Building a sustainable European ecosystem is a story of cooperation without borders

At NANOPROGRESS, we have long been committed to bridging the gap between scientific research and industrial practice, not only in the Czech Republic but also on an international level. Our goal is to build a strong, resilient, and sustainable innovation ecosystem across Europe that will facilitate the sharing of know-how, accelerate the implementation of innovations into specific products, and contribute to addressing key societal challenges.

We are entering into cooperation with neighboring countries

In 2014, we at NANOPROGRESS became involved for the first time in the preparation of an international project aimed at supporting cluster cooperation. The INNO-DROP project laid the groundwork for improving the quality of cluster management in the EU. This was followed by the AdPack and AdPack2 projects, which focused on the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises. These efforts culminated in 2018 with the establishment of the European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) Ad-Pack EEIG, which enabled legally binding cooperation among European cluster organizations.

We invented CEDEG as the metacluster of the future

The experience gained from Ad-Pack EEIG naturally led to the creation of a more robust and open platform. In 2021, the CEDEG, z.s. association was established, taking up the baton and expanding cooperation into new areas of interest, such as digitization and green technologies. CEDEG is not merely the legal successor to the original association, but a fully-fledged umbrella organization that today brings together more than 2,240 entities from 16 European countries, including nearly 1,800 companies and over 330 research institutions.

We helped connect Europe

Thanks to CEDEG, we are able to develop specific international projects, support shared infrastructure, promote common interests within the framework of European cluster support, and create the conditions for truly cross-border innovation. As co-founders of CEDEG, we actively contribute to its strategic direction and, through our membership, build a bridge between Czech researchers and the European innovation ecosystem.

“What began as an idea to establish structured European cooperation has evolved into a functioning ecosystem with a tangible impact. CEDEG is proof that when vision, expertise, and trust come together, it is possible to transcend both geographical and intellectual boundaries.”
Luboš Komárek, Vice-Chairman of CEDEG and Chairman of NANOPROGRESS

You can find more about this metacluster at www.cedeg.eu.