ASSOCIACIO AEI INNOVI (AGRUPACIO EMPRESARIAL INNOVADORA)

Their core work

INNOVI is a formally recognized Spanish innovative business cluster (Agrupació Empresarial Innovadora) based in Vilafranca del Penedès, Catalonia — a region whose agricultural economy centres on wine, cava, and horticulture. Their core work is connecting local and regional SMEs with technology innovation, acting as a bridge between research-driven projects and the businesses that need to adopt new solutions. In EU projects they typically contribute SME community access, business dissemination, and regional ecosystem mobilization rather than direct technical research. Their participation in robotics and precision agriculture projects reflects both the needs of their member businesses and their positioning as an agri-food sector intermediary.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

INNOVI's earlier H2020 engagement (agROBOfood, 2019) was broad and ecosystem-oriented — digital innovation hubs, open calls, competence centers, platforms, and industry support mechanisms across the robotics-agri-food space. By 2021, their focus had narrowed sharply to a concrete applied problem: precision spraying robots for agriculture (SCORPION). This shift suggests a maturation from network participation and SME facilitation toward direct involvement in specific technology deployments relevant to their regional agricultural base. The trajectory points toward a cluster that is learning through exposure to EU innovation networks and increasingly channeling that learning into tangible technology adoption by its member businesses.

INNOVI is moving from broad ecosystem facilitation toward applied agricultural robotics — making them an increasingly relevant partner for projects that need a regional SME testbed or adoption channel for precision farming technologies.

How they like to work

INNOVI has never led a project — both participations are as consortium member, suggesting they bring community access and regional reach rather than technical leadership. Their apparent network of 42 partners across 16 countries almost certainly reflects the large agROBOfood umbrella network rather than direct bilateral relationships they cultivated personally. Working with them means gaining a channel into Catalan agri-food SMEs, not gaining a technical research partner.

42 unique consortium partners across 16 countries, the bulk of which are attributable to agROBOfood, a large pan-European network project. Their real operational network is likely more concentrated in Spain and Catalonia, with European reach derived from network membership rather than independent bilateral relationships.

What sets them apart

INNOVI holds a formal AEI designation — Spain's recognized status for innovative business clusters — giving them an institutional mandate and credibility to represent the agri-food sector in EU-funded innovation. Their location in Vilafranca del Penedès puts them at the centre of one of Catalonia's most active agricultural regions, with direct access to wine, cava, and horticulture producers who are natural end-users of precision spraying and agricultural robotics. For any project that needs a real SME community to test, validate, or adopt agricultural technology in Southern Europe, INNOVI offers a ready-made channel that most research partners lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• agROBOfood
  A large, multi-year (2019–2024) pan-European network project that embedded INNOVI in a continent-wide robotics-agri-food ecosystem spanning DIHs and SME open call infrastructure.
• SCORPION
  Their highest-funded project (EUR 63,440) and most technically specific engagement — precision spraying robots directly applicable to the viticulture and horticulture sectors present in their home region.