The Government is seeking to grant funding of €500 million through the Disruptive Technology and Innovation Fund (DTIF) to new projects.
The aim of the fund is to encourage collaborations by industry and research sector into the development and commercialisation of ground-breaking technologies.
The launch of the seventh call of DTIF took place in Mullingar, Co Westmeath at the offices of Ostoform Ltd, the lead partner in a DTIF Call 3 project.
Ostoform are working with two other project partners – Ross Polymer Ltd and Technological University Shannon – to develop an innovative ostomy pouch, used in the treatment of digestive and urinary conditions, which directs corrosive output away from the skin and improves patient wellbeing and quality of life.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke the funding initiative is helping to future-proof Ireland at a time of geo-political turbulence, economic uncertainty and supply chain disruption.
"We want projects that will make a real difference to people's lives, especially in helping us to improve our level of digitalisation and achieve our climate action targets," the Minister said.
"The Irish enterprise and research sectors have regularly demonstrated their resilience and ability to adapt to challenges. We want to foster these capabilities by de-risking some of the costs associated with the development of truly disruptive, innovative projects."
So far, 46 projects involving artificial intelligence were awarded €162.5m across the six DTIF Calls to date.
Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary, said, this investment in disruptive technologies is giving enterprises the support needed "to incorporate digitalisation into their business processes and driving Ireland’s adoption of digital technologies."
The call for funding will be administered by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Projects that complement the priority enterprise policy objectives on digital transformation and integrating decarbonisation and net zero commitments, as set out in the White Paper on Enterprise, are welcomed.
Projects that help to drive the innovation and transformation opportunities that are needed in sectors such as construction are also encouraged.
All projects will be expected to demonstrate a positive contribution to the sustainability targets in the Climate Action Plan.
The Government has already allocated €371 million to 104 successful projects approved under the six previous DTIF calls. These projects cover areas such as life sciences, medical devices, ICT, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and environmental.
Call 7 is a rolling call which is open for submission of applications until 30 April 2025.
