Neutron Insights, incubated at IGFAE, wins a GCiencia Galicia Spin-Off Award

Neutron Insights, a spin-off company from research conducted at IGFAE, a member of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence, is one of the winners of the eighth edition of the GCiencia Galicia Spin-Off awards. The panel of judges awarded the company this prize in the ‘Emerging Idea’ category, which recognises innovative businesses or initiatives developed over the last two years. The jury noted that this is “a business initiative in the area of physics, which is rarely explored sector for spin-off creation”.

Founded in 2023, Neutron Insights is in the early stages of commercializing a device that resolves the limitations of conventional X-rays. By using neutron emission tomography, it can detect defects in metals and structures with high precision. “We see what X-rays cannot,” explained the founding team, which includes Yassid Ayyad, a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela, and Pablo Cabanelas, head of Knowledge, Transfer and Innovation at IGFAE.

In the Quality Seal and Research Group categories, awards went to Alén Space, a company set up at the University of Vigo with more than 15 years’ experience in aerospace engineering, and the BioFarma group, from the University of Santiago de Compostela’s CiMUS centre, which has been researching new drugs for almost twenty years. CiMUS is another of the centres that make up the CIGUS Network.

The panel of judges at this year’s edition was made up of the researcher from the University of Caen Alicia Bruzos; Irene Bonome, the deputy director of Scientific Promotion and University Technology of the Galician autonomous government; Pablo Mosquera, director of Investments at Unirisco; Luciano Fariña, president of the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Galicia; and Pablo López, Director of GCiencia.

The awards will be presented on 12^th November at San Roque Manor House in Santiago de Compostela. The ceremony will be attended by various authorities and representatives from Galician institutions as well as the business and academic worlds. The awards are sponsored by the General Secretariat for Universities of the Galician autonomous government, Unirisco and Gadis.  

Since 2015, the GCiencia Galicia Spin-Off Awards have recognised the most innovative companies and research groups that stand out for their use of science in developing products and services. Winners in recent editions include Mestrelab, Hifas da Terra, the SING group from the University of Vigo and the University of A Coruña’s Database Laboratory.