The mission of RTOs has always been the advancement of industry by helping companies to integrate cutting-edge technology into their businesses. In many sectors, industry is increasingly reluctant to invest money in uncertain business opportunities.

Consequently, there is a rising need for RTOs to mature technology further along the value chain close to market entry – up to a point where industry can comfortably assess the risk and calculate the necessary resources for market entry and success. Part of that maturation is the assessment of market potential and the optimization of a technology for certain applications, thus leading to a situation where there is an opportunity for an RTO to spin-off a technology itself.

This adds a new facet to the business model of RTOs and new alliances are formed to cater to the specific needs of RTOs’ spin-offs. This plenary session will display the European approach to RTO spin-offs and the Canadian ecosystem approach with its novel innovation superclusters.

Speakers: