More than a thousand companies in Navarra have benefited from the services of the IRIS Hub in 2024 #IRISEDIH
The forty public-private agents that make up the Governing Committee and the Plenary of the IRIS Navarra Digital Innovation Hub analysed on Tuesday the results of the actions carried out by this entity in 2024 and learnt about the usage models of the equipment available in its facilities. This space, which will have state-of-the-art technological infrastructure and equipment valued at 5 million euros, is designed to support companies and citizens in their digital transformation processes.
The president of IRIS Navarra and Regional Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Patricia Fanlo, highlighted the progress made this year during the opening of the conference, including the opening of a new space in the Agri-Food City of Tudela "to respond to the specific needs" of the Ribera region. For his part, the vice-president of the Hub and Regional Minister of Industry and Ecological and Digital Business Transition, Mikel Irujo, stressed that the IRIS Hub aims to offer companies services and equipment to move towards Industry 4.0, with particular emphasis on "making the region a benchmark in synthetic biology".
Subsequently, the coordinator of the IRIS Hub, Ion Arrizabalaga, presented the results for 2024. Specifically, he pointed out that, since the beginning of the year, "more than a thousand companies have benefited from the services offered" in the Hub's catalogue, while "more than 6,100 people have taken part in the training activities" offered. Currently, the catalogue has "183 services, of which 122 have already been approved through the established process, including 72 approved during 2024".
The IRIS Navarra Digital Innovation Hub will be inaugurated at the beginning of 2025 in El Sario, located on the Pamplona campus of the Public University of Navarra (UPNA). This space will house "cutting-edge laboratories, such as molecular biology and synthetic biology, a digital laboratory, a virtual production laboratory, a multipurpose room for technical training, as well as several meeting rooms". In addition, a 5G mobile connectivity network is being installed in the Zubiri telecommunications centre, as well as a mobile device "to enable 5G testing throughout the region".
INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK
The IRIS Hub also has nodes at other sites. Dinabide, in Irurtzun, specialises in additive manufacturing and 3D printing; the public company Nasertic offers computing infrastructure for R&D&I agents and companies throughout the region; and INTIA deploys virtual fencing collars and positioning and telemetry equipment to efficiently manage rural areas. For its part, the University of Navarra is incorporating a pioneering mass spectrometer, while the University Hospital of Navarra is integrating digital twin technology as part of its decarbonisation plan.
All the details and usage models were presented by each of the heads of the coordinating entities in each area of specialisation of the IRIS Hub. The speakers at the session included Antonio Pineda, scientific director of CIMA; Marta Goñi, coordinator of R&D Projects at INTIA; Mikel Irijalba, Additive Manufacturing and Digital Transformation technician at Sakanako Garapen Agentzia; Carlos Javier González, director of Innovation at the University of Navarra; Oscar Zafra, HPC Management specialist at Nasertic; Arturo Cisneros, manager of the Audiovisual Cluster of Navarra (Clavna); and Rodrigo Zardoya, director of the Dédalo Foundation.
This section ended with the intervention of Andrea Urrecho, head of Digital Innovation at ADItech, who reported on the progress of the EDIH (European Digital Innovation Hub), a European project that will continue beyond 2025. Finally, the session also agreed on the adhesion of the BAI Foundation (Building & Architecture Institute) as a new agent of the IRIS Hub and the incorporation of the SNS-O as an agent of the Government of Navarra.
