The latest call under the Government’s €500 million Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is now open for applications. Administered by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the fund aims to encourage collaborations between industry and the research sector for the development and commercialisation of ground-breaking technologies and seed a new wave of start-ups.
More than €370 million has already been allocated to 104 successful projects approved under the six previous DTIF calls since 2019. These projects cover a wide range of societally important areas including life sciences, medical devices, ICT, manufacturing and the environment. They also include 46 projects involving artificial intelligence which were awarded a total of €162.5 million between them.
“What we look for is projects that are developing novel technologies that have the potential to disrupt the market,” explains Imelda Lambkin, disruptive technologies, innovation and knowledge transfer manager with Enterprise Ireland. “We are looking for exciting projects that are at the forefront rather than making incremental steps forward. Funding of €1.5 million and above is available for successful projects.”
To be eligible for funding, each project team must have a minimum of three independent partners including at least one SME and one other enterprise partner along with a research performing organisation. “Each project has at least two or three companies coming together with an academic partner,” Lambkin notes. “Sometimes more partners are involved. We have high potential start-ups [HPSU] companies right the way through to multinational corporations like IBM and Analog Devices involved in projects along with high-end academics working with the teams. It’s the combination of partners that makes the difference. Everyone brings something to the table. The projects wouldn’t be successful without that.”
One of the projects funded in a previous call is E-crop, which is developing tools to monitor soil and crop health, thereby improving crop productivity with reduced chemical inputs. The team comprises University College Dublin with industry partners E-Seed Crop Technology Solutions, SeqBiome and Lárionad Acmhainní Nádúrtha.
Mincon Group, Subsea Micropiles and University College Dublin are working on micropile, a prototype robotic drilling system and anchor template for the installation of micropiled anchor foundations that will be load tested to prove suitability for a wide range of applications including offshore wind.
In the food sector, Dawn Farm Foods, Creme Software and University College Dublin are working on Perception, a software platform to predict the human sensory quality attributes of food products for taste, health benefits and minimal waste.
PerPETual aims to reduce landfill and incineration of waste plastic by creating a technology that will allow polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics to be continually recycled and converted into valuable resources. The project is led by researchers at TUS, in partnership with University College Cork, AvonCourt Packaging and Novelplast.
The QCoIr project is developing a software platform for quantum computing technologies. The project team comprises IBM Ireland, Tyndall National Institute, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Rockley Photonics Ireland, Equal 1 Laboratories Ireland, and Mastercard Ireland.
“Projects funded under the DTIF are looking at everything from crop health to quantum computing,” Lambkin notes. “A point we often make is that the projects cover everything from energy infrastructure at the bottom of the ocean to optical communications in outer space.”
She points to other benefits from the programme. “One of its strengths is that the HPSUs learn how to interact and engage with large multinationals and academic partners. We have seen small companies attract investment rounds as a result of their participation in DTIF while others have been acquired. We have also seen examples of academic research teams being brought into major companies to establish new departments. The funding is helping to create new employment pipelines.”
There has been a change to the way the latest call is being run. “Typically, we open calls with a three-month deadline,” Lambkin explains. “With this one we have a rolling deadline and teams can apply any time up until the end of April next year. But they can submit today if they want. The sooner the better as far as we are concerned.”
The aim is to make it more user friendly. “While a deadline does focus minds, we want to give people with ideas time to engage with development advisers in Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Údarás na Gaeltachta to help them decide if the DTIF is right for them.”
Another new development is a conference for DTIF participants to be held in the Printworks in Dublin Castle on September 9th. “For the first time, we are bringing the DTIF community together to discuss their experiences. We also want people who are interested in the DTIF to come along to learn about it directly from the companies and academics involved.”