Seven projects with Galway based partners have been awarded €36.5 million from the Disruptive Technologies Fund this year.
Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation Heather Humphreys announced the recipients of the Disruptive Technologies Fund this week, praising them for their ground breaking research.
Just some of the disruptive technologies being developed include a new type of zero-emission, refrigerant-free heat pump, a waste water to energy project for the food and drink sector and an AI-enabled wearable device that will allow kidney dialysis patients to self-manage.
Out of the 16 projects awarded a total of €65 million, seven have Galway based partners, mostly in the medtech and telecoms sectors.
Aerogen, a medtech company based in Dangan, has been €9.4 million for the development of their aerosol delivery system for medication, working with Tipperary based OmniSpirant and NUIG’s Centre for Cell Manufacturing.
The Ballybrit based PolyPico Technologies will receive €7 million for a diagnostic system to test iron and ferritin levels in at risk blood donors, in partnership with Radisens Diagnostics in Cork.
Fotonation, galway based photo image software developers, along with NUIG and Soapbox Labs in Dublin, are working on Data centre Audio/Visual Intelligence on Device platform.
This ‘privacy by design’ AI platform, which processes audio and visual information on a device without transmitting any data has been awarded €6.9 million.
Perfuze medtech, partnering with Limerick based Teleflex and VistaMed in Leitrim, will receive €4.4 million for STROKE-CIS, a Clot Ingestion System medical technology to treat stroke.
mBryonics, a photonics technology company based in Westside, is developing FreeSpace, a wireless laser communication technology that delivers an unprecedented combination of bandwidth, availability and distance without the need for spectrum licensing.
For this project they have been granted €3.6 million to work with Pilot Photonics and OE Waves, both based in Dublin.
Tympany Medical are developing an “eyeball” endoscopic camera which will allow clinicians to see around corners in you body, together with Gentian Services in Clare, for which they have been awarded €3.2 million.
GMIT and the medtech startup based there Rockfield Medical Devices, working with the Westmeath based Steripack Group, have been granted €2 million to develop a new feed delivery system to improve patient care using smart tech.
Minister Humphreys said that the successful applicants will bring significant changes and benefits across all sectors of society.
“Ultimately, they will change how we work and live, enhance the competitiveness of the Irish economy and help us to create the jobs of the future.”
“I am especially pleased to see the quality of the collaborations involved, with SMEs, multinationals and research organisations combining to share their expertise and knowledge.”
“As a small nation with limited resources, we must work together to maximise the opportunities from the investment in our enterprise sector and research institutions.”
A total of 63 applications for funding were made under this round of the Disruptive Technologies Fund, which underwent a competitive evaluation process before any were approved.
This half a billion euro fund was established in 2018 to drive collaboration between Ireland’s research base and industry, to support investment in bringing disruptive technologies to the market.
