The government has launched a third call for applications to the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, with funding of €1.5m or more available for suitable projects.
This is the third round of the €500m fund, which has already allocated €140m to 43 projects under Calls 1 and 2. These projects covered technologies such as medical devices, cell and gene therapies, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
Enterprise minister Leo Varadkar said: “There has never been a more important time for Irish businesses to adapt and innovate. Not only has Covid-19 fundamentally shifted many traditional ways of working, but technological change too is transforming so many aspects of our lives, having a profound impact on our society and economy.
“This fund will help maintain our position at the forefront of countries that are leading these changes. It will enable dynamic Irish companies and researchers to experiment and develop their ideas, break new ground and ultimately develop truly world-class innovations.”
The fund is competitive and will be assessed by an independent international panel of experts. Projects must be geared towards commercialisation over a three to seven-year timeframe, and align with research priority areas ICT; Health and Wellbeing; Food; Energy, Climate Action and Sustainability; Manufacturing and Materials; and Business Services and Processes.
In Association with
In order to ensure that projects of scale and impact are funded, the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund is available to applicants requesting funding of €1.5 million or more for projects of up to three years duration. Enterprise partners must provide matched funding.
Omnispirant, funded under a previous DTIF call, is working with partners Aerogen and the Centre for Cell Manufacturing in NUIG to develop a new stem cell-based inhaled treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome which is responsible for the vast majority of Covid-19 deaths.
Pilot Photonics, another funding recipient, is working with research partners in DCU and TCD on the ‘Irish Lasers for the Internet of the Future’ project. The three-year project aims at developing a new type of laser technology for the communications market by creating optical microchips that use light rather than electricity to send information.
