17. Intangible assets

Development costs are referred to costs for the design, construction and prototype development for products which have been or are expected to be commercialized and for which it is probable that the expected future economic benefits will flow to the entity.

Industrial patents and intellectual property rights increased for EUR 397 thousand mainly due to the acquisition of licenses for IT systems and software.

Concessions, licenses, trademarks and similar rights with a total carrying amount of EUR 7,573 thousand (EUR 8,620 thousand in 2023) mainly includes the trade names related to Balda companies.

Intangible fixed assets in process and advances refer to ongoing projects which will conclude in subsequent years. Intangible fixed assets and advances increased for EUR 10,408 thousand mainly due to (i) the internally generated costs to support the development of a new packaging platform within the Engineering segment, amounting to EUR 5,553 thousand, and (ii) the costs associated with the Group's ongoing digitalization efforts and other software implementations.

No impairment indicators have been identified for intangible assets and therefore no impairment losses have been accounted for. No changes in the useful life of intangible assets have occurred in all periods presented.