“With our procedure, we have actually currently observed a considerable enhancement in the dissolution behavior of improperly water-soluble active components. We are happy that we will now be able– thanks to the validation financing– to more develop the innovation,” states Prof. Thommes, who has headed the Chair of Solids Process Engineering at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering considering that 2014. In the first circumstances, the new process is planned for pharmaceutical applications, but it can also be used in food innovation or plant protection.
PROvendis GmbH registered the intellectual property rights on behalf of TU Dortmund University. The patent was granted in the United States in May 2025, and the innovation is likewise protected in Europe. “As we enter the market, we are seeing that our broad portfolio of intellectual property rights is a crucial factor for the effective acquisition of funding,” states Professor Thommes. His melt electrostatic precipitator was already acknowledged in the regional funding competition “NRW Patent Validation 2020”, and the group was granted the first EUR200,000 to further raise the precipitator’s Innovation Readiness Level.
Support from the beginning
TU Dortmund University supports developments like this from the beginning. For instance, the university’s Area Legal Matters checks whether a new advancement infringes any third-party rights. PROvendis examines the opportunities of success of obtaining intellectual property rights and deals with both their registration and upkeep. TU Dortmund University pays sustained for the IPR. Together with PROvendis, the university also assists to determine funding programs ideal for financing additional development work. The team at the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) recommends and supports the scientists on a constant basis throughout all these steps and the procedure as a whole.
About the VIP+ funding program
The funding program “Validation of the Technological and Societal Innovation Possible of Scientific Research Study– VIP+” of the Federal Ministry of Research Study, Technology and Area invites researchers to take the primary step towards developing financial worth or using their research findings in social contexts. Validation forms the bridge between idea and useful implementation in the understanding and innovation transfer process. The aim of the validation phase is to take a look at, demonstrate and evaluate the innovation capacity of research outcomes and develop potential areas of application.
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