The Fraunhofer Society and the European Investment Fund are promoting technology transfer in Germany with a joint fund of 60 million euros.
As part of the European Commission’s Innovfin programme, the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Fraunhofer Society and establish the "Fraunhofer Tech Transfer Fund" with a total volume of 60 million euros. The main goal is to commercialize the intellectual property of the 72 specialist Fraunhofer institutes and research institutions throughout Germany. Other partners, such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), are supporting this effort. This is considered a cornerstone of the investment plan for Europe, the so-called Juncker Plan.
“In Germany there is a lack of funds for investments in capital-intensive sectors”
With this fund, the EIF and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft aim to close gaps in early-stage financing and support more German high-tech startups. The EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas says:
Technology transfer is of utmost importance if we want to keep Europe at the forefront of innovation. The new Technology Transfer Fund will help German researchers bring the results of their work to market and make German industry even more innovative and competitive. This is another example of the added value of the Juncker Plan in the country."
The Managing Director of the EIF Pier Luigi Gilibert commented:
"In Germany, there is still a lack of such funds, especially for investments in capital-intensive areas such as modern materials or manufacturing digitalization, which private investors are hardly interested in."
The EU resources are intended to give instruments such as the new tech fund sufficient weight and support the German technology transfer and venture capital market.
