The deep pool of research talent in Ireland’s higher-education system is producing an immensely strong pipeline of innovative start-up companies. In recent years, these start-ups have accounted for approximately 15 per cent of the companies participating in Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) programme.
Close to 80 per cent of those HPSUs received funding from Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund which supports third level researchers to translate their research into innovative and commercially viable products, services and companies.
The number of these start-ups supported by Enterprise Ireland over the past 10 years and still trading strongly stands at almost 200. Between them, these companies account for more than 1,500 high-value jobs and over €120 million spent in the economy every year. That is not including the 30 research-led start-ups which have been acquired by overseas companies for an aggregate €500 million.
In a 3D printed part, you have lots of layers stacked on top of each other. Those layers are bonded together
One of the more recent beneficiaries of Commercialisation Fund support is UCD spin-out Infraprint. The company has developed a technology capable of 3D printing parts with almost twice the strength offered by existing industrial systems.
Industrial 3D printing systems cost hundreds thousands of euros, can be the size of a car, and use excessive amounts of energy, limiting their use to only the highest value products. Infraprint’s desktop sized system offers not only a lower price point with lower upkeep costs, but also one that produces polymer parts that are significantly stronger than the competition. Infraprint’s system is also up to three times more energy efficient.
According to Infraprint co-founder and chief technology officer Andrew Dickson, there are some major engineering challenges to using 3D printed parts, the main one being is that the parts are significantly weaker than those made using conventional moulding methods. This means parts are more likely to fail in service, relegating them to use in non-critical areas.
“Injection moulded parts are made as a solid mass,” he explains. “In a 3D printed part, you have lots of layers stacked on top of each other. Those layers are bonded together. Because you have layers, the parts have different strengths in different directions. They are stronger horizontally than vertically. This is known as anisotropic behaviour.”
We move quickly to the reduction phase and don’t spend three years just measuring the emissions
Infraprint’s TRAAM (Thermal Radiation Assisted Additive Manufacturing) technology overcomes this problem by using heat. “If you put heat in the right places, the part can become almost as strong as with an injection moulding process. We can get 95 per cent strength vertically as horizontally.”
Some existing systems use fan ovens to apply heat. This is costly and energy inefficient. Infraprint’s system uses infrared to heat the parts making it far more efficient.
Having spun out of UCD in January, the company is currently working with a number of customers in the aerospace and space industry offering contract manufacturing and consultancy services. The next steps will see Infraprint continuing to develop the technology while targeting new sectors like pharma and medical devices.
“We have received some pre-seed funding from Enterprise Ireland as well,” says Dickson. “That’s brilliant, as it gets companies through the valley of death when they emerge from universities at a time when they are still too small for investors and not big enough to survive on their own. It will get us to a more investor-ready and stable position.”
TCD spin-out Darwin & Goliath is another Commercialisation Fund beneficiary. The provides carbon calculators for companies to categorise transaction data to determine carbon hotspots and provide recommendations to lower their carbon emissions.
According to chief information officer Eamonn Donlyn, organisations that do not manufacture products need to reduce their carbon emissions, but 80 to 90 per cent of emissions are buried in their supply chains. These are known as Scope 3 emissions.
The data required to compare vendors and products in the supply is often unavailable or transparency is lacking, making it difficult for companies to address these Scope 3 emissions.
If you put heat in the right places, the part can become almost as strong as with an injection moulding process
Darwin & Goliath has developed proprietary methods to provide emissions data where it is lacking and develop incentive mechanisms to reward supply chain partners and vendors to help reduce emissions during the bidding and award elements of the procurement process, solving the problem at the source.
He points out that the majority of existing solutions are measurement tools. “Measurement is not reduction,” he adds. “We try to get to reduction as soon as possible. We move quickly to the reduction phase and don’t spend three years just measuring the emissions.”
The company is now hoping to identify potential clients who want to make a commitment to reducing emissions and are looking for collaborative partnerships to achieve their goals. “We also want to meet potential investors where we align well with their portfolio strategy and can find mutually beneficial relationships to find returns and success,” says Donlyn.