Innovation: ENEA launches 'KEP', a collaboration project for business competitiveness
23/5/2019
An ENEA, CNA, Confapi, Confartigianato, Confindustria, Unioncamere initiative - A 2.5 million fund
Strengthening growth and competitiveness of Italian companies with tailor-made innovative solutions, the advice of dedicated researchers and cutting-edge infrastructures. It’s the objective of the ENEA Knowledge Exchange Program (KEP) which provides companies and their associations with a team of 15 'innovation ambassadors' specialized in technology transfer, a 2.5 million euro fund for the development of joint projects and a dedicated portal -www.kep.enea.it- with a selection of advanced technologies and services for which registration is already open.
The initiative, developed in collaboration with the CNA, Confapi, Confartigianato, Confindustria and Unioncamere, was presented in Rome during the event 'Innovating together: a challenge for Institutions, Research and Enterprises' by President of ENEA Federico Testa with Deputy Minister of Education, University and Research Lorenzo Fioramonti, Vice President of CDP Luigi Paganetto, Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Ministry of Economic Development Daniel De Vito, Confapi Vice-President Francesco Napoli, CNA Vice-President Stefania Milo, Confartigianato Vice-President Filippo Ribisi , General Secretary of Unioncamere Giuseppe Tripoli and Director of Industrial Policies of Confindustria Andrea Bianchi.
"The KEP stems from ENEA's desire to build new bridges between public research and the production world, starting from a success story as the Industrial Liaison Program of the MIT in Boston", ENEA President Federico Testa pointed out. "The objective is to develop innovative technologies and projects through lasting collaboration relationships based on trust with companies, in the perspective of" Third Mission "and" knowledge exchange "," he added. "We believe that innovation made together with companies of all sectors and sizes is now more than ever a keystone for growth and employment and that partnerships between public research and companies are strategic for a new innovation planning ”, Testa concluded.
In this perspective of 'researching innovation together' and increasing opportunities for technological development, the 2.5 million euro Proof of Concept Fund aims at supporting the development of projects to raise the TRL ( Technology Readiness Level) of particularly promising research results obtained by ENEA researchers and bringing them closer to marketing, together with companies willing to share the investment risk. The initiative was created to deal with lack of investment resources in R&D and is open to those in the production world who want to invest in this direction. The first 13 projects funded will start shortly, after the presentation of 80 proposals and 64 expressions of interest selected in collaboration with IBAN, the Italian association of business angels.
The companies which register with KEP are contacted by a Knowledge Exchange Officer (KEO) of ENEA, a sort of 'ambassador of innovation' specially trained to identify innovative solutions 'tailored' to the partner company, also organizing visits to the laboratories of the Agency, direct meetings with researchers, seminars, workshops. Each KEO specializes in one of the six themes selected for the KEP portal: critical infrastructure safety, advanced diagnostics, high-tech medical instruments, cultural heritage technologies, biotechnology for health and agro-industry, energy.
The connection with the industrial system is ensured by the Advisory Board, composed of the representatives of the five associations collaborating in the KEP, also through recommendations and opinions to increase the effectiveness and optimal functioning of the project and stimulate the active involvement of stakeholders in the definition of strategies and initiatives (public engagement).
In addition to the KEP and the Proof of Concept Fund, ENEA has planned initiatives with the world of Venture Capital to offer additional tools to support research and innovation and to make the KEP Project known to potential beneficiaries, which include a special number of the ENEA magazine 'Energy, Environment and Innovation' (EAI), Insieme per l’innovazione: la nuova sfida per Ricerca e Imprese.
The Knowledge Exchange Program joins the other tools introduced by ENEA to support the transfer of innovative services and technologies to the production world such as the Atlante dell’innovazione tecnologica with over 500 technologies and services and a patent database, both available online and Servizio Industria e Associazioni Imprenditoriali , which ensures access and transfer of ENEA project results and activities to the production world with particular reference to SMEs and their associations. In particular:
- it promotes and facilitates the meeting between demand and supply of innovation also through participation in national and international networks and organization of road shows across the territory;
- it proposes agreements for the use of ENEA patents, the creation of laboratories and the implementation of technological innovation projects;
- it conducts research on potential industrial partners interested in exploiting the invention (licensing). Info and contacts at: brevetti@enea.it;
- it provides support and technical-administrative assistance in establishing high-tech companies like spin-offs. Info and contacts: spinoff@enea.it.
Info and contacts: trasferimento.tecnologico@enea.it