Technology Transfer

in 2020


The IFAE KTT unit facilitates the R&D in collaboration with external entities in the framework of competitive public funds (e.g. H2020 program - EU Commission, Doctorats Industrials - AGAUR, GenCat) or private initiatives (e.g. BIST Ignite award), by means of intellectual property rights management & technology exploitation advisory activities. It promotes the creation of new spin-offs, successfully participating in incubation and acceleration programs such as The Collider (Mobile World Capital BCN Foundation), boosting the entrepreneurship through annual training courses for researchers and regulating it by the approval in 2020 of a dedicated policy.

The new ventures resulting from the basic research of IFAE are focused on a wide spectra of applications, including medical imaging, quantum computing and industrial quality control. IFAE makes available its wide engineering capabilities, equipment and infrastructures to national & international customers, offering mechanical, electronics, microelectronics & computing services. The continuous valorisation of disruptive technologies generates new inventions that are evaluated, identifying those with higher market potential and protecting it by patent with the support from the Ginjol competitive Patent Fund (I-CERCA, GenCat).


2020 TECH. TRANSFER OUTPUT AT IFAE


614k€

COMPETITIVE FUNDS FROM COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH WITH PRIVATE SECTOR

224k€

NON COMPETITIVE FUNDS COMING FROM ENGINEERING PROJECTS AND SERVICES OFFERED TO EXTERNAL ENTITIES

35k€

COMPETITIVE FUNDS FOR THE VALORISATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

50k€

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

2

PRIORITY PATENT APPLICATIONS FILED

2

PATENTS GRANTED

2

NEW SPIN-OFFS PARTICIPATED BY IFAE


Introduction

Along 2020 the IFAE’s KTT unit provided research support activities to 9 IFAE basic and applied research lines, with the aim to get the research results on high energy physics, astrophysics, cosmology, quantum computing and medical physics closer to the society. About 70 research support actions were performed related to knowledge and technology transfer, giving support to 56 IFAE own and/or joint projects, mainly in the fields of medical devices, engineering (electronics, mechanics & control software), pixel detectors, quantum & classic computing, microelectronics and communications. The KTT unit contributed with 20 support actions in 13 funded projects, generating a total of 1.3M€ in incomes coming from public funding agencies and the private sector.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH

  • DOCTORATS INDUSTRIALS call (AGAUR, GenCat). Analogic Quantum Computers. Project granted for a quantum annealing processor development using superconductive circuits for complex optimisation calculations. In collaboration with Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech S.L.
  • H2020-EU.1.2.1. FETOPEN-Challenging Current Thinking call (European Commission). AVaQus project granted for the upgrade of present quantum annealing technology by engineering novel superconducting quantum circuits. Project Partners: Karlrsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe (Germany), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Grenoble (France), University of Glasgow (UG), Glasgow (UK), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid (Spain), Delft Circuits (DELFT), Delft (The Netherlands), Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, S.L. (QILI), Barcelona (Spain), HQS Quantum Simulations (HQS), Karlsruhe (Germany).
  • IGNITE Awards (BIST). BIOSPAD project granted for developing a fast monolithic multi-channel ASIC for diffuse optical, non-invasive blood flow measurement. In collaboration with ICFO.
  • IGNITE call (BIST). The 2DETMIPS project received a 2019 BIST Ignite Grant for developing a novel, thin, and ultrafast detector optimised silicon substrates and graphene geometries.
  • 3 Collaboration Agreements negotiated and signed related to basic research projects and non-competitive projects.

CONTRACT RESEARCH & SERVICES

  • 5 Technical Services on mechanics, electronics and computing executed for public and private entities.
  • 1 R&D project on microelectronics performed for external entities.
  • 7 CDA Agreements signed with companies and R&D centres.
  • 6 Customers (3 new).

PROTECTION, VALORIZATION & LICENSING

  • 5 Disclosures of Inventions evaluated.
  • 2 Priority patent applications filed. One for a long range wireless event detector (IFAE, IMB-CNM-CSIC, Fuelium S.L.) and another for a mammography auxiliary system (IFAE).
  • 2 EU patents granted. Detector for Compton imaging and Photon counting device for x-ray detection.
  • 1 Patent and Know-how license on an x-ray camera and an algorithm for in-line quality control and industrial inspection.
  • 1 Know-how license on silicon pixel sensors design and microelectronics packaging and assembly processes.
  • 1 patented technology financed by the Ginjol competitive Patent Fund (I-CERCA, GenCat). Wireless fire detector including a long range communications system.
  • Collaboration with UPC, ESADE and IED Barcelona in the elaboration and validation of a business model for the exploitation of the event detector patent in the framework of the ATTRACT initiative (H2020 EC).

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

  • IFAE’s LINDA technology project was awarded in the venture building phase of The Collider program (MWC BCN Foundation) by incorporating a new company based on the IFAE’s technology, named Deep Detection S.L., investing 50,000€ in the entity by means of a participating loan contributed by mVentures (a company part of MWC).
  • Deep Detection S.L. became a participated spin-off of IFAE by signing both the Shareholders Agreement and a binded Technology Transfer Agreement.
  • IFAE and ICREA signed the Technology Transfer Agreement related to the know-how on pixel detectors for security and medical applications, licensed to the spin-off Baretek Barcelona Detector Technologies, incorporated in 2019. IFAE and the founders signed the Shareholders Agreement in 2020.
  • IFAE and the spin-off Qilimanjaro (incorporated in 2019) signed a collaboration agreement for the joint development of quantum technologies.
  • The 3 active IFAE’s spin-offs were listed in the Start-up HUB (ACC1Ó, GenCat), PRUAB and BIST databases and websites.
  • New Spin-offs policy approved by the IFAE’s Governing Board
  • Co-organization of the 5th Entrepreneurship course for researchers, “From Science to Business” (ESADE - BIST).