Nestled along Lake Como, Villa Erba hosted the annual Made in Italy Innovation Forum, convening nearly 1,000 industry leaders, policymakers, researchers, and corporate innovators to shape the next era of Italian manufacturing through sustainability, digitalization, and design excellence.
A Premier Showcase of Circular & Digital Innovation
Organized by MICS (Made in Italy Circolare e Sostenibile), the Forum spotlighted groundbreaking case studies and cross-sector collaborations aimed at rethinking resource use, extending product lifecycles, and embedding circular strategies in supply chains.
Keynote sessions, including institutional addresses by Gilberto Pichetto Fratin (Environment & Energy Security Minister) and Marco Nocivelli (Confindustria VP for Industrial Policy), underscored Italy’s ambition: to balance global competitiveness with a sustainable industrial renaissance.
Top Conference Highlights
NEST Initiative: Driving Energy Transition
Wolfram Sparber of Eurac Research introduced the PNRR-backed NEST project, a powerhouse of research-industry-regulator collaboration dedicated to scaling renewable electrification, heat pump systems, agrivoltaics, and district heating innovations across Italy.
Sustainable Fashion & Leather
Roundtables explored the future of Made in Italy in textiles and leather, focusing on eco-design, circular production practices, end-of-life garment management, and fashion intelligence powered by digital tools
Green Interiors & Architectural Materials
Experts from universities and firms such as A2A Energia and Politecnico di Milano debated how industrial carbonation and material innovation can reduce waste and emissions in furniture and building sectors
Manufacturing Meets Industry 5.0
Panels tackled smart factory readiness, AI-driven servitization, additive manufacturing, digital twins, and predictive maintenance catalyzing the twin transition of digital and green transformations
Ecosystem Synergies & Local Innovation Hubs
Moderator Fabiola Gallo led discussions on “Case del Made in Italy” regional innovation hubs in Milan, Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, and Taranto that are emerging as territorial accelerators for tech transfer, IoT, XR, smart mobility, and blockchain-enabled SMEs
