Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Call 7 of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) has been launched. The aim of the Fund is to encourage collaborations by industry and research sector into the development and commercialisation of ground-breaking technologies. The call for funding will be administered by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Projects that complement the priority enterprise policy objectives on digital transformation and integrating decarbonisation and net zero commitments, as set out in the White Paper on Enterprise, are welcomed. Projects that help to drive the innovation and transformation opportunities that are needed in sectors such as construction are also encouraged. All projects will be expected to demonstrate a positive contribution to the sustainability targets in the Climate Action Plan.

The Government has already allocated €371 million to 104 successful projects approved under the six previous DTIF calls. These projects cover areas such as life sciences, medical devices, ICT, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and environmental.

Projects must be geared towards commercialisation over a 3 to 7-year time-frame. They must also align with Ireland’s six Research Priority Areas, namely ICT; Health and Wellbeing; Food; Energy, Climate Action and Sustainability; Manufacturing and Materials; and Business Services and Processes.

Call 7 is a rolling call which is open for submission of applications until 30 April 2025.

The launch of Call 7 took place in Mullingar, County Westmeath at the offices of Ostoform Ltd, the lead partner in a DTIF Call 3 project. Ostoform is working with two other project partners – Ross Polymer Ltd and Technological University Shannon – to develop an innovative ostomy pouch, used in the treatment of digestive and urinary conditions, which directs corrosive output away from the skin and improves patient well-being and quality of life.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke, TD, said: “I am delighted to announce the seventh Call of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund. The Fund is an important Government initiative which is helping to future-proof Ireland at a time of geo-political turbulence, economic uncertainty and supply chain disruption.

“The Fund is seeking to encourage collaborative projects utilising cutting-edge technologies that will contribute to the achievement of Ireland’s economic growth. We want projects that will make a real difference to people’s lives, especially in helping us to improve our level of digitalisation and achieve our climate action targets.

“The Irish enterprise and research sectors have regularly demonstrated their resilience and ability to adapt to challenges. We want to foster these capabilities by de-risking some of the costs associated with the development of truly disruptive, innovative projects.”

Dara Calleary, TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, said: “The Government is committed to supporting companies in improving their digital capacity through targeted investment, with a view to positioning Ireland as a leading global digital hub.

“DTIF has already demonstrated its role as a catalyst in bringing about digital transformation by supporting projects that will develop unique applications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. It is notable that 46 projects involving artificial intelligence were awarded €162.5 million across the six DTIF Calls to date. This significant investment in disruptive technologies is giving enterprises the support needed to incorporate digitalisation into their business processes and driving Ireland’s adoption of digital technologies.”

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

Examples of funded DTIF projects:

TRIDENT – University of Limerick (UL); Analog Devices International Unlimited Company; mSemicon Teoranta; ICERGi Ltd; Glantreo Ltd; TisaLabs Ltd; Smart M Power Company Ltd; Tyndall National Institute are collaborating on a low-cost, high-performance sodium-ion smart battery system using entirely sustainable materials and processes.

PerPET – Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT); AvonCourt Packaging Ltd; Novel Plast Teoranta; and the National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) are working on a project to transform the plastics industry by drastically reducing the amount of fresh petroleum extracted virgin material used and positioning PET recyclate as a valuable, perpetually reusable resource.

A-EYE Control Tower – Evercam Ltd; GagaMuller Technology Ltd; and Technological University Dublin (TUD) are working on a control tower for developers and contractors operating large and complex construction sites that provides full visibility of the project and enables the most natural, visual communication.

TRANSPIRE – Corlytics Ltd; CeADAR UCD; and Singlepoint Solutions Ltd are collaborating on a project that combines human expertise with artificial intelligence to demystify laws and regulations making it easier to do business while protecting consumers.

S-BREW – NVP Energy Ltd; Ashleigh Environmental Ltd; and the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) are collaborating on a project to convert wastewater from the agri-food industry to clean water, using a unique, patented low temperature anaerobic digestion technology to break down organic by-products to create renewable energy in the form of biogas, while minimising waste.

CILTER – Cilter Technologies Ltd; O’Neill Amarach Consultants Ltd; and Dublin City University (DCU) are developing child-protection software for smartphones that detects/blocks cyberbullying, grooming and suicide/self-harm content.

ENERGISE – Trinity College Dublin, Software Radio Systems Ltd, VMware International Unlimited Company, Intel Research and Development Ireland Ltd, EMC Information Systems International Unlimited Company and Tyndall National Institute (IERC) will introduce new technology capable of making mobile networks greener reducing energy consumption in mobile networks, addressing the issue of overall energy consumption as we consume more data.

CergenX – Cergenx Ltd, Evervault Ltd, University College Cork (UCC) will develop the Newborn Brain Screener (NBS), a novel platform to detect abnormal brain activity in infants at birth through an automated AI assessme.