EU-owned institutions including the EIF are pouring capital and assistance into an early-stage tech transfer vehicle for the Fraunhofer network of applied research institutes.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, an association of 72 Fraunhofer applied research institutes in Germany, is to launch a €60m ($68m) early-stage tech transfer vehicle with the help of EU institutions including the European Investment Fund (EIF).
Fraunhofer Tech Transfer Fund will be funded by ERP-EIF Facility, a collaboration between EIF and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, with support from the EU’s European Fund for Strategic Investments.
InnovFin, the EU innovation scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises, will also participate in the fund through its Equity Facility for Early Stage scheme, with the backing of Horizon 2020, another EU research and innovation program.
Fraunhofer Tech Transfer Fund will be managed by an entity called Fraunhofer Technologie Transfer Fonds. It will have “an exclusive opportunity” to examine and finance Fraunhofer spinouts and licensing opportunities early in development.
In Germany, it marks the first time EIF has supported the tech transfer strategy of a public research body. EIF will lend Fraunhofer its expertise in fund structure, with the aim of mitigating the early-stage funding gap for its spinouts.
Ultimately, EIF hopes to spawn more tech startups in Germany and Europe, as Fraunhofer researchers aspire to bring their concepts to market before public-private partnership High-Tech-Gründerfonds can be accessed later in development.
Reimund Neugebauer, president of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, argued expanding available capital for spinouts was crucial to Germany’s innovation sector.
He said: “Spinoffs are a key vehicle for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to exploit its intellectual property rights. They form an important and, above all, effective bridge between research and industry, and they act as a direct catalyst for the transfer of innovation.”
Pier Luigi Gilibert, chief executive of EIF, added: “Germany remains underserved in terms of technology transfer funds, in particular, for investments in capital-intensive sectors such as advanced materials or manufacturing digitalisation due to limited appetite from private investors.”