Events for start-ups to boost business collaboration with industry: The international ecosystem for accelerating the transition to Safe-and-Sustainable-by-design materials, products and processes

This deliverable “Events for start-ups to boost business collaboration with industry” is part of the subtask 6.2.2 in IRISS-project. One of the objectives for IRISS is to establish an EU-led international, inclusive, and permanent Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) network, that will be self-sustaining even after the project finishes. The network will provide a structure for continuous cooperation and a wide range of services to network members, network associates, potential members and other stakeholders with an interest in SSbD. During the project, services for different target groups are defined and tested such as training services, co-creation services, knowledge exchange services and knowledge sharing services. This subtask and deliverable focuses on exploring a service for start-ups to boost business collaboration with the industry in the form of an Innovation and Start-up Forum events. This task will focus on arranging at least 2 events during the project.

In this deliverable, the characteristics of safe and sustainable chemistry-based innovations are reviewed. For the benefit of the reader a short summary of SSbD is also provided as it narrows down the field of innovations. Different funding sources available for start-ups and scale-ups are highlighted and their differences from other established seed-funding opportunities are studied. A detailed list of chemistry related start-ups in Europe is included to provide perspective of the scale and diversity of the start-up scene across Europe and to highlight the importance of establishing collaboration with industrial partners. In addition, the function and purpose of the SusChem Platform is explained and how it can be used to boost the capabilities of start-ups in regards of collaboration with established industry. This is done in the project through the SusChem FI Innovation and Start-up Forum events. In this deliverable, the SusChem FI Innovation and Start-up Forum event held in 2022, which is the 1st event within the subtask, is used as a benchmark. The concept and goals of the event are discussed in detail. Also, the results of a survey identifying the replication needs of other National Technology Platforms (NTP) in Europe are reviewed.

The next steps for the work are to start planning the next SusChem FI Innovation and Start-Up Forum event, which is the 2nd event of the subtask organised within IRISS project. The event will take place in April 2024. The work after the event will focus on continuing collaboration with the other NTPs and seek to replicate the event with the other NTPs in Europe, which would be the 3rd event on the subtask. The subtask will also seek advice and support from the European Innovation Council.