Science and Technology Parks

Polaris - PST della Sardegna - Porto Conte

Polaris maps the Future

Porto Conte Ricerche S.r.l.
S.P. 55 Porto Conte/Capo Caccia, Km 8.400 Loc. Tramariglio
07041 Alghero (SS)
(Sardinia)

Telephone:: +39 070 92432204
Fax:: +39 070 92432203

URL:: www.portocontericerche.it

President:: Giulio Murgia
Director:: Francesco Marcheschi
Contact:: Valter Songini
Email:: info@sardegnaricerche.it

Main points

Sardegna Ricerche was commissioned by the regional government to promote the economic development of the island. Thereby both the existing technological innovations and also the knowledge should be utilised.
Thus the Polaris Science and Technology Park was founded in 2003 by Sardegna Ricerche with the assistance of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and the European Union. Sardegna Ricerche took on in addition the administration of the park.
Polaris as an R&D facility offers the possibility of developing and industrialising technological research. This is guaranteed by the location of innovative companies, by R&D activities and with the assistance of a system of services, platforms and tools for innovation, research and technological development.
The main Polaris site is located in Pula, about 40 km from Cagliari Airport.

Brief description

Alghero is situated in North Sardinia, in a high-value landscape area in the vicinty of the sea. The site there is about 3.5
hectares and is less than 17 km from the Alghero-Fertilia international airport. It consists of three buildings and is administerd by the Porto Conte Ricerche company. The latter supports and realises own research projects in the field of biotechnology and implements the Sardegna Ricerche programmes in the region.
The site buidligns in Alghero are simillary linked by glass fibre cabling; an Internet link with a bandwidth of 8Mbits and a guaranteed minimum bandwidth of 4 Mbits is available for all users.
In both sites there are rooms used as ofives and laboratories and technology platforms and joiintly used rooms such as a reception area, a canteen, bar and and a small guest house, conference and training course facilities.

Companies:: 17
Area:: 10.928 m²
Total Number of Employees:: about 500

Sectors

ICT and Industry
- Telecommunications
- Multimedia
- Electronics/Electro-Technology
- Microelectronics
- Mechanics
- Measure, Control and Testing instruments
- Robotics
- Industrial automation
- Process automation
- Software
Life Sciences und Materials
- Biotechnology
- Diagnostics
- Biomedicine
- Pharmaceutics
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
Agricultural/food
- Food technologies
- Agricultural production
- Transformation of products
- Microbiology
- Hygiene examinations
Energy and Environment
- Physics
- Energy
- Marine Technologies
- Environmental protection

Services

Research and Development
- Research and Development inside the park
- Administration of external research projects
- Technology transfer
- Commercialization of technologies
Human Resources
- Organisation of conferences, courses and seminars
- Staff training
- Partnerships with universities and other research institutes
- Management consultancy
Business
- Confidential economic data
- Development of business contacts
- Consultancy related to intellectual property
- Access to venture capital
- Network formations
Administrative services
- Consultancy for dealing with public administration
- Support of relations with the EU
- Technical support in the selection of locations by companies and laboratory facilities
Other services
- Territorial marketing
- Location marketing
- Consultancy for public administration related to energy resources
- Environmental services

Data and Facts

Key data

Founded in: 2003
Seats: 2
Companies: 17
Employees: about 500
Area for research facilities and offices: differing (the areas can upon enquiry be set up as laboratories)
Total area: 10.928 m²

Settled enterprises and centres

Area Marina Protetta Capo Caccia
Isola Piana
Biodiversity SpA
CardioSim
CNR, Istituto di Genetica delle Popolazioni
CNR, Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare
Euroclone SpA
GLOBI snc
Ingenia Srl
ISOGEM Srl
Lea Nanotech Srl
Methab Srl
Prion Diagnostica Srl
SI.GE.CO. - Sistemi Gestionali Computerizzati Srl
Società Generale per l'Industria della Magnesia SpA, Gruppo Solvay
Università di Sassari, Laboratorio di Scienza dei Materiali e Nanotecnologie
Università di Sassari, Laboratorio di Visione Artificiale

Objectives

Enhancement of the technology level of companies and institutions
Enhancement of the competitiveness of companies
Economic exploitation of the scientific results
Foundation of new companies
Attracting investors
Technological consulting for companies and institutions
Intensification of relations between universities and companies
Build-up of new research activities
Enhancement of the job quality
Creation of new jobs
Site marketing

Network

APSTI (Italian Association of the Science and Technology Parks)
IASP (International Association of the Science and Technology Parks)
Enterprise Europe Network (Consorzio CINEMA)
PATLIB - Patent Library Network
APRE - Agency for the Promotion of European Research

Location

Location and Environment

	Name	Inhabitants	Distance
Location	Alghero	40.887	20 km
University	University of Cagliari		260 km
	University of Sassari		40 km
Cluster	Cork processing
	Granite and marble
	Carpet crafts
	ICT		Several locations

Infrastructure

	Name	Distance
Airport	Alghero Riviera del Corallo	18 km
	Cagliari "Mario Mameli"	250 km
Railway Station	Alghero	18 km
Harbor	Porto Torres	42 km

Links

The “Porto Canale di Cagliari” is the most important container port in Sardinia and is situated 37 km from Polaris. The port is administered by the 'Cagliari International Container Terminal' company (CICT), which again belongs to the Contship Italia Group. It is not only a transhipment hub but also a central regional market junction. With the help of this port and the numerous cooperations with the most important compnies in Sardinia, both the export potential can be extended and also new partnerships formed. GENERAL INFORMATION Access Channel: Width: 216 m Depth: 21 – 16 m Widht of the Beckens: 600 m Distance to berth: 1.5 n.m. Width of the channel: 216 m

Technology transfer

Inclusion in EU project: EEN (Enterprise Europe Network)

The new network 'Enterprise Europe Network' results from the professional growth of the prior network of the Innovation RelayCentre and the Euro Info Centre. It bundles competences, services and instruments, which serve the SMEs as the basis for the increase in their innovation potential. Moreover, they are intended to facilitate access to EU-funding programmes for internationalisation and innovation. The CINEMA (Central Italy Network to Enhance coMpetitive business Activities) integrated in the park is a memnber of EEN and covers all five regions (Tuscany, Marken, Umbria, Latium and Sardinia) and 22 partners. The overall coordination again is held by the Pisa Ricerche consortium.

visits and audits to assess enterprises’ technology potential and requirements
technology brokerage through the European networks
assistance in early-stage negotiation of technology transfer agreements
organisation of technology transfer info days and thematic seminars
support for participation in brokerage events and technology transfer days organised in collaboration with European partners.

Contacts to foreign companies are welcomed in the following areas:

Companies and research institutes, active in the following segments: ICT (Information and communications Technology), Biomedicine, Bioinformatics, Industrial Biotechnology (specifically Nanotechnology, Agricultural industry, Proteomics, The Environment/Biodiversity)

Research and Development

Programmes and services

Integrated Innovation Programmes (Programmi Integrati di Innovazione - P.I.I.). These are designed to support process, product and organisational innovation in Sardinian enterprises belonging to the same sectoral, geographical or operational area, through a set of actions (information, technology facilitation, innovation, enterprise creation, training etc.)
R&D programmes. These are support programmes for the implementation of industrial research and pre-competitive development projects by enterprises operating in Sardinia.
Integrated Service Programmes (Programmi Integrati di Servizi - P.I.S.). These programmes are reserved exclusively for the services, local areas or sectoral chains identified from time to time by Sardegna Ricerche, which also defines the contents of each programme (methodology, quality standards, objectives, etc.). Service delivery is accompanied by facilitation, training and mentoring activities, in which the beneficiary Sardinian enterprises are required to participate.
Pilot or Cluster Projects. A tool developed by Sardegna Ricerche to raise awareness and encourage adoption of innovative process, product and organisational solutions by Sardinian enterprises belonging to the same industry cluster or production chain. By means of pilot projects, the enterprises belonging to a specific economic sector, starting from analysis of their technology, production and market requirements and ranking their priorities, identify a specific area for common action.

Incubator and Incentives

Incubator

Every company has about 70 sqm, moreover they are offered 100 sqm for joint use of the services/ equipment, 700 sqm of public, delimit able premises and also 140 sqm offered for research assistance
Standard equipment of each incubator (exclusive use): workbenches, extractors for chemicals, heatable magnet agitators, agitators with vibration function, refrigerator, deep freeze, fax, printer and computer
Special laboratory instruments upon request: centrifuges, diverse thermostatic baths, analytic and also technical analyses, cryothermostat (circulating), heat tables, etc
Special retrench equipment upon request: HPLC, PCR Real Time, LC Massa, cold chamber, MilliQ, etc
The Park offers three different possibilities for the location: bioincubator, standard incubator and also in an ICT farm (special information and communications technology)

Regional incentives

POR - FESR Sardinia 2007-2013: Contains funding of about € 1.7 billion for the period 2007-2013. Further measures of the Regional Support Programme (POR) provide funding for research, trials and pre-competiton development.
Regional application programme FAS (Fund for Little Used Areas) 2007-2013: Some strategic measures of the programme include funds for research, innovation and technology transfer.
Regional Law No. 7 dated 07. August 2007: Support of scientifc research and technological innovation in Sardinia. Aims: a) Promotion, support and dissemination of scientific culture; b) Development, recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff in the regional research system; c) Support of the regional research system and its internationalisation; d) Rationalisation of the organisation, programming and application of the regional measures in the research field; e) Development of close cooperation between basic research and the corporate system.

National incentives

Enactment of Law No. 297 dated 27. July 1999: Contains non-repayable subsidies for industrial research and pre-competition development.
Enactment of Law No. 2 dated 28.01.09: Contains tax relief for research and development activities. Companies from all sectors can claim this, with the exception of companies in difficulties in accordance with the conmmon guidelines for state assistance for bailing out and restructruring comapnies in difficulties.

European incentives

The seventh framework programme for research and technological development 2007-2013 includes funding for the conduct of R&D projects. The aim is the enhancement of Sardinia's competitiveness.