Accelerating LIFE SECURDOMINO’s market readiness with Close-to-Market support

The LIFE SECURDOMINO project, which focuses on improving the resilience of chemical and process plants to physical and cyber threats, has reported significant progress both in technical results and in preparing for market uptake, thanks to tailored Close-to-Market (C2M) support.

The project addresses industrial sites such as energy facilities, oil and gas installations and other hazardous plants that could be potential targets of attacks. Such incidents may trigger cascading effects (knock-on accidents spreading from one facility to others), releasing flammable or toxic substances into the environment and causing accidents that spread to nearby areas. The Secure Domino software , developed within the project, helps operators identify threats, assess associated risks and strengthen safety and security barriers. It has a particular focus on sites falling under the EU Seveso Directive, an EU law governing the prevention of major accidents involving dangerous substances.

Since its launch, the solution has been tested at three demonstration plants, two in Italy and one in the Netherlands. The results are striking: vulnerability at the sites was reduced by around 40% compared to the baseline situation, while overall risks were cut by at least 20%. Additionally, the initiative offers clear environmental benefits, as the software is expected to prevent accidents such as fires and explosions:

- reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 29 tonnes,

- cut nitrogen oxide releases (harmful gases from combustion that damage biodiversity) by around seven kilograms, and

- prevent the spillage of approximately 11 tonnes of fuels, such as petrol and diesel, each year.

Support from the LIFE Programme and C2M

For the project partners, moving from research to commercial reality required new skills. Here, C2M support was instrumental.

"This was the first time we developed a structured business plan. With the support of the LIFE C2M, we learned how to use checklists and conduct interviews to assess project maturity and identify gaps to address", explains Dino Dentone, Senior Software Developer of LIFE SECURDOMINO, in a joint interview with the Project Coordinator Gabriele Landucci.

Both project members state that they strenghtned their mindset toward building a business plan. "For us, as a small Italian company, it was the first time we built one [business plan], so the help of Close-to-Market was very important," Dentone notes.

The support involved market analysis, competitor benchmarking, a go-to-market roadmap, financial modelling and a communication strategy. The feedback from C2M experts and tailored checklists helped the consortium refine its value proposition and scalability. "Thanks to the support, we can now confidently use it to engage partners and make informed commercial decisions," they note.

Gabriele Landucci also remarks that "As a university developing a commercial solution, we saw firsthand how the C2M initiative bridges the academic and business worlds."

Next steps for LIFE SECURDOMINO

Looking to the future, the consortium plans to scale up initially in Tuscany, where around 50 potential customer sites are located, before expanding across Italy, which counts more than 1,000 Seveso plants, and into the Netherlands, through identified partners. Further opportunities may also arise if forthcoming revisions to the Seveso Directive strengthen requirements for integrated safety-security assessments.

Learn more about the project, which focuses on pollution control, human health protection, industrial risks and hazardous substances and risk assessment and monitoring in our project fiche.

The LIFE SECURDOMINO project supports key EU environmental and circular economy policy areas, including the Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions.

How LIFE helps close-to-market projects

LIFE Close-to-Market supports LIFE beneficiaries in bringing their innovative green solutions into the market. The projects gain access to a dedicated support team with extensive experience, offering insights on business coaching, advisory on business strategy development, pitching presentation guidance and expert connections, among other activities.

Looking for support to develop your cleantech solution and bring it to the market? Check out the LIFE Close-to-market page.