Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Funding has been announced for a further five innovative projects under the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF). Two projects have been approved funding of up to €9.6 million in the third tranche of awards under DTIF Call 4 and three projects have been approved funding of up to €8.2 million in Call 5 of the Fund. This brings the total allocation of DTIF funding to €306 million, with over €173 million (56%) of the funding awarded to project partners outside of Dublin.

DTIF places a large emphasis on collaboration between enterprises, especially SMEs, and Irish research institutions. All five projects are being led by an SME, who are collaborating with seven other enterprise partners and seven partners from our research institutions. The 91 DTIF projects awarded funding across the five Calls to date contain 340 partners, of which 213 are enterprise partners. The linkages between these SMEs and larger enterprises – especially multinational companies – are crucial in developing ecosystems and mentoring which can help local firms, including High Potential Start Ups (HPSUs), to become embedded in the value chains of FDI-intensive sectors. This will lead to higher domestic value-capture and enable our SMEs and domestic economy to benefit from positive spillovers.

Announcing the two sets of awards under DTIF Calls 4 and 5, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, TD, said: “I am delighted to be able to announce the funding of three DTIF Call 5 projects and two additional DTIF Call 4 projects. This funding will see almost €18 million shared among the five projects, bringing total Government investment to date across five DTIF calls to €306 million. This latest investment will leverage a further €13 million from the enterprise partners, bringing total private sector investment in the 91 projects funded to date to €176 million.  It is noteworthy that over 88% of this investment is by our indigenous SMEs, thereby making a significant contribution to closing the innovation gap with the higher R&D performing foreign owned multinational enterprises.

“The three Call 5 projects are focused on advanced manufacturing, which is crucial for every industrial ecosystem across Europe. Such advanced industrial technologies help to sustain our economic resilience and competitiveness and will also facilitate the shift to a circular economy and a rapid decarbonisation of industry.”

Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, in welcoming the funding said: “The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund is delivering real benefit to Irish enterprise and with this announcement it is set to deliver even more, particularly for companies within the Advanced and Smart Manufacturing space. Enterprise Ireland welcomes the significant contribution made by Irish companies awarded under DTIF to date. The successful Call 5 projects are using both experimental development and industrial research in their proposed solutions and this support will help our clients compete in rapidly changing global markets, helping them boost productivity, and will give them a significant competitive advantage in their sectors.”

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF)

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is a €500 million fund established in 2018 under Project Ireland 2040. It is one of four funds set up under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2018-2027. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment manages the DTIF with administrative support from Enterprise Ireland. The purpose of the Fund is to drive collaboration between Ireland’s world-class research base and industry as well as facilitating enterprises to compete directly for funding in support of the development and adoption of these technologies. The aim is to support investment in the development and deployment of disruptive technologies and applications on a commercial basis.

Call 4 and Call 5 applications to DTIF were assessed by panels of international experts against four criteria – quality of the disruptive technology, excellence of overall approach, economic impact and sustainability, and strength of the collaboration. Details of the successful Call 5 projects and the latest successful projects under Call 4 are set out in the tables below.

Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) – Awards under Call 5 (2022)

Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) – Third Tranche of Awards under Call 4 (2021-2022)

DTIF Call 6 was launched on 8 March. Call 6 is an open Call and, in a change from the previous open Calls, the type of eligible research is broadened to include both “industrial research” and/or “experimental development”.

To drive enterprise collaborations, each project must have at least one SME and one other enterprise in a consortium of three or more project partners. Collaborations with the Irish research sector are encouraged. All partners must be based in Ireland and be a current client of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta or an eligible Research Performing Organisation (RPO).

The fund targets industrial research projects of scale and impact. The minimum funding request must be €1.5 million for projects of up to three years’ duration. SME partners must provide matched funding while large companies must provide 60% project funding.

All eligible applications received by the deadline of 3pm on 31 May 2023, will undergo rigorous assessment by panels of independent international experts against four criteria – quality of the disruptive technology, excellence of overall approach, economic impact and sustainability, and strength of the collaboration.

Prospective applicants can obtain detailed information on the fund and on the application process through enterprise.gov.ie/DTIF.