Eleven innovative projects have been approved funding of up to €40 million in the first tranche of awards under the fourth round of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).

DTIF places a large emphasis on SME participation, to utilise their potential as drivers of disruptive innovation. The 11 successful consortia in this call have 40 partners, of which 58% (23) are SMEs and 10 of which are leading their projects. To date, 153 SMEs have been awarded funding in the four calls to date.

This brings the total allocation of DTIF funding to €275 million. Over €157 million (57%) of that funding has been awarded to project partners outside of Dublin. This will contribute to further economic growth in all regions and create high-quality jobs for talented people who live and work in rural Ireland.

“Throughout the pandemic, the research community showed a commendable ability to adapt and rise to previously unthinkable challenges,” said Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar. “We want to encourage and support that ingenuity and inventiveness through this fund, helping to deal with the adverse effects of Covid-19, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and rising inflation.

“Projects announced today will benefit patients with heart failure, make online space safer for children and reduce greenhouse gases, paving the way for Ireland’s journey to a carbon neutral society, to name a few. These and other successful projects have identified emerging areas of opportunity in future markets to help solve societal challenges by building on our regional economic and research strengths.

“DTIF project partners continue to develop cutting-edge technologies and we will continue to invest in those enterprises and experts in the research community who apply innovative thinking to push boundaries and drive change.”

 “Of the 40 partners involved in this call, I am delighted to see that 15 research performing organisations have been awarded €15 million,” said Simon Harris, Minister for Research, Innovation & Science. “This level of funding reaffirms our government’s commitment to supporting Irish ingenuity and the development of cutting-edge technologies in our higher education institutions and universities.”

Over the four calls announced to date, 123 research institutions are participating in 83 projects. Research institutions are involved in all bar two and are the lead partner in 18 projects.

Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, who administer the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, said: “The investment offered through DTIF encourages Irish companies of all sizes, multinational companies and academic institutions to explore new opportunities by encouraging them to be more ambitious and pursue strategic research opportunities. It helps clients target investment in innovations in areas of major importance, such as future medical technologies and digitalisation.”

Reporting: Tech Central