Filiera Futura and I3P launch the call for start-ups “Terra & Tech | Innovation for the Wine Industry”

Filiera Futura and I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, announce the launch of a new call for start-ups, titled “Terra & Tech | Innovation for the Wine Industry” and aimed at all companies, both Italian and international, that are developing innovative solutions and technologies that can contribute to the evolution of the Italian wine sector, with the goal of accelerating the process of transition to new ways of growing, producing and selling sustainably.

The initiative is part of Terra & Tech, the open innovation program for Italian viticulture launched in 2023 by Filiera Futura in collaboration with I3P to involve wine producers and innovative start-ups in identifying, selecting and field-testing the best technological projects to be put at the service of vineyards throughout Italy. The program was presented with a public event in Milan and a series of workshops held during 2024 in the regions of Piedmont, Veneto, Tuscany, Marche, and Sicily, attended by more than 140 producers, professionals, and researchers in the wine industry. The meetings were made possible thanks to the support and endorsement of the project by a line-up of Foundations of Banking Origin active in the territories and associated with Filiera Futura, namely Fondazione CRC, Fondazione Cariverona, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, Fondazione Carifac, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Jesi, and Fondazione CON IL SUD.

At the discussion tables with the operators and workers in the supply chain, organized specifically to listen to the needs of a sector that is facing decisive challenges of change for its future, today’s necessities of the wine world were collected: production criticalities to which new solutions must be found, activities to be rethought in a technological key, phases that could benefit from digitalization. The Terra & Tech team of specialists will then respond to these needs through the methodology of open innovation, a paradigm that provides and facilitates access to external ideas, technologies and projects to integrate them into existing business models.

The call for start-ups, with free participation, is aimed at incorporated companies that have to propose an innovative idea, a technological prototype or a product or service already on the market that responds to one or more of innovation challenges in the vineyard, winery or marketing areas. The full list of open challenges – which range from automation of production processes to real-time data monitoring and analysis, to the introduction of new biotechnologies and optimization of water and electricity consumption – is available on the initiative’s official webpage, along with the complete regulations and application form that can be filled out until January 27^th, 2025.

The candidate projects will be evaluated and selected by the following month of February, then the most promising ones will be awarded during a dedicated event in April 2025, after which their field testing will begin with producers from the Terra & Tech network. The evaluation criteria that will be used in the analysis of the projects submitted to the call include the soundness of the company and the entrepreneurial team, the technical feasibility of the proposals and their integrability into production chains, the economic, environmental and social impact of the projects and their adherence to the areas of interest of the initiative.

“The Italian wine area excels in quality, variety and sustainability, maintaining a central role in global markets,” said Francesco Cappello, President of Filiera Futura and Vice President of Fondazione CRC. “On the strength of its unique heritage, the sector faces the challenges of the future with flexibility, focusing on technological innovation to strengthen its competitiveness. Terra & Tech stands as a strategic connection point, designed to provide advanced tools to respond to new market needs. The call for start-ups, the second phase of the project, promotes cutting-edge solutions and collaborations to accelerate the technological transformation of Italian wineries. In this process, Filiera Futura plays a unique and crucial role, mobilizing Foundations of Banking Origin to create an ecosystem that fosters innovation and sustainability.”

“Terra & Tech’s new initiative is the fruit of more than a year of work, from the genesis of the project built with Filiera Futura to its presentation on the Italian territory and the discussion with the many local wine producers interested in the opportunities created by technological innovation,” comments Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P. “The methodology of open innovation, now well proven both within our network and in the Italian and European entrepreneurial scenario, will certainly be able to bring together the evolving needs of the wine supply chain with the innovative proposals of cutting-edge start-ups and SMEs, bringing concrete benefits to all the actors involved.”

More information about the initiative, its next steps and the Terra & Tech program to which it belongs can be found on terratech.filierafutura.it.