COS.B.I. COSTRUZIONE BOBINE ITALIA S.R.L.

Their core work

COS.B.I. (Costruzione Bobine Italia — "Coil Manufacturing Italy") is a Milano-based SME that manufactures electromagnetic coils and windings for electrical machines, and has applied that core manufacturing capability to develop a proprietary axial-flow hydrokinetic turbine. Their flagship product, developed under the HyKinetics project, converts the kinetic energy of flowing rivers and canals into electricity without dams or significant civil works. They progressed from concept validation (SME-1 feasibility, 2018) to full product development and commercialisation (SME-2, 2020–2023), suggesting they now hold a market-ready micro hydropower system. For partners and clients, they represent a rare combination of electrical machine manufacturing know-how and applied small-scale hydropower engineering.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2018, COS.B.I. entered H2020 at the earliest validation stage — a brief SME-1 feasibility study focused on a single concept (the axial hydrokinetic turbine), with only a numeric code in the keyword record, reflecting the exploratory and undocumented nature of that phase. By 2020 they had graduated to a full SME-2 development grant of €1.53M, and the keyword set expanded dramatically to cover the complete product landscape: micro hydropower plants, axial turbines, in-river kinetic energy exploitation, and hydroelectric generators. The trajectory is linear and focused — they did not diversify topics but went deeper into one well-defined product, moving from "can this work?" to "let's build and sell it."

COS.B.I. is on a single-product commercialisation path; a future collaborator would most likely engage them as a technology supplier or co-developer of run-of-river micro hydropower installations, not as a broad research partner.

How they like to work

COS.B.I. has led both of its H2020 projects as sole coordinator, with only one recorded consortium partner across its entire EU project history. This is a hallmark of the EIC SME Instrument model, where a company drives its own innovation agenda rather than joining multi-partner research consortia. Working with them means engaging a focused, product-oriented team that is used to setting direction — not a subcontractor comfortable with being directed by others.

COS.B.I. has collaborated with only one partner in one country across its two projects, making its EU network extremely narrow. Its connectivity is almost entirely self-funded through the SME Instrument route, with no evidence of broad multi-national consortium experience.

What sets them apart

COS.B.I. is unusual in combining deep electrical machine manufacturing (coil winding) with a proprietary micro hydropower product — most hydropower players are either civil engineers or turbine designers, not coil manufacturers who built upward into a complete system. Their successful SME-1 to SME-2 progression in a single coherent technology line means they likely hold IP and validated prototypes, not just research outputs. For a consortium needing a hydrokinetic turbine supplier or a manufacturing partner for small-scale hydro generators, they are a concrete industrial asset rather than an academic contributor.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HyKinetics (SME-2)
  At €1,534,488 this is the company's flagship project, representing a full product development and commercialisation push for their axial in-river turbine — the largest single EU grant the company has received and the evidence of a market-ready technology.
• HyKinetics (SME-1)
  The 2018 feasibility grant marks the starting point of a clean SME Instrument two-stage journey — rare in that the same acronym and product line carried through both phases successfully.