The call for proposals for the “Nicolais Prize for Innovation in Materials”, a competitive call, is currently being published. The Award is promoted by Materias and dedicated to the memory of Prof. Luigi Nicolais, with the aim of enhancing the heritage of Italian research into advanced materials by speeding up the transfer technological towards the market.
Through a national scouting process, scientific selection and direct involvement of industry, the Award creates a meeting point between emerging technologies and enterprises interested in innovate.
The initiative is aimed at innovative startups established for no more than 36 months (as of the 31st December 2026) which have their operational headquarters in Italy or research teams (universities and centers of
research) who want to establish an innovative startup in Italy.
The Award intends to support high-potential solutions and technologies in the field of materials innovative (in the pre-industrial phase, with scientific/experimental validation already underway, solidity scientific and application perspectives) in the following sectors:
– Biomedical and Pharma
– New materials and Industrial processes
– Agritech
The Call is scheduled to open in November 2026.
All detailed specifications for participation and submission arrangements for projects will be available in the call for proposals which is to be published soon.