TECNO ITALIA SRL

Their core work

TECNO ITALIA is an Italian SME based in the Modena ceramic district that develops industrial glazing technology for ceramic tile manufacturing. Their core innovation is a continuous inline digital glazing process that improves production efficiency and workplace safety in tile factories. They also bring surface coating expertise to energy applications, specifically protective coatings for solid oxide cell (SOC) interconnects. Their work sits at the intersection of advanced manufacturing processes and industrial coating technologies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TECNO ITALIA's H2020 trajectory is compact (2018–2022) but shows clear growth. They began with a feasibility study for their digital glazing concept (SME Phase 1, 2018), then successfully scaled to a full SME Phase 2 project in 2020 with over €1.3M in funding — a classic SME instrument graduation. In parallel, they branched into energy-sector coatings through LOWCOST-IC (2019), suggesting they are expanding their surface treatment know-how beyond ceramics into fuel cell components.

TECNO ITALIA is scaling its core glazing technology toward commercialization while diversifying its coating expertise into clean energy applications — a company transitioning from R&D to market with broadening scope.

How they like to work

TECNO ITALIA operates primarily as a technology-developing SME, having coordinated one major project (Glazetile Phase 2) and participated as a specialist partner in two others. With 10 unique partners across 7 countries from just 3 projects, they engage in moderately sized, internationally diverse consortia rather than sticking to a narrow circle. Their successful SME Phase 1-to-2 progression suggests they can both lead their own innovation agenda and contribute specialized coatings expertise to larger collaborative efforts.

TECNO ITALIA has built a network of 10 partners across 7 European countries through just 3 projects, indicating they connect broadly rather than relying on repeat collaborations. Their network spans both the ceramics/manufacturing sector and the energy sector.

What sets them apart

TECNO ITALIA combines deep knowledge of ceramic tile manufacturing — rooted in Italy's Emilia-Romagna ceramics cluster — with transferable expertise in advanced surface coatings (PVD, reactive oxidative bonding). This dual capability is rare: they understand both the industrial process engineering of tile production and the materials science of protective coatings. For consortium builders, they offer a credible SME partner that has already demonstrated the ability to lead an SME Phase 2 project to funding.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Glazetile
  Successfully graduated from SME Phase 1 (2018) to Phase 2 (2020) with €1.38M funding — demonstrates a validated, investor-ready innovation in digital ceramic glazing.
• LOWCOST-IC
  Shows TECNO ITALIA's diversification into clean energy, contributing PVD coating expertise to solid oxide cell interconnect development.