Investing in good ideas as well as a sustainable society

Fons, can you elaborate on this particular funding opportunity?

“Actually, it’s not that complicated. We all know where much of our discarded electronics still end up at the moment: the waste pile, mostly in slums in poor countries. This is because our products are not yet sufficiently circular. In the research phase, we should already be working towards products that are easier to dismantle at the end of the chain. Importantly, this should be without polluting chemical processes. Ask around and everyone finds this important. This raises the question: why do our financing instruments still focus on a successful business case, and not on ensuring our own future in a sustainable way? I want this TTT to reflect that realisation, and then of course look wider than just that business case.”

What is your own role within this TTT instrument?

“For TTT Circular Technology, I am the point of contact within TU Eindhoven and University of Twente. I deal with investment requests for market exploration, proof-of-concept or the further development of a startup. In consultation with business developers from the other three technical universities, TNO and the fund manager, we decide which applications will be honoured. In the case of Circular Technology, SHIFT Invest is the fund manager. In the first phase, we guide researchers to decide whether or not to create a startup. If the decision is positive, we test the feasibility of the plan in collaboration with the investors. We then help the startups get to the milestone where they can raise seed funding from the market. Therefore, the purpose of these TTT funds is mainly to bridge that early stage.”

Apart from the sustainable focus you want to bring, what is special about the TTT programme for you?

“For me, it is about early recognition of a promising idea and daring to invest early. This involves risks, but there is a definite need for it in the Netherlands. We use serious capital to help startups grow to a stage they otherwise might not make it to. Valorisation is one of the core tasks of a university, alongside solid research and good education. We should all free up budget to help researchers bring an idea to society at an early stage of development. Especially in the case of circularity and sustainability, currently much discussed, that push early in the process is crucial. This instrument is perfect for that.”

In your TTT role you have now mentored about ten researchers with a promising idea. What has that been like?

“I really see it as a privilege. For me personally, it is extraordinarily inspiring to work with these sorts of fresh minds. It also makes me feel that I am indirectly contributing to a sustainable and future-proof society. Sometimes the ideas and technologies really amaze me, such as the combustion of iron powder as an alternative to fossil fuels. From the resulting rust, the researchers were able to recover iron powder to burn again. Now I am helping them successfully bring this circular fuel technology to the market through startups.”

Are there any tricky aspects to your role?

“Certainly. Sometimes we have to say ‘no’ to a passionate researcher or offer an alternative. Of course, this always comes as a shock for the researcher in question. A particular technology may have great potential, but sometimes the route to the market is more logically licencing the idea to an existing company instead of putting everything on the line to set up your own company. In addition, a potential entrepreneur has to be comfortable talking to and doing business with industry. In my work, I prefer to be honest rather than nice. That is ultimately more useful for a talented researcher.”

Finally, what are your hopes for the future of the TTT programmes?

“An enduring and long-term funding instrument. We haven’t been around that long yet. As already indicated, I mainly dream of an ecosystem where we support circular entrepreneurship in a more structural manner. We need to help entrepreneurs who may not have a brilliant business idea that fits our usual standards, but one that will help society in the longer term. For example, we can develop a myriad of wonderful photonics, but if they end up in landfills, incinerated or dismantled under inhumane conditions, we are doing something wrong.”