QLECTOR, RAZVOJ CELOVITIH RESITEV ZA PAMETNE TOVARNE DOO

Their core work

Qlector is a Slovenian company developing AI-driven solutions for smart factories, specializing in digital twins, cognitive manufacturing optimization, and energy-aware production analytics. Their work spans from factory-floor AI systems that help manufacturers reduce energy consumption and improve decision-making, to applying digital twin technology in water management for process industries. They bridge the gap between advanced AI research (explainable AI, reinforcement learning) and practical industrial deployment.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Qlector entered H2020 in 2019 with a clear focus on cognitive manufacturing — building intelligent digital twins that optimize energy use in process industries (FACTLOG). By 2020-2021, they expanded into two directions: applying their digital twin expertise to water/environmental systems (AquaSPICE) and deepening their AI capabilities with explainable AI and human-centric approaches (STAR). The evolution shows a company moving from pure manufacturing AI toward broader industrial AI applications with increasing emphasis on trustworthiness and interpretability.

Qlector is moving toward human-centric, explainable AI systems that can be deployed across multiple industrial domains beyond manufacturing alone.

How they like to work

Qlector operates as a participant or third-party contributor rather than a consortium leader, suggesting they bring specialized AI/digital twin technology into larger projects led by others. With 59 unique partners across 17 countries from just 3 projects, they work in large consortia (typical for Innovation Actions and RIAs). This indicates they are comfortable integrating their technology into complex multi-partner environments.

Despite only 3 projects, Qlector has built connections with 59 partners across 17 countries, reflecting participation in large-scale European consortia. Their network spans broadly across Europe without a dominant geographic cluster.

What sets them apart

Qlector's company name literally translates to "development of complete solutions for smart factories" — and their project portfolio delivers exactly that combination of AI, digital twins, and industrial optimization. What sets them apart is the breadth of AI techniques they bring (from reinforcement learning to explainable AI) applied specifically to manufacturing and process industry problems. For consortium builders, they offer a rare combination: a company small enough to be deeply technical, yet experienced enough to operate in large EU projects across multiple domains.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FACTLOG
  Their flagship project combining cognitive digital twins with energy optimization in process industries — represents their core business proposition.
• STAR
  Tackles the trust and safety dimension of industrial AI, positioning Qlector at the frontier of responsible AI deployment in manufacturing.
• AquaSPICE
  Demonstrates their ability to transfer digital twin expertise beyond manufacturing into water/environmental applications — a long-running project (2020-2025).