State can show foresight by backing successes of Disruptive Technologies Innovation Funding

• Published date: 23 March 2023

Proposed projects can seek at least €1.5 million of public funding over three years. Each proposal should have at least three independent partners in Ireland, including at least one small or medium enterprise (SME) and at least one larger company. The closing date for submissions is May 31st

The DTIF has a €500 million allocation under the 2018 and 2021 National Development Plans. It aims to reduce the financial risk to collaborative initiatives which could disrupt a global market, transforming the way in which we work and live in the future. A secondary goal is to protect existing companies from the impact of anarchic technologies developed elsewhere, by suitable preparation.

As background, the State has invested relatively heavily over 20 years in research and development via Science Foundation Ireland into the Irish academic system and industrial research collaborations, with a budget of €222 million in 2021 alone. The public commitment to world-class research is doubtless one reason for continued interest by the multinational sector in Irish operations, tapping into a talent pool of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, as well as into advanced outcomes and results.

Recipients of funds from the DTIF potentially can exploit this foundation to pull innovation through to significant global commercial impact.

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More than 80 projects with a total public investment of €275 million have been supported in the first four calls. The announcement of the results of the fifth call, which closed in July 2022, are expected imminently.

The department highlights some of the funded projects in its YouTube channel. These include real-time monitoring of water quality in a collaboration between TechWorks Marine (an SME) and Dublin City University, and a sound and vision platform for voice-enabled toys involving Soapbox Labs (an SME), Xperi (a Californian public company) and the University of Galway. Others include laser-based transmission systems for situations where physical connections (eg fibre optic cables) are unfeasible, involving Pilot Photonics and mBryonics (two SMEs), Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin, and a novel approach to screening candidate drugs for clinical trials, with Hooke Bio (an SME), Munster Technical University and the University of Galway.

Further projects highlighted in a February promotion in this newspaper include a device to help reduce heart...