The celebration of its 50th anniversary, the change of presidency and the boost in the creation of new start-ups are the main milestones in 2024.
It obtains ENAC accreditation for its industrial cybersecurity laboratory, the first in Spain, designed to carry out cybersecurity tests on industrial automation and control systems.
The centre incorporates 46 new employees and 11 PhD students, and continues its commitment to strengthening its differential employment offer.
Arrasate-Mondragón, 22 May 2025 - IKERLAN, a technology centre that is a member of the MONDRAGON Corporation and the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), closed its 50th anniversary year with a turnover of 33 M€, an increase of nearly 7,4 % compared to 2023. This increase was largely due to demand from companies and the strength of technology transfer projects, which reached 18 million euros, an increase of 13 % and consolidating the centre's leadership in this strategic area.
IKERLAN's research activity also stands out in 2024, with income of over 13 million euros, very similar to that obtained in 2023. It is currently working on more than 70 research projects, 39 of them European (leading 7), in addition to different key state and regional initiatives in the Basque Country.
All this thanks to a team of more than 400 highly qualified professionals, which will be joined in 2024 by 46 new recruits and 11 PhD students.
2024 was a particularly important year for the organisation, not only because of the celebrations to mark its half-century of history, but also because of the changeover in the presidency with the arrival of Adolfo Plaza, who replaced José Miguel Lazkanotegi, and the promotion of a new cooperative start-up model together with MONDRAGON, which combines technological entrepreneurship with cooperative values.
The year was also marked by the definition of the IK2027 Strategic Plan. A roadmap focused on coherent and sustainable growth, on leading strategic projects for the country and on moving towards a more dynamic, agile organisation connected with technological, economic and social challenges and trends.
IKERLAN has a diversified portfolio of customers, both SMEs and large corporations, in strategic sectors for society. In 2024, 39 % of its turnover from transfer projects came from the transport and mobility sector, followed by energy (19 %), manufacturing (16 %) and electronics and ICT (13 %). Its clients include companies such as ORONA, CAF, LABORAL KUTXA, the FAGOR GROUP and CEGASA, as well as multinationals such as NESTLÉ, TELEFÓNICA and ACCENTURE, among others.
In his speech at the Ordinary General Assembly held today in Arrasate-Mondragón, Ion Etxeberria, IKERLAN's Director General, stated that "2024 has been a very positive year for the centre, with significant progress in all our areas of activity. The trend of increasing transfer income and maintaining research income allows us to strengthen the strategic balance between the two and achieve the objectives defined in our strategic plan. It has also been a memorable year in the social field, with a programme of events for the 50th anniversary that has had a great impact and an exceptional level of participation".
For his part, IKERLAN's President, Adolfo Plaza, emphasised during the event that the technology centre "has become a benchmark in technological development and knowledge transfer to companies, and faces the future with renewed energy and a firm vocation for economic and social impact on its environment".
First cybersecurity laboratory in Spain accredited by ENAC
With the accreditation of its Industrial Cybersecurity Laboratory in 2024, IKERLAN has become the first laboratory in Spain accredited by ENAC to carry out cybersecurity tests on industrial automation and control systems.
This is a major achievement for the maintenance of cybersecurity in industrial environments, taking into account the risks and threats associated with industrial infrastructures and the challenge of properly protecting them. With this accreditation, IKERLAN's cybersecurity laboratory becomes a European benchmark and consolidates IKERLAN's position as an international leader in the field of cybersecurity.
Creation of the MONDRAGON Knowledge Division
The creation and launch of the MONDRAGON Knowledge Division is another important milestone for 2024. This new division will contribute to strengthening IKERLAN's synergies both with MONDRAGON UNIBERTSITATEA and with the rest of MONDRAGON's innovation, knowledge and training agents, and to maximising the joint contribution of value to society.
ORBIK, IKERLAN and MONDRAGON's disruptive cooperative start-up model
During his presentation at the assembly, Ion Etxeberria highlighted IKERLAN's commitment to the creation of valuable employment through the valorisation of its technological assets. Among the different business initiatives launched since 2023, he highlighted BATTBELT, an electrical energy storage company that has won 2nd prize at the MUBIL Awards. Among the different business initiatives launched from 2023, he highlighted BATTBELT, an electrical energy storage company that won 2nd prize in the MUBIL Awards and ORBIK CYBERSECURITY, which in 2024 has completed its transformation into a cooperative, thanks to the support of MONDRAGON, becoming the first mixed cooperative technology start-up, ‘laying the foundations for a new model of collective technological entrepreneurship with local roots, high social value and future projection, and which also opens the doors to new initiatives such as INNKIA Artificial Intelligence, created in 2025 together with LABORAL Kutxa’, added Etxeberria.
Scientific reference research
In 2024, IKERLAN published 48 scientific articles, 34 of them in high-impact journals, and registered 47 new patents and registrations. It also kept 55 doctoral theses active, with 11 new ones started and 6 completed. In addition to its strategic collaboration with MONDRAGON UNIBERTSITAREA, the centre strengthened its collaborative network with universities such as UPV/EHU, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the University of Cantabria and international institutions such as INESC TEC in Portugal, consolidating its role as a reference research agent.
About IKERLAN
IKERLAN is a leading centre in technology transfer and in providing competitive value to industry and companies in general. It offers integral solutions combining different technological domains in three main areas: digital technologies and artificial intelligence, embedded electronic systems and cybersecurity, and mechatronic and energy technologies. It currently has a team of 420 people and offices in Arrasate-Mondragón, Donostialdea and Bilbao. As a cooperative member of the MONDRAGON Corporation and the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), IKERLAN represents a sustainable, competitive business model in permanent transformation.
- Income from R&D projects with companies reaches 18 M€ (+12,5 % compared to 2023), following the trend of recent years.