Photonics in Catalonia

Catalonia is home to 174 photonics companies. They all have an aggregate turnover of 1,859 million euros, generating 9,434 jobs.

Download our report about Photonics in Catalonia

Catalonia, a dynamic growth field for photonics.

Catalan companies in the field of photonics have increased by 51% in the last three years and now reach 174. All of them have an aggregate turnover that has also grown by 9%, to 1,859 million euros and generates 9,434 jobs

Of the total number of companies in the photonics ecosystem in Catalonia, 88% are SMEs. In addition, it is a highly globalized ecosystem, as 62% are exporters.

On the other hand, 58% of the total turnover is more than one million euros, while 28% have more than 10 million euros in sales. This is a dynamic and growing field, as 22% of companies are startups.

This information has been taken from the Catalonia Trade & Investment report "Photonics in Catalonia."

Sectors of activity

Regarding scope, 44% work in Industry 4.0, which has grown strongly compared to 13% in 2018.

In Catalonia, this ecosystem mainly uses technologies such as sensors, scanning systems, image capture (42%), and advanced lighting (28%).

Photonics also uses technologies such as laser systems, communications and networking, display and display systems, photovoltaic systems, and quantum technologies.

Search our database to find Catalan suppliers in the Photonics sector. 

“Catalonia can build a very strong hub in quantum and photonics technology”

Carlos Abellan, co-founder & CEO of Quside Technologies

  • 174 companies

  • €1,859M in turnover

  • 9,434 jobs

Catalonia, a hub of photonics in Southern Europe

The Photonics in Catalonia report also highlights the relevance of the institutions and initiatives that drive the sector in Catalonia, with a strong emphasis on the field of research and the transfer of technology to the market through the generation of spinoffs.

The report highlights the fact that Catalonia has entities such as:

In this sense, the report points out that 84 Catalan entities have raised up to 89 million euros in European research funds for Horizon 2020 related to photonics between 2014 and 2020. This represents 2.5% of the total fund, a figure higher than that corresponding to Catalonia by population volume (1.5%).

Photonics on a global scale

According to the report, photonics is experiencing 6% annual growth, and forecasts suggest that the global photonics market will reach more than 900 billion euros by 2025.

China has the largest market share in global photonics, with 29% of the total. Europe is the world's second-largest photonics market, with 16%. Its major producers are Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, which together account for 70% of the photonics market share on the continent.

 


 

Main players and events in photonics.

Here is a list of the main players involved in the photonics ecosystem of Barcelona-Catalonia.

  • Barcelona Supercomputing Center

  • Alba Synchrotron

  • Secpho

  • CD6 - UPC

  • ICFO

Related success stories
in Barcelona-Catalonia.