Commercialisation of technology will be key to green recovery

Strathclyde University has endorsed a methodology developed by NSRI (National Subsea Research Institute) to accelerate the commercialisaton of technology in support of the green recovery.


Image Courtesy of Blue Ocean Monitoring

NSRI, which works with underwater technology companies and academia to collaborate on bringing forward new technology, has developed a way of measuring commercial viability of a technical innovation to help fast-track getting it to market.

The tool, called CHASMAITM, provides a clear indication of the potential commercial viability of early stage technology in the subsea industry that enables both innovators and investors.

By measuring the viability of a technical concept through analysis of various factors including market conditions and funding requirements, CHASMAITM take a systematic approach and helps identify exactly where pioneering companies should be focusing their efforts.

NSRI believes it will be particularly attractive to investors, helping to speed up the investment process which will, in turn, accelerate the introduction of new technical concepts which could support the green recovery.



Tony Laing, director of research and market acceleration at NSRI, said: “Ideas frequently fail between invention and commercialisation. To improve the current success rate in the commercialisation of subsea technology, which is currently around one in ten, we’ve developed this tool that will help technology developers, funding organisations and investors assess robust commercial viability.

“As an enabling organisation, we know where there are demand-led technology gaps and can support supplier-led technology solutions. With our unique combination of deep domain knowledge and impartiality, we are in prime position to take a lateral approach to cross-industry challenges and priorities in terms of technology requirements. In the current precarious economic climate, technology development and innovation has never been more important, but it must be underpinned with a sound business case.”

Strathclyde University, renowned for its engineering capabilities, has been working closely with NSRI for several years.

Professor Matthew Revie, Associate Dean (Knowledge Exchange), Department of Management Science at Strathclyde Business, said: “The energy landscape is changing at an incredible rate, and the UK’s subsea industry is well-placed to capitalise on the many opportunities surrounding the blue economy, energy transition and digitalisation. We have a strong track-record of successful collaboration with subsea companies on the research and development of engineering-based innovation.

“Companies regularly come to us with strong engineering-based innovations, however establishing robust commercial viability is often not considered by businesses early enough in the idea generation process. The modelling framework developed by NSRI provokes companies to reflect not only on the “can we” of technology development, but also on the “should we” - will this technology development lead to a well-defined commercial solution?

“With meaningful outputs in dashboard format, NSRI’s commercialisation tool visualises uncertainties and shows exactly where efforts should be focused to drive maximum business value and return on investment. That could be towards internal resources, delivering the technology or external market-led factors. The outputs are also incredibly valuable for allowing investors and stakeholders to understand the existence of customer-led demand.”





For more information, please visit: www.nsri.co.uk/

Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK