This week, the Community of Navarre inaugurated the IRIS Innovation Hub, in which it has invested 10 million euros and where it concentrates all the region’s knowledge in R&D&I and digitalisation, with the aim of helping the technological transformation of companies and society in Navarre. To this end, the facility has the backing and active participation of more than 40 of the most important public-private entities that make up the region’s innovation ecosystem.
The Pole, which is managed by the public company NASERTIC, is located in the El Sario Building. The centre works in four areas. On the one hand, it helps companies in their technological transformation processes. On the other hand, it is dedicated to promoting technological research areas that coincide with the strategic sectors of the Autonomous Community of Navarre. It also works to advance towards a digital society and promotes collaboration in the public sector.
The unification, in a single facility, of cutting-edge spaces and laboratories in molecular and synthetic biology, virtual production and telecommunications, as well as its coordination with other innovation nodes, make the IRIS Pole a benchmark centre in its field. As a result, it has been recognised by the European Commission as part of the initial network of EDIHs (European Digital Innovation Hubs), consolidating its role as a key centre at European level.
The cost of its creation, nearly 10 million euros, has been financed by the Government of Navarre and the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Civil Service.
200 services for companies
In terms of support for companies, the centre offers more than 200 services of all kinds, accompanying applicants throughout the process and managing the necessary procedures for arranging services if necessary. Its work focuses especially on SMEs, micro-SMEs and self-employment, as well as technology centres, universities and public entities.
IRIS also promotes research in areas of technological specialisation, such as personalised medicine and advanced therapies, cybersecurity, AI and data science, secure and intelligent connected elements and biotechnology and synthetic biology. All of these areas coincide with the strategic sectors set out in the S4 Smart Specialisation Strategy for Navarra. The aim is to increase the global competitiveness of the region.
The centre is also aimed at citizens, conceived as a meeting, training and awareness-raising point to move towards a digital society that improves the quality of life of Navarre’s citizens.
Finally, the Pole promotes existing collaboration with the public sector with the aim of generating added value and fostering teamwork.
In 2024 alone, more than 1,000 companies have benefited from the services included in the Pole’s catalogue, while more than 6,000 people have taken part in the training activities offered at IRIS Navarra, managed by the public company NASERTIC.
In addition to the El Sario centre, the centre has other work points. Specifically, a 5G mobile connectivity network is being installed at the Zubiri telecommunications centre, as well as a mobile device to enable 5G testing throughout Navarre.
Similarly, Dinabide, in Irurtzun, specialises in additive manufacturing and 3D printing; NASERTIC offers computing infrastructure for R&D&I agents and companies throughout the community; and the public company INTIA deploys virtual fencing collars and positioning and telemetry equipment to efficiently manage rural areas. For its part, the University of Navarra is incorporating a pioneering mass spectrometer, while the University Hospital of Navarra is integrating digital twin technology as part of its decarbonisation plan.
The laboratories, an international benchmark
Of the centre’s different resources, the Synthetic Biology, Molecular Biology and Mass Sequencing laboratories stand out for their importance. With a total surface area of 215 m2, they aim to make Navarre an international benchmark region in synthetic biology.
The laboratories have spaces and equipment that allow them to offer advanced services in genomic analysis, DNA synthesis and the production and characterisation of proteins and cellular systems. These are areas that are shaping up to be the next great technological revolution in fields as diverse as biomedicine, food, energy production, information technologies and other key sectors.
Gonzalo Ordóñez, director of Personalised Medicine and Laboratories at NASERTIC, explains that the IRIS Lab, or Polo Iris laboratory, has pioneering equipment in Europe; in fact, there are few spaces in the world that bring together these capabilities that have to do with synthetic biology, molecular biology, sequencing, bioinformatics, AI or supercomputing.
Other areas
The centre also has, among other facilities, a 200 m2 multi-purpose room. The IRIS coordinator, Ion Arrizabalaga, explains that it is a versatile space that can accommodate between 90 and 100 people, and can be divided into three different rooms, two of them for training sessions and talks, and a third room for virtual production, with cutting-edge technology and a screen measuring 6 metres wide by 2.5 metres high, as well as a high-capacity audiovisual system.
The digital laboratory has a surface area of 50 m² and, as Izaskun Etxeberria, Head of Systems and CPD at NASERTIC, explains, it is divided into a classroom part, equipped with six state-of-the-art workstations, where developers and researchers can test their artificial intelligence projects in a completely controlled environment adapted to their needs. It also has a remote digital laboratory, with 4 AI nodes, to design the environments that companies require.
The coworking space is 225 m2 and has 54 workstations, designed to meet a variety of professional needs. One part of these workstations is assigned to fixed entities, which will use it as their new offices, and another part is aimed at professionals with more specific needs, either for specific projects or for those who are looking for a space to contact and collaborate with other professionals.
Source: navarra.es