The scope of the Inno-Quarter project has officially changed from TRL 5-8 to TRL 1-9

18 May 2018 - Published by Brigitte Feenstra

The scope of the Inno-Quarter project has officially changed from TRL* 5-8 to TRL 1-9.

In the original application we proposed to focus just on TRL 5-8. Now we have permission from the secretariat to also include TRL 1-4 and 9. 

The start-ups which applied so far fit most in TRL 5-8, but now we don't have to exclude the others. 

We are very happy with this news. 

The different Technology Readiness Levels in the European Commission (EC)

  • TRL 1 basic principles observed
  • TRL 2 technology concept formulated
  • TRL 3 experimental proof of concept
  • TRL 4 technology validated in lab
  • TRL 5 technology validated in relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
  • TRL 6 technology demonstrated in relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
  • TRL 7 system prototype demonstration in operational environment
  • TRL 8 system complete and qualified
  • TRL 9 actual system proven in operational environment (competitive manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies; or in space)

* Technology readiness levels (TRL) are a method of estimating technology maturity of Critical Technology Elements (CTE) of a program during the acquisition process. They are determined during a Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) that examines program concepts, technology requirements, and demonstrated technology capabilities. TRL are based on a scale from 1 to 9 with 9 being the most mature technology. The use of TRLs enables consistent, uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology. A comprehensive approach and discussion about TRLs has been published by the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO). Extensive criticism of the adoption of TRL scale by the European Union was published in The Innovation Journal, in that "concreteness and sophistication of the TRL scale gradually diminished as its usage spread outside its original context (space programs)". (source: Wikipedia)