechanisms needed to turn cutting-edge research into innovation and on the partnerships that make this process possible.

Asier Rufino will present Tecnalia’s model for creating collaboration ecosystems with industry, while a roundtable discussion will explore examples of public-private collaborations developed by SOMMa centres. A second panel will examine the different funding instruments available for innovation, with representatives from the European Investment Fund, European Innovation Council, Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Asabys Partners, and Fundación “la Caixa”. The day will conclude with a presentation by Elisa Rivera, Director General for Planning, Coordination and Knowledge Transfer at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

SOMMa Connect 2026 follows on from the edition held in València in 2024, which brought together more than one hundred researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and business representatives to discuss start-up financing, open innovation, and collaboration between companies and new technology-based firms.

With its 2026 edition taking place in Barcelona, the event aims to establish itself as a leading platform for connecting those who generate cutting-edge scientific knowledge with those who can help transform it into new technologies, companies, products, and solutions for society.

About SOMMa

SOMMa is the Alliance that brings together Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence and María de Maeztu Units of Excellence accredited in Spain. Its mission is to strengthen and raise the international profile of a leading scientific community by promoting frontier, interdisciplinary, and high-impact research. SOMMa also promotes collaboration among its centres and with other stakeholders in the knowledge and innovation ecosystem, fostering the transfer of results, interaction with the productive sector, and the generation of scientific, economic, and social impact. Through its activities and working groups, the Alliance also promotes the exchange of best practices and the development of joint initiatives that contribute to strengthening the excellence and transformative capacity of research in Spain.