TUD Innovation Pool
The aim of the TUD Innovation Pool is to provide flexible and rapid funding to validate results from research and development projects for practical commercial application. To this end, for example, the functionality in an application-relevant scenario and on an industrial scale is to be made visible, specific companies are to be identified and approached for later use and the economic potential of the application evaluated.
TUD|excite has successfully applied for funding in the validation funding program of the Free State of Saxony. As a result, the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport (SMWA) will make financial resources available from 2022-2025 to support projects for the validation of research results and can be awarded independently and directly by TUD|excite to projects from TUD.
With the TUD Innovation Pool, the TUD aims in particular to promote the commercial exploitation of existing TUD intellectual property (patents, software, secret processes or materials) and to support spin-offs.
Current note (status: 01.12.2024):
The current funding period ends on 31.12.2025. Incoming project applications will be processed in the order in which they are received. Depending on the planned duration, the project must be started in such a way that it can be completed by 31.10.2025.
The available funding has already been largely exhausted. TUDIexcite will therefore rank the project applications that are still being received.
TIP key points
Validation refers to the targeted manner of checking the achievability of technical or economic parameters by a research result that typically exists on a laboratory scale. Technical validation refers to whether parameters specified by the potential users of the future product or by legal standards can be achieved. Economic validation refers to whether there can be customers for a product based on the research result and whether the product can be manufactured economically.
The TIP is aimed at projects
- for the validation of a research result
- on the basis of an existing proof-of-principle
- with a clear application reference and ideally already identified potential users
- preferably with existing patents or other copyright laws
- with a verifiable refinancing potential of the funding through the sale or licensing of the results to an existing company or spin-off or through the use of the results for contract research projects
- Application without deadlines or cut-off dates
- Flexible design of validation projects
- Quick decision on application
- Immediate project start possible after positive decision
- Agile adjustment of objectives and use of funds during the term
- Accompanying advice on the development of an IP portfolio
- Project support from the innovation and startup experts at TUD|excite
TIP project types
The TIP is aimed at different types of projects. Their design can be individually coordinated. The types primarily serve as orientation for typical validation scenarios.
- Bridging/supplementary funding to carry out measurements, test series, prototype construction or similar for technical or regulatory requirements of potential users that are already known in advance;
- Ideally combined with concrete tests directly by potential users; users do not have to be identical to the subsequent transfer partners who manufacture the innovative products;
- Duration of typical projects: 4-6 months
- Budget 30-50T€
- Focus on finding suitable fields of application; typically for widely applicable technologies or processes
- Research, market analyses and initial technical feasibility tests to identify and develop potential fields of application,
- Determination of their requirement profiles and acquisition of partners for further implementation steps
- Typically for broadly usable basic or platform technologies whose commercial use has so far only been clarified for one field of application and ideally has already been implemented in this field
- Duration of typical projects: 3-4 months
- Budget 30-50T€
- More extensive financial support of (further) development activities and testing at potential users in a targeted manner to adapt the technology/process to the potential field of application
- Combination of technical and market evaluation
- Usually investigation for several potential application scenarios
- Typically for projects with larger fixed expenditure blocks (e.g. costs of external certification) or longer test series
- Duration of typical projects: 6-12 months
- Budget 80-90T€
Contact person for questions and applications
© Sven Ellger/TUD
Annegret Wolf
Innovation Management
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