University of Hertfordshire: ICURe funding secured to commercialise off-grid battery alternative for electrical devices

Towards the end of 2018, the University of Hertfordshire published an early-stage innovation on IN-PART that generates electricity by harvesting vibrations, producing 10 times more energy than it’s commercial equivalent. As a result of our matchmaking and proactive outreach, the technology received immediate interest from several world-leading R&D-focused companies. This engagement confirmed to the commercialisation team at Hertfordshire the potential of the innovation. Building on this positive feedback, the team applied for ICURe funding from Innovate UK, successfully securing a grant to enable their researchers to further develop and commercialise the technology.

In addition to identifying potential customers and new leads for collaboration, the data analytics and engagement metrics contained within the Impact Report, provided to the university as part of their subscription to IN-PART, supported the University of Hertfordshire’s successful ICURe funding application.

Andrew Pearson, Technology Transfer Manager at the University of Hertfordshire, shared an overview of these recent developments:

The data provided by IN-PART, the introductions requested by industry, and the list of companies that had read the technology, formed the basis of our application for the ICURe funding. After our application was successful, we used the same data to identify and reach out to those who had expressed interest in the technology. This formed a key list of people and companies that our researcher met with to discuss the next steps of commercialisation of their invention using the ICURe funding.”

In the summer of 2019, the research team behind the energy harvesting innovation travelled to meet with interested companies with a view to establishing partnerships that will help further develop the technology for commercialisation. Conversations are ongoing about the future of the innovation.

Learn more about Innovate UK’s ICURe funding programme: Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research

Read other case studies of collaborations initiated through IN-PART’s matchmaking platform.

Browse the University of Hertfordshire’s technology portfolio and collaboration opportunities on IN-PART.

About IN-PART:

IN-PART is an online matchmaking platform that simplifies the initial connection between teams in academia and industry to help establish partnerships that get breakthroughs out of the lab and onto the market.

Launched in 2014, we now work with over 230 universities and research institutes worldwide, strategically matching promising academic research to R&D professionals from a network of 5,500+ innovation-driven companies.

Request a demo of our service for universities or, if you’re in a company, register for free access.

Written by Leah Nolan from IN-PART’s universities team.

Edited by Alex Stockham, IN-PART’s Communications Manager.

Copyrights reserved unless otherwise agreed – IN-PART Publishing Ltd., 2019 – ‘University of Hertfordshire: ICURe funding secured to commercialise off-grid power generation’.

Header image background credit: Roland Larsson / Unsplash (CC0)