Notes on exploitation of publicly-funded science and technology projects.

1. C-Tech Innovation
Profitable Growth through Innovation
From Collaboration to Exploitation:
A personal view of the journey
David Gardner

2. 2
Growth is fuelled by innovation
Our Aim
• To collaborate with and support businesses where
innovation and technology are the core drivers for
commercial success
Our Offer
• Product and process development from idea to market
• Engineering design and first-of-type demonstrators
• Innovation support services
The Company
• Employee owned
• Grown to a team of 70 committed technologists & business
innovation consultants
• Success of our clients and collaborators is key to our
business
C-Tech Innovation

3. 3
Our Organisation

4. Today’s scientific invention is the cornerstone of
tomorrow’s world
Collaboration is vital for the company to develop our IP
portfolio:
• Leader in international collaborative research, currently leading
or partnering in 30 research programmes with a value of around
€40M
We operate in key technology areas
• Advanced thermal processing
• Electrochemical technologies
• Innovative chemistry
• Monitoring and sensors
• Novel processing
4
Research & Development

5. Business growth is fuelled by successful application of
new scientific discovery
We develop and commercialise processes and build
equipment for the food, chemical and advanced material
industries
Specialisms include
• Thermal processing
• microwave, radio frequency, ohmic, plasma
• Electro-chemistry
• waste treatment, metals processing, fuel cells, flow
batteries
Engineering Design Service
• Commercially available design, analysis, manufacturing
and life cycle assessment capability
5
Manufacturing Development

6. 6
Concept design
&
scoping
Research
&
Development
Prototyping
Markets:
Assessments,
Access,
Planning, IP
Commercialisation:
Product, Process
&
Service launch
Ideation, Strategy,
Opportunity
spotting
Innovation,
Creativity
The Innovation Journey

7. The (In)Famous Valley
Taken from Sandia National Laboratories: Example for PV Industry

8. Why Collaborate?
• Complementary technical skills
• Access to new markets
• Completing the supply chain
• Development of new areas of interest
• Introduction to world experts
• Share the risks
• Provide critical input to product /
process development for mutual
benefit

9. Reasons Not to Collaborate?
• Supporting others less developed (both
technically but also project management)
• Compromise the overall aim by combining
technologies that don’t fit
• Competing technologies
• Lack of control in actions of other partners
• Share the risks (again)!!
• Different objectives – divergent progress
• Competition in final exploitation

10. Identifying partners
• Working with established partnerships
• Use databases of existing projects (e.g.
gateway to research or CORDIS
http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/,
http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html
• Technology specific activity (e.g.
Coordinated Support Actions in FP7)
• Knowledge Transfer Network

11. Identifying partners

12. Focus on Exploitation
Plan for Use for Development of
Foreground (PUDF)
Exploitable results
Partner Result 1 Result 2 Result 3 Result 4 Result 5
Org A
Org B
Org C
Org D

13. Focus on Exploitation
For each exploitable result – ask these questions
Question
1 Description
2 Likely markets including size in € per year
3 benefits to the market
4 When will the result be achieved by you
5 When will the result be launched on the market
6 What costs will be incurred after project end?
7 Is there any competitive alternative to this result
8 If so, how does this result compare?
9 How is your competition likely to respond?
10 What commercial benefits are likely to be achieved by this
result
11 What societal benefits
12 What environmental benefits
13 Which other project partners have been involved
14 Have you protected this result
15 What other benefits are likely to arise

14. Focus on Exploitation
M Manufacture I intend to manufacture and sell e.g. a new design of tool
C Consultancy I intend to provide consultancy services e.g. advice on how to improve
the conventional process used by a 3rd party
U Internal usage Use internally to make something else for sale e.g. a newly developed
chemical which improves the efficiency of my production plant
this could also apply to a university or research institute using
Foreground to make a application for new research funding
O Other Other exploitation not listed elsewhere (explain in a note). Try to
minimise the use of this category!
B Background
knowledge
I contributed technical or market know-how to this result which I
generated prior to joining the project
F Foreground
knowledge
I generated this new knowledge during the project.
L Licence I intend to licence this result to third parties e.g. this would
particularly apply where a patent has been taken out
P Publish I intend to publish this would particularly apply to universities or
researchers

15. Business Model Canvas
Value Creation Value Proposition
Revenue Model

16. Exploitation Planning
• When should you do this, and who
should be present?
• Agree on lead organisation to exploit
the result
• Agree split on exploitation options
• Prioritise between options
• Develop specific exploitation plans

17. www.ctechinnovation.com
+44 (0)151 347 2900