- Leitat has taken part in meetechSpain 2026, the meeting point for Spain’s Technology Centres promoted by Fedit, sharing technological capabilities and contributing to discussions and collaborative activities focused on the challenge of habitability beyond Earth.
This year’s edition explored how to make human life and activity possible in extreme environments with limited resources, a challenge that requires expertise across areas such as health, food, biotechnology, energy, materials, digitalisation and resource management.
This approach is closely aligned with Leitat’s vision: major technological challenges require complementary capabilities to be connected and addressed through collaboration.
Self-sufficiency and closed ecosystems
Dirk Saseta, Business & Operations Director at Leitat, took part in the round table “Self-sufficiency: life, biotechnological resources and closed ecosystems”, focused on the technologies required to move from surviving to living on the Moon.
The session addressed challenges including life-support systems, air and water recycling, oxygen production, resource extraction, food and biotechnology, bio-regenerative systems and digital health.
Alongside Dirk Saseta, the discussion brought together Juan Luis Romera, from CDTI; Patricia Villalba, from Naturgy; Laura García Carmona, from ITE; and Carolina Arnau, from the MELISSA Pilot Plant at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Alvar Gràcia, Senior Researcher in Leitat’s Bioresources and Agri-food Technologies area, took part in the Technology Challenge, working as part of a multidisciplinary team to propose innovative solutions to a real technological challenge.
Health and food for extreme environments
Leitat also showcased two technologies linked to essential needs for any habitable environment: health and food.
OGYX SPACE is a human organ-on-chip platform designed to study how tissues respond under extreme conditions and to develop models that are more representative of human physiology.
Leitat also presented its capabilities in 3D food printing, aimed at developing personalised nutrition solutions by precisely controlling parameters such as food shape, texture and composition.
Although these are very different technologies, both demonstrate Leitat’s ability to integrate knowledge, applied research and technological innovation to address complex challenges.
In addition to Dirk Saseta and Alvar Gràcia, Leitat was represented at meetechSpain 2026 by Alba Caparrós, Head of Market Intelligence, and Jordi Velasco, National Business Director.
Our thanks to Fedit, the Spanish Federation of Technology Centres, for promoting meetechSpain and creating a space where collaboration and technology come together to turn future challenges into new opportunities for innovation.
