The future of Catalonia's economic sectors lies in start-ups. The small ideas of an entrepreneur who one morning decided to start building something are what ultimately drive the economy in times of growth. There are increasingly more emerging companies in Catalonia willing to carve out a place for themselves in the business world. Health, talent, agri-food are just some of the sectors in which technology has managed to improve processes, automate tasks, and discover new tools; all thanks to start-ups willing to take risks to improve society. From Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW 2026), they wanted to recognize the emerging companies that this year have revolutionized the eight sectors into which this 2026 event is divided: Gaming, Energy, Science, Health, Agrofood, Aviation & Space, and Talent. Eight companies, then, that despite the difficulties and the hundred applications that were sent, have managed to find their place in the Catalan business ecosystem.
“The BNEW Awards highlight entrepreneurial talent and people's ability to transform innovative ideas into solutions with real impact,” said Blanca Sorigué, general director of the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB). The awards ceremony was presided over by the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and accompanied by the executive president of the CZFB, Pere Navarro, and the general director herself. In his speech, the mayor of Barcelona recalled that "talent, intuition, and the entrepreneurial capacity of people are irreplaceable elements, even in the midst of the artificial intelligence era." He added that “the need to bring innovation closer to start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises so that it translates into real opportunities for economic growth.” This year, the 7th edition of BNEW has brought together more than 12,000 attendees from 96 countries and in which 11,753 networking contacts have been made.
Alongside, playing to heal
Oncological treatments can be complicated procedures, with many moments of sadness and frustration, especially in children. It is not easy to feel accompanied and understood in these circumstances and everything can become overwhelming. Alongside was born with the aim of promoting accompaniment in these pediatric oncology patients. "We believe that technology, play, and narrative can become complementary tools to humanize this experience, give more prominence to the child, and offer them a space adapted to their language and their way of understanding the world," says Ingrid Canal, founder of Alongside. The startup, recognized with the award for best start-up at BNEW Gaming, has developed a digital emotional support tool aimed at children undergoing oncological treatment. The solution uses a narrative and symbolic universe to transform medical routines, self-care, and emotional expression into small adventure missions based on positive reinforcement. Its objective —beyond accompaniment— is active participation and to help minors gain a sense of control during treatment. According to BNEW, the proposal integrates the humanization of care, patient experience, and emotional well-being through an interactive narrative specifically designed for pediatric oncology, without competitive dynamics, penalties, or elements that could generate guilt.
Torch, an independent assistant
Technology advances so fast that at many times it can surpass the level of understanding of some people. That is why easy and adapted solutions are needed to simplify daily processes. The winner of best Energy start-up at BNEW is Torch Smart Urban Solutions, a company from Sant Feliu de Llobregat that develops and licenses a patented Green AI device capable of operating autonomously using solar energy, without connection to the electricity grid or the internet. The system allows voice interaction with artificial intelligence in different languages, facilitating access to information and knowledge for people who find barriers in the use of technology. Its areas of application, which also already have a pilot test underway, are autonomous solar traffic lights and smart bus stops. "Our technology breaks three fundamental dependencies: the energy dependency, because it runs on 100% solar energy; the technological dependency, because it is a sovereign AI that does not rely on large corporations, external servers with a high negative impact on the environment, or recurring payments; and, above all, the social dependency, because it provides mobility autonomy and access to useful information to anyone, regardless of their circumstances or abilities," explains Javier Peña, co-founder and CEO of the company.
NoctuRNA Therapeutics, AI and biology for new therapies
Founded in 2022 as a spin-off of Pompeu Fabra University, NoctuRNA Therapeutics develops circular RNA-based therapies to address rare neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases, as well as infectious diseases that currently lack effective treatments. The company combines artificial intelligence and molecular biology to identify new therapeutic targets and design molecules capable of modulating them specifically. In this way, it manages to be much more precise in treatments. "Our goal is to turn NoctuRNA into an international reference biotechnology company in the development of circular RNA-based therapies," assures Miriam Corredor, CEO of the company. Currently, it is working on programs related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, myotonic dystrophy type 1, and Huntington's disease, in addition to investigating candidates against high-impact health viruses. "For us, success would be having contributed to creating a new class of medicines and, above all, that some of the treatments born at NoctuRNA would change people's lives," adds Corredor. For all this work, the company takes home the award for best start-up at BNEW 2026 in the Science sector.
Altum Sequencing, technology to detect tumors
The detection of tumors in very early stages can be key for people's recovery. The possibilities open up much more with a premature finding and there are many more treatment options. Technology becomes a key tool to detect diseases early and more and more companies are finding new ways to detect complications before traditional medicine. Altum Sequencing uses state-of-the-art DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence to detect minimal tumor signals from a blood sample. Its technology can identify one tumor cell among a million healthy cells, with the aim of facilitating earlier, more precise, personalized, and non-invasive oncological monitoring. "We want to go from isolated photographs of the disease to a film of its evolution," says Marina Planas, CEO and co-founder of the company. Its cutting-edge technology leaves no one indifferent and they themselves hope to continue growing. In fact, Planas assures that they have set a specific goal. "By 2030, half a million patients will have access to our technology," says the CEO. With this innovative technology, premature detections gain a great tool and thanks to this, it is the winner of the best Health start-up at this year's BNEW.
Timbal AI, governing your artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is growing so fast that it is very difficult to keep up. Many times, moreover, its integration within companies is blurry or ineffective. Many companies could enjoy the advantages of automation and process simplification, but they don't know how to do it. Timbal AI enters the playing field to give a new tool to all these companies. The winner of the best AI start-up at BNEW develops an integral technological ecosystem that allows companies to create, execute, govern, and use artificial intelligence applications adapted to their business. The platform brings together in the same environment the development and execution of AI, the knowledge bases that feed it, and the interfaces through which users interact. Likewise, it integrates business governance, reliability, and data management tools, with the client retaining ownership of the generated code.
POTS, packaging to promote recycling
Sustainability is a concept that cannot be taken lightly, especially at the current time when the effects of climate change are increasingly visible. Reducing the consumption of single-use packaging is key for recycling and POTS has this very clear. The BNEW Agrofood award promotes a consumption model based on reuse. The company collects used containers, transfers them to its washing plant and, after subjecting them to sanitization and quality control processes, returns them to producers and packers so that they can be reincorporated into the consumption circuit. Compared to the manufacturing of new glass containers, the process developed by POTS can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 86%. Currently, they focus on the reuse of glass containers for the food and beverage sectors, including wine, cava, beer, kombucha, spirits, broths and vegetable creams, among others. The company assures that it has already reused more than 400,000 containers, which has generated savings of more than 292 tons of CO₂ equivalent. "POTS wants to demonstrate that sustainability and efficiency can go hand in hand, turning the reuse of packaging into a common practice within the food and beverage sectors and contributing to a future with less waste and fewer emissions," says Marta Sainz Ludevid, founder and CEO of the company.
UVNÉ, professional integration without limits
At many times, migrants find themselves in Catalonia without knowing exactly where to direct their efforts in training and integration into the labor market. To alleviate these differences, UVNÉ was born, a proposal for accompaniment in the professional development of Latin American immigrants in Spain. Through a platform, the company —winner of the award for the best start-up at BNEW Talent— converts each person's previous trajectory and professional objective into a reasoned training path, connecting it with the available educational offer and facilitating its execution and follow-up. According to the company, the main problem is that there is an enormous offer of courses, platforms, and content, but a large part of the process remains fragmented: on the one hand, it is analyzed where a person wants to advance, on the other, training is sought, then studying begins and, many times, the follow-up is completely separated. "What we want to promote is a change of model: to go from managing courses to managing learning and professional development trajectories," explains Victoria Mejias, CEO of the company.
H2 Dron Energy, the innovative hydrogen propulsion
The winner of the BNEW Aviation & Space award is a deeptech start-up that develops hydrogen propulsion systems for professional drones. The technology of H2 Dron Energy aims to extend the autonomy of these aircraft and enable long-duration missions in areas such as emergencies, infrastructure inspection, security, and logistics. In this way, the company develops an integral hydrogen propulsion solution for unmanned aerial vehicles capable of achieving up to three hours of autonomy, eliminating part of the complexity associated with the integration of this technology into aircraft.