C-Tech Innovation Profitable Growth through Innovation

From Collaboration to Exploitation:A personal view of the journey

David Gardner

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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

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Our Organisation

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

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Research & Development

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

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Manufacturing Development

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Concept design&

scoping

Research&

Development

Prototyping

Markets:Assessments,

Access,Planning, IP

Commercialisation:Product, Process

&Service launch

Ideation, Strategy,Opportunity

spottingInnovation,Creativity

The Innovation Journey

The (In)Famous Valley

Taken from Sandia National Laboratories: Example for PV Industry

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

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

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

Identifying partners

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

Focus on Exploitation

For each exploitable result – ask these questions  Question1 Description2 Likely markets including size in € per year3 benefits to the market4 When will the result be achieved by you5 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 benefits12 What environmental benefits13 Which other project partners have been involved

14 Have you protected this result15 What other benefits are likely to arise

Focus on ExploitationM 

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 plantthis 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

Business Model CanvasValue Creation Value Proposition

Revenue Model

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

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