Europe is undergoing two profound transformations at the same time: the green transition towards climate neutrality and the digital transition towards smarter, data-driven systems. At the heart of both lies cleantech (clean technology), that is technologies that can improve energy efficiency, enhance water and air quality, reduce industrial emissions, support sustainable agriculture, optimise waste and recycling processes, and employ digital tools to monitor and manage environmental performance.
Nonetheless, even as cleantech innovation accelerates, many promising ideas face a challenge familiar across Europe: the step from prototype to real-world deployment. Startups, SMEs, and research teams often lack access to environments where they can safely test new technologies at a meaningful scale. Without such piloting opportunities, it becomes difficult to refine solutions, generate evidence, or convince public authorities and investors that a technology is ready for adoption. To address this gap, the European Union supports initiatives that make experimentation spaces more accessible, helping innovators progress their solutions more efficiently towards deployment.
One such initiative is FINEX, a collaborative EU-funded project which focuses on streamlining and facilitating the access to experimentation spaces and strengthening cooperation between the organisations that operate them. The project connects startups, research teams, and experimentation spaces in six countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Finland. Through its network, FINEX gives participating experimentation technologies visibility beyond their local setting.
Why It Matters
Throughout Europe many academic and research organisations have experimentation spaces that could support testing and validation of innovations, however, clear entry points or the technical and organisational support pathways to initiate piloting are lacking. FINEX helps overcome this barrier by connecting innovators with experimentation spaces across participating countries, providing a coordinated route into environments that mirror real operational conditions such as energy systems, urban infrastructure, digital platforms, or specialised research facilities. This coordinated access helps reduce the time and complexity associated with moving from prototype to deployment. By streamlining the steps needed to arrange a pilot and supporting the practical aspects of testing, FINEX enables teams to generate credible performance evidence sooner, refine their solutions more effectively, and advance towards market readiness with greater speed and confidence. In doing so, the project contributes to a more agile and responsive cleantech innovation ecosystem in Europe.
More specifically, through FINEX, startups, SMEs, and research teams with cleantech solutions have opportunities for:
- Matchmaking with experimentation spaces that are open to supporting pilot activities.
- Access to local and cross-border environments where solutions can be tested in realistic conditions.
- Guidance in shaping their piloting, including defining objectives, timelines, and measurement criteria.
- EU level visibility and support in documenting outcomes, valuable for funding acquisition or regulatory approval.
Successful pilots are promoted to a wider audience of research organisations, public authorities and innovation networks, increasing their chances of attracting interest for deployment in other countries.
The Role of KIOS CoE in FINEX
As a strong innovator and a key partner in FINEX, the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence at the University of Cyprus offers its expertise in the monitoring, control and security of critical infrastructures, as well as its advanced experimentation facilities. KIOS operates comprehensive testing environment for energy and power systems, water networks, intelligent transportation, emergency response and cyber-physical security, enabling technologies to be assessed under conditions that closely reflect real operational environments.
Through FINEX, these spaces become accessible to cleantech innovators who need to validate digital tools, algorithms, hardware devices or integrated solutions. KIOS researchers support this process by advising on testing scenarios, ensuring safe integration into the test environment, and helping interpret results so that innovators can better understand how their technologies perform in complex, interconnected systems.
KIOS also collaborates with public authorities, utilities and industry partners, creating opportunities for pilots that extend beyond the laboratory. Ultimately, KIOS strengthens the role of Cyprus in European cleantech innovation and supports the wider effort to accelerate the deployment of technologies that can advance Europe’s green and digital transition.
How to reach out
Innovators can use the online Helpdesk (www.eitdigital.eu/finex-helpdesk/) to explore testing opportunities through a catalogue of experimentation spaces, detailing available infrastructures and their capabilities. Periodically, FINEX also organizes European matchmaking events to link innovators with testbed operators and public-sector bodies, helping them identify suitable real-world testing environments and understand practical requirements.
