The FITA Fund – Lidera Tecnologías Avanzadas, managed by Grow Venture Partners and promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Institut Català de Finances and the European Investment Fund, has reinforced its commitment to advancing technology transfer and European technological sovereignty with the addition of four new strategic investments.
The fund now has a portfolio of nine companies, expanding its reach into sectors such as industrial AI, clean energy, medical devices, new materials and advanced semiconductor inspection.
The four newly backed companies are Electraqua and NSS Water in clean technologies and environmental solutions; Predictheon in digital health and MedTech; and Porous in 3D-printed porous materials for semiconductors. They join the five deep-tech companies previously supported by the Catalan fund.
Clean technologies and environmental impact
Electraqua, a spin-off from the University of Barcelona, has developed a modular electromechanical reactor capable of fully removing micro-contaminants from pharmaceutical and cosmetic wastewater without chemical inputs and with in-situ generation of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The company has already launched pilot projects in real industrial environments.
Electraqua is led by María Fernanda Murrieta, Birame Boye and Ignacio Sirés, a multidisciplinary team with extensive experience in the research, development and application of electrochemical technologies for water decontamination.
The spin-off has created an innovative electrochemical reactor capable of producing hydrogen peroxide in situ from oxygen and electricity with low environmental impact. This peroxide generates oxidizing species that effectively eliminate a wide range of water contaminants without requiring additional chemical reagents.
The funding aims to develop Electraqua’s first commercial product and validate the technology in a real-world setting, initially with a pharmaceutical company. The company has already begun collaborating with a firm in this sector to implement a pilot system that will optimize the prototype, scale it to pilot level and assess costs and efficiency in the treatment of industrial wastewater.
Electraqua’s technology directly addresses the challenges posed by the new European directive on urban wastewater treatment, which focuses on removing micro-contaminants, particularly those originating from the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. The company also highlights the broad potential of its technology in other sectors, including disinfection processes and reclaimed water production.
NSS Water, a Swedish deep-tech company with active links to research centers such as Fraunhofer IPMS (Germany), AlixLabs (Sweden), IMEC (Belgium) and ITRI (Taiwan), demonstrates strong connections with both European and Asian academic-technology ecosystems.
Its innovative WET (Water Enhancement Technology), based on membrane distillation, removes particles larger than 5 nanometers as well as organic and metallic contaminants that compromise chip production at advanced nodes (<10 nm). Designed for direct use in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the solution improves water purity in key processes such as cleaning, lithography and etching, achieving up to a 90% reduction in water consumption and an 80% reduction in operating costs compared with traditional systems.
This technology aligns closely with Catalonia’s strategic priorities in DeepTech, particularly in microelectronics, nanotechnology and sustainable industry. Solutions such as those developed by NSS Water could integrate easily into the Catalan ecosystem, contributing enabling technologies for the industry of the future and reinforcing the region’s position as a European deep-tech innovation hub.
Digital health and MedTech
Predictheon is a spin-off from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, IDIBAPS and the University of Navarra. Its mission is to transform clinical care through predictive monitoring algorithms and devices based on mathematical modelling of clinical data, creating a predictive layer currently absent from patient monitoring.
The company develops software and hardware solutions that continuously predict patient metrics, adverse events and outcomes in anesthesia by integrating personalized data, clinical monitoring and predictive analytics.
Predictheon PDA® (Predictive Decision Assistant) is the medical device that uses predictive algorithms generated through complex mathematical modelling to anticipate and prevent anesthesia-related complications, ultimately improving patient outcomes and hospital efficiency.
Semiconductor and advanced materials applications
Porous is a spin-off linked to the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics (IFIMAC) at the Autonomous University of Madrid. The company enables the synthesis of porous materials printable in 3D with direct application in the development of electrodes for supercapacitors. Its advanced inks enable the production of high-performance graphene-based compounds.
Porous Energy connects naturally with the ICN2 and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, as well as with deep-tech startup hubs, by combining graphene, covalent organic frameworks and sustainable 3D-printing techniques. These technologies could easily be integrated into Catalan industrial and research projects focused on advanced materials and energy.
Nine investments in the fund’s first year
These four startups join Shinephi and Qilimanjaro in semiconductors and quantum computing, Kreios Space in space and telecommunications, and VirTest and Health Tech in medical technologies aimed at improving quality of life.
Catalonia stands out in international science and continues to demonstrate its ability to transform knowledge into technology, companies and employment, strengthening European technological autonomy.
Investments generating strong impact
Overall, the FITA Fund’s nine investments have involved more than €5 million in public investment and have catalyzed over €25 million in additional co-investment across the participating companies.
This financial effort not only strengthens the growth and consolidation of innovative projects in strategic sectors for Catalonia and Europe but also drives the creation of qualified employment. It is estimated that more than 200 new jobs have been created as a direct result of these investments, contributing significantly to economic and technological development.
An urgent need for Europe
For Europe to remain competitive in an environment of constant technological disruption, increasing productivity and reducing external dependence are essential. The FITA Fund aims to create, scale and industrialize proprietary solutions in strategic sectors. Its strategy is structured around three major pillars: DeepTech (space, AI, quantum computing), Sustainability (energy, new materials, bioplastics, water) and MedTech. This approach strengthens technological sovereignty, promotes highly skilled employment and enhances industrial resilience in critical areas such as healthcare, energy and computing.
About the FITA Fund
The FITA Fund (Catalunya Lidera) is a fund promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Investment Fund and managed by Grow Venture Partners. Its objective is to support early-stage startups emerging from scientific research, with a particular focus on deep tech, medtech and sustainability.
FITA investments are supported by the European Union through the InvestEU programme. The fund has a total size of €55 million.
The fund was created to act as a bridge between research centres, universities and the market. Its strategy focuses on supporting projects in pre-seed, seed or launch phases with strong technological foundations, mainly originating from the Catalan R&D ecosystem. All announced investments have been made in startups emerging from leading scientific environments and represent notable cases of technology transfer.
About Grow Venture Partners
Grow Venture Partners is a venture capital firm specialized in technology transfer, investing in early-stage companies emerging from universities and research centres, mainly in the DeepTech, MedTech and Sustainability sectors. Its diverse and committed team works with a service-oriented mindset aimed at developing better founders and, together with them, creating sustainable wealth and employment with a positive impact on the world
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