Strengthened cooperation between Confindustria Alto Adige and Fraunhofer Italia

The focus is on artificial intelligence, digitalisation, automation and sustainable technological development

10 October 2026

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The collaboration
The connection
The challenges

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The partnership between Confindustria Alto Adige and Fraunhofer Italia, which began several years ago, is being strengthened.

This is the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s first independent foreign subsidiary in Italia, founded in Bolzano in December 2009 in collaboration with Confindustria Alto Adige, with the support of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. A non-profit research organisation which, since 2017, has been based at the NOI Techpark in Bolzano, South Tyrol’s innovation hub.

The collaboration

In 2019, Fraunhofer Italia also established the Arena application centre, a physical space located within the NOI Techpark itself, where Fraunhofer Italia’s applied research activities are put into practice. Here, Fraunhofer Italia’s researchers collaborate with public and private organisations of all sizes and from all sectors on current topics in applied research, with the aim of fostering a twofold transformation: digital and sustainable.

The impetus to strengthen this collaboration stemmed from the positive experiences gained through joint projects within the European Digital Innovation Hub DIS-HUB. The results of these projects have highlighted the added value generated by the direct interaction between the practical needs of businesses and applied research. With this new agreement, the two partners aim to build on their long-standing collaboration.

The bond

The link between the two organisations dates back to the very founding of Fraunhofer Italia. The research institute was established in Bolzano in 2009 in collaboration with what was then Assoimprenditori Alto Adige, with the support of the Province of Bolzano. Confindustria Alto Adige – founded in 1945, representing 500 of the most innovative, international and productive companies in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, which employ over 42,000 people and account for two-thirds of the province’s total exports – is therefore one of the founding partners of a research organisation established with the aim of putting scientific expertise at the service of South Tyrol’s economy and society.

“As co-founders of Fraunhofer Italia, it has been essential for us from the very beginning to bridge the gap between the business world and the world of research,” explains Alexander Rieper, president of Confindustria Alto Adige. “The experiences of recent years have shown that this dialogue can generate concrete impetus for innovation. We want to give greater impetus to our collaboration with Fraunhofer and tackle together issues of particular importance for the technological development of our member companies.”

The challenges

The aim is to identify, at an early stage, the challenges facing businesses and to assess appropriate research and development approaches: from defining specific problems through to developing and testing possible solutions. Fraunhofer Italia contributes its expertise in the field of applied research, whilst Confindustria Alto Adige brings the perspectives and needs of businesses to the table.

“For applied research, close links with business practice are essential. Ongoing dialogue with local businesses enables us to understand the real business challenges we need to address and, consequently, to develop research approaches that lead to tangible results,” emphasises Dominik Matt, Director of Fraunhofer Italia. In terms of content, the collaboration focuses in particular on digital and technological transformation through applied artificial intelligence, AI-based assistive technologies, digital manufacturing, mechatronic systems, automation and robotics, as well as solutions aimed at greater sustainability and efficiency in the use of resources.

The projects carried out as part of the European Digital Innovation Hub DIS-HUB provide a concrete example of how this collaboration can lead to solutions that benefit businesses. A total of ten projects have been carried out in partnership with local companies, in which specific business needs have been matched with scientific expertise, enabling the development and testing of concrete, practice-oriented solutions.

Under the new agreement, Confindustria Alto Adige and Fraunhofer Italia intend to build on these results to jointly drive forward innovation and address the challenges of the future. “We want to continue along the path paved by the positive results of the projects carried out so far. We invite businesses to get involved with their own concrete digitalisation and innovation projects, so that we can develop innovative solutions together with our research partners,” says Mirco Marchiodi, director of Confindustria Alto Adige.

Brand connect

I prossimi eventi

Tutti gli eventi

Notizie e approfondimenti sugli avvenimenti politici, economici e finanziari.

Economy