Lorenzo Agostini is a mechanical engineer, researcher, and deep-tech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of AdapTronics, a University of Bologna spin-off specialising in electroadhesive technologies for industrial and space robotics.
He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, with a specialisation in Mechatronics and Robotics, and further broadened his academic experience through a study period at the University of Waterloo in Canada. After gaining professional experience in the industrial sector at Bosch, he earned a PhD with honours in Emerging Digital Technologies from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. His research focused on the reliability and predictive diagnostics of elastomeric electromechanical transducers. He also conducted international research at Saarland University in Germany.
He subsequently joined the University of Bologna as a fixed-term researcher (RTD-A), working on the development of electromechanical transducers and adaptive mechatronic devices based on electrostatic forces. This research led to the technology underpinning AdapTronics, which he founded in 2022 together with Camilla Conti and Professor Rocco Vertechy.
AdapTronics develops a thin, sensorised electro-active film technology that, when electrically activated, enables robots and automated machines to grip objects of different shapes and materials with exceptional versatility and low energy consumption. It eliminates the need for pneumatic or magnetic systems and conventional mechanical grippers. Its applications range from industrial automation and the handling of delicate products to satellite servicing, in-orbit operations, and space-debris capture.
As CEO, Lorenzo combines scientific expertise, entrepreneurial vision, and managerial capabilities, leading the company’s technological development, fundraising, internationalisation, and growth. Under his leadership, AdapTronics secured funding through the EIC Accelerator and raised more than €6 million in grants and private financing.
He has also completed an Executive MBA in Business Innovation at MIB Trieste School of Management. Today, his work is focused on transforming advanced research into practical, scalable solutions, with the ambition of establishing electroadhesion as a new standard for robotic manipulation on Earth and in space.