EIT Manufacturing West turns five
26 February 2025
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Five years walking together, let’s celebrate every step.
Five years may not seem a long time, but in the world of manufacturing and innovation, every year counts. In May 2025, EIT Manufacturing West turns five. Five years of growth and milestones, but also challenges, hard moments and failures. Five years pushing boundaries, learning from mistakes and walking this journey with you. And now, it’s time to look back, celebrate together and share this milestone, because you are part of our story!
What it started as a small group of two—Antoni Pijoan and Mirari Zaldua—on a shared mission, quickly turned into an amazing team and a growing network of partners, innovators and experts across Spain, France and Portugal. From our headquarters in the Basque Country, a region with deep industrial roots, we expanded connecting ecosystems, supporting startups and helping manufacturers adopt cutting-edge solutions that make a real difference. In 2021, we took a big step forward, moving into the iconic building Palacio Miramar in Donostia-San Sebastián, that connects a network of 25 employees and up to 60 entities.
Looking back now, we see a journey filled with challenges and inspiring collaborations. We see people, entrepreneurs, researchers, engineers, policymakers, all working together to build a more competitive and sustainable European industry. But today is not only about the past. It’s about celebrating the people who made it all happen. The stories behind the milestones and the moments that shaped who we are today. And, above all, it’s about gratitude, about thanking all of you who have been part of this adventure.
FIVE YEARS, FIVE STORIES… and much more to come!
When we started, it was only 1 employee at EIT Manufacturing West, now we are a team of 25 people. Our community has grown from 12 members to 40 partners, roughly 25% of the entire European community. This commitment from our partners in developing solutions that generate impact, not only economically but also on the environmental and societal challenges Europe is facing, drives our success.
Antoni Pijoan, Managing Director of EIT Manufacturing West
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At this pace, the World Economic Forum estimates that closing the Global Gender Gap will take 134 years. Despite progress, inequality remains deeply rooted in many industries, and manufacturing is no exception.
But this is not just about fairness, it is also about business. Studies like Impact of Women in Industrial Competitiveness show a strong correlation between gender diversity and profitability. Research highlights that inclusive policies lead to greater competitiveness, international expansion, growth and innovation.
The challenge now is how to turn this into action. From the start, EIT Manufacturing West is strongly committed to fostering gender equality. The organisation is driving change by promoting diversity, supporting women-led innovation and empowering the next generation of leaders. Its mission is clear: to break down the barriers that have held women back in manufacturing for a long time.
At the forefront of this transformation are three key initiatives, Women TechEU, Supernovas and STRADA. Leading these efforts are three inspiring women: Teresa Hernández (Women TechEU), Ana Alcaine (Supernovas) and Gema Antequera (STRADA).
Women leading deep-tech innovation
An EU-funded initiative, Women TechEU has just closed its third call and is already preparing for its fourth. The programme is designed to support women leading deep-tech startups across Europe.
But Women TechEU goes beyond funding. It provides mentorship, pitch preparation, investor outreach and key business development services such as environmental impact assessments and sales strategies.
As Teresa Hernández states: ‘We are building a lasting community of women entrepreneurs who will continue to drive European innovation long after the project ends’.
The initiative, led by EIT Manufacturing West and powered by a consortium of partners from eight European countries and with EISMEA as the granting authority, is breaking down barriers and positioning women as key players in the future of manufacturing and deep-tech innovation.
Empowering women in entrepreneurship and investment
To address the underrepresentation of women in entrepreneurship and investment, EIT Manufacturing, EIT Food, and EIT Urban Mobility launched Supernovas, an initiative designed to increase women’s involvement in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
What’s the approach? The programme focuses on empowering women-led startups, helping them secure early-stage funding, and inspiring more women to become role models in the sector. One of its key goals is to increase women’s presence in investment, creating a more diverse and inclusive investor landscape.
EIT Manufacturing plays a key role by providing specialised training for women interested in becoming angel investors, with a focus on the manufacturing sector; and by organising Investment Forums.
Additionally, EIT Manufacturing actively scouts top female entrepreneurs. As Ana Alcaine explains: ‘The manufacturing industry has particularly few women, so it is crucial for EIT Manufacturing to drive this change’.
Shaping tomorrow’s leaders
STRADA is a pan-European leadership development programme aimed at equipping women in the industry with the skills and knowledge to thrive.
How does it work? Through a combination of training, mentorship and networking, covering areas like leadership, digitalisation, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability. STRADA also collaborates with industry leaders to provide webinars covering both technical and soft skills, such as communication and emotional intelligence.
Open to women at all career stages and covering roles from back-office to the factory floor, STRADA already had 500 participants. One of its biggest successes? Creating visible female role models in industry. ‘We are not just encouraging more women to enter manufacturing, we are ensuring they have the support and opportunities to thrive in leadership roles’, says Gema Antequera.
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In 2020, the world was facing an unprecedented challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed healthcare systems to their limits, with hospitals running out of many facilities unable to afford the complex, high-cost equipment needed for critically ill patients. The situation called for urgent action.
This is where EIT Manufacturing West and InnoVentilator came in.
As part of the EIT Crisis Response Initiative, a €60m fund launched by the European Institute of Innovation a Technology (EIT) to support high-impact solutions, this project set out to develop a low-cost, easy-to-use ventilator that could help address the crisis effectively.
The goal was to create a ventilator that could be quickly manufactured and deployed in emergency situations or regions facing shortages. The result was a device that was:
- Fully pneumatic, requiring no external power source
- Equipped with battery-supported alarms for patient safety
- Designed for simplicity, with easy maintenance and no complex electronics
- Built using standard, off-the-shelf components
- Cost-effective, staying under €2,000
InnoVentilator device
This innovative design ensured that medical professionals, paramedics, nurses and even patients could use it with ease, making it a practical solution for healthcare providers in critical situations.
From concept to reality
The project moved forward rapidly:
In 2020, clinical requirements were defined by leading anesthesiologists. The first fully functional prototype was developed and successfully tested on mannequins.
During the next two years, the device evolved into an advanced prototype, underwent clinical trials with human patients and progressed toward certification and commercialisation.
Trials with the mannequin
A collaborative European effort
The success of InnoVentilator was driven by a strong European partnership facilitated by EIT Manufacturing West, with Tecnalia leading the project and bringing together experts in medical technology, healthcare and innovation. Key partners—including Carl Reiner GmbH, the Technical University of Graz, Osakidetza-BioCruces, Universitätsklinikum Köln and WILD Group—contributed their expertise to transform an urgent healthcare need into a pioneering solution. InnoVentilator was a rapid, collaborative response to a global health crisis. By combining innovation, expertise and teamwork it demonstrated how technology can make a real difference when it’s needed most.