Miguel Hernández University of Elche ranks among the institutions with the highest number of approved projects in a funding call allocating €4.55 million to promote the transfer of research results to businesses.

Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) has secured funding for five projects under IVACE+i Innovación’s 2026 funding call for the valorisation and transfer of research results to businesses, receiving a total of €1,101,230.52.

The call, with a total budget of €4.55 million, has selected 19 projects across the Valencian innovation system. The UMH is one of the institutions with the highest number of approved projects, alongside the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), which has also secured funding for five projects, and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), with four.

The funding will support the development and validation of technologies arising from university research through demonstrators and pilot tests designed to facilitate their future application and commercial exploitation. The funded projects will run until 2028.

Five projects bringing research closer to the market

The five UMH projects cover areas including neurorehabilitation, energy efficiency, the decontamination of agricultural soils, stroke treatment and assistive technologies for people with visual impairments.

The projects and the amounts awarded are as follows:

• MIRAI. Submerged robotic device in a controlled aquatic environment to enhance neuroplasticity in hand neurorehabilitation. The project has been awarded €292,122.60 to advance the development of a technological solution for rehabilitation.
• ULTRASAVE. Valorisation of a new technology for saving energy and water in air-conditioning systems based on ultrasonic atomisers. The project will receive €228,539.26 to advance a technology designed to improve resource efficiency.
• CLEANCHAR. Valorisation of functionalised hydrochar for the treatment of contaminated agricultural soils. The project has secured €246,470 to advance a solution aimed at restoring agricultural soils affected by contaminants.
• DRS4BRAIN. Demand Response Suction for advanced thrombus extraction in acute ischaemic stroke. The project has been awarded €144,661.64 to advance the development of a technology for stroke treatment.
• AVASVIS. Acoustic sensory vehicle alert for people with visual impairments. The project will receive €189,437.02 to develop a technological solution related to assistance and accessibility for people with visual impairments.

Together, the five projects have secured €1,101,230.52 in funding, which will help advance the technologies towards maturity and bring them closer to potential market applications.

Promoting knowledge valorisation and transfer

IVACE+i Innovación’s funding scheme aims to ensure that research results reach a sufficient level of development to facilitate their uptake by businesses. To this end, it supports the creation of product, service and technology demonstrators, as well as pilot tests to validate their performance and application potential.

The call receives 60% of its funding from the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Valencian Community 2021–2027 programme.

The results achieved by the UMH highlight the importance of supporting research groups throughout the process of connecting scientific knowledge with the needs of the socio-economic environment. The valorisation of research results enables technologies to progress from initial potential to validation and possible exploitation, helping to turn knowledge generated at the University into solutions that benefit society and the productive sector.

The UMH Knowledge Transfer Service works to support this process and help research results find pathways to practical application and transfer.