The year 2026 opens for CTIC Technology Center from a position of unusual strength in the field of applied innovation. After several years of sustained growth and consolidation, the center faces the next cycle with a solid base of technological specialization, an increasingly relevant presence in European R&D programs and on the national scene, and a set of unique infrastructures that expand its capacity to transform knowledge into real impact.
This is not just a matter of recent good results, but of a trajectory that allows us to look to the future with ambition and realism. In a context marked by technological acceleration, green transition and growing competition for talent and funding, CTIC is positioned in 2026 as an actor ready to play a strategic role, both at European and national level, without losing its vocation to serve the territory.
"We reach 2026 with a position of maturity that allows us to make a leap of scale in impact, without losing sight of sustainable growth. The challenge now is to multiply and accelerate that capacity so that it translates into more opportunities and tangible results for companies and for Asturias," says Pablo Coca, CEO of CTIC.
Europe as a natural scenario for growth
If there is one element that defines CTIC's projection towards 2026, it is its link with Europe. The Horizon Europe program has become the main framework for the center's work, not only as a source of funding, but also as a space where the major technological agendas of the next decade are defined: artificial intelligence, data economy, sustainability, energy, advanced industry, quantum computing or cybersecurity.
The experience accumulated in recent years has allowed CTIC to consolidate a position of trust within highly competitive international consortia, in many cases assuming leadership and coordination roles. This capacity does not arise in a conjunctural way, but is the result of a sustained strategy of specialization and construction of long-term alliances.
European projects will continue to have a determining weight in the center's activity in this new stage. Europe demands mature, interoperable technological solutions with demonstrable impact, and CTIC has proven to be able to respond to this level of demand. The combination of advanced knowledge, technical capacity and practical orientation allows the center to act as a bridge between European priorities and the real needs of companies and administrations in the regional and national context.
Three new Cervera Networks of Excellence: a strategic boost
2026 will also be the year when three new Cervera Networks of Excellence will be launched. This program, promoted by the CDTI, recognizes technology centers with the highest degree of specialization and capacity to generate transferable knowledge in strategic areas for the country.
The effective start-up of these networks represents much more than a new line of funding. It represents a qualitative leap in the center's capacity to work in coordination with other national agents in key technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence or industry 5.0. These technologies are set to transform entire productive sectors and require not only research, but also demonstration, validation and transfer.
"The Cervera Networks of Excellence allow us to strengthen our specialization and, at the same time, accelerate the arrival of technology to the market and society. They are a key tool for converting knowledge into real solutions," says the center's management.
For the period 2026-2028, these networks consolidate CTIC's national leadership and reinforce its role as a technological partner of reference for companies that need to innovate in an increasingly complex and competitive environment.
Singular infrastructures: from research to demonstration
One of the great assets with which CTIC enters 2026 are its singular infrastructures, which significantly expand its capacity for action. These infrastructures allow to go a step beyond applied research and offer real environments for experimentation, validation and technological demonstration.
These are spaces designed for companies and administrations to test advanced technologies before their deployment, reducing risks and accelerating innovation processes. Industry 5.0, human-machine interaction, energy or immersive technologies are some of the areas in which CTIC's infrastructures provide a differential value.
This approach responds to a clear vision: innovation cannot remain in the laboratory. It must be able to be touched, measured and evaluated in real conditions. In this sense, the unique infrastructures reinforce CTIC's capacity to accompany companies in all the phases of the innovative process, from the idea to the implementation.
Talent and transfer: the key factor
Behind projects, networks and infrastructures there is an essential element: people. CTIC faces 2026 with a highly qualified and multidisciplinary team, capable of working on frontier technologies without losing sight of their practical application. Talent is, ultimately, the center's main asset and the foundation on which its capacity for impact is built.
The transfer of knowledge to the business fabric will continue to be a priority in the coming years. Through its work with companies of different sizes and sectors, and through initiatives such as CTIC RuralTech, the center has demonstrated that it is possible to take innovation beyond urban environments and traditionally more technological sectors.
This territorial dimension is part of CTIC's DNA. To innovate is not only to develop advanced technology, but to do so in an inclusive way, contributing to the competitiveness, sustainability and cohesion of the territory.
2026: a year of momentum
With all these elements on the table, 2026 is presented as a year of strategic momentum for CTIC. A year in which European projects underway, new Cervera Networks of Excellence and the full operation of unique infrastructures designed to scale impact will converge.
The challenge is not only to grow, but to do so in a meaningful way: aligning innovation with the real needs of companies, with European priorities and with social and environmental challenges. In this balance between ambition and utility is where CTIC has built its positioning and where it wants to continue advancing in the coming years.
CTIC looks to 2026 with the conviction that technology must be a lever for economic and social progress. A useful, responsible and close innovation, capable of placing Asturias on the European map of innovation and generating real opportunities for its productive fabric and its talent.