Turning innovative scientific research into successful market products is a challenging act, but businesses on both sides of the Atlantic face similar issues. Such issues and the paths to success were central themes of the Technology Innovation Forum IX, a part of the MRS Fall Meeting 2015.

The forum showcased talks by CTOs, business development managers, senior engineers and other high ranking officers of successful technology companies and university technology offices. Graphenea’s CEO Jesus de la Fuente contributed a talk with the title “Building a Nanotechnology Company from Scratch: Funding in Advanced Materials Market. The Graphenea Case”.

Jesus spoke about the high capital expenditure investments that nanotechnology and nanomaterials companies usually face in the start-up phase, about the long development time and regulatory issues. Jesus gave his viewpoint on critical success factors, using the example of Graphenea as a leading graphene producer that spun off a research institute.

Image: MRS Fall Meeting 2015.

The ninth “Technology Innovation Forum, Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the International Year of Light - Approaches in Europe and America”, featured innovation and investing topics related to materials for light emission and instrumentation. The meeting also shed light on similarities and differences in success pathways in Europe and the U.S., including a discussion on innovation strategies.

The MRS Fall Meeting took place in Boston, MA, from November 29 to December 4. The meeting is a traditional gathering place for materials scientists, the largest such event worldwide.