The concentration of science actors in convergence hubs, e.g. around technology platforms, can enable the sharing of facilities, equipment and skilled technicians by different technology and research fields. However, platforms are difficult to map and are likely to have few commercial or publishable outputs. Scarce funding should prompt large and smaller players to increase participation in co-operative projects, support “smart specialisation” and encourage technology monitoring and foresight analysis in order to identify technological niches and long-term technology developments.