The Città Metropolitana di Torino is a large area of 6.827 Km2, located in Piedmont Region, North-western Italy. It is historically characterised by a strong industrialisation, particularly in mechanical and automobile sectors. In the latest thirty years, the economic and social dynamics of Piedmont Region and of Città Metropolitana di Torino were marked by a slow growth of the main economic indicators and by the ageing of the population.
The world economic crisis has heavily affected Piedmont Region, which had a decrease of the internal product of 1.7% per year in the 2008-2012 period.
The enterprises that were more successful in facing the crisis are those oriented to international markets, producing high-quality goods both for consumption and for international supply chains.
The sectors that showed the best capacity to resist the crisis are food, chemistry and pharmacology, automotive, aerospace, production systems.
Piedmont Region administration promoted in its territory ten innovation poles, related to the main regional clusters; four of these innovation poles are located in the territory of Città Metropolitana di Torino.
They are: - Information and communication technologies
- Mechatronics and advanced production systems
- Sustainable architecture and hydrogen
- Biotechnologies and biomedical industry
Innovation poles are coordination structures among the different actors of the innovation process in a specific sector: innovative start-ups, SMEs, big enterprises, research institutions. The poles give infrastructures and services with a high added value, to stimulate innovation activities through intensive interaction, the common use of installations and knowledge and experience exchanges. The aim is to contribute effectively to technology transfer and to the diffusion of information among the different actors.
Piedmont Region smart specialisation strategy is concentrated on two priority innovation fields:
- Innovation of productive system
- Innovation for health, demographic change and wellbeing
Environment Park in Torino – seat of innovation pole for sustainable architecture and hydrogen
In the field of innovation of productive system, five innovation areas have been identified: aerospace, automotive, green chemistry and cleantech, “made in Piedmont” brand, mechatronics. A sixth innovation area is referred to health and wellbeing.
In the following paragraphs, you can find a brief description of these priority fields.
Aerospace
Enterprises working in aerospace sector carry on different activities: construction of special machinery and tools, precision mechanical works, design and construction of production plants, special vehicles. These productions are joined by a series of services supporting design and prototyping.
Automotive
Our region has got know-how concerning all sectors of automotive industry: cars, light and heavy commercial vehicles, buses and agriculture vehicles. The automotive sector can supply accessories and components, machinery, tools and services, particularly in styling and engineering fields, and all the information technology components.
Maserati Levante production in Mirafiori factory in Torino
Green chemistry and cleantech
This area concerns the development of new sustainable products such as bioplastics and biofuels. It also refers to the activities related to waste management oriented to the reutilization of chemicals and the production of fuels and second matters.
Mechatronics
Our region has excellent competences in mechatronics and advanced production systems: mechanics, electrotechnics, electronics and information technology. These competences are well integrated and they often form complete industrial production chains.
Made in Piedmont
This label refers to the consolidated regional vocation to quality and excellence in some sectors that are less important as to the dimensions but recognised at international levels, such as food, textile and design.
Health and wellbeing
Research in the fields of bioengineering and biotechnologies includes different fields, the most important are oncologic, cardiovascular, neurologic and neuroscience sectors.
