Climate Innovation Bridge

• Green Innovation and Sustainable Technologies
• Climate Tech Commercialisation
• Research-to-Market Innovation

Researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and applied research teams developing early-stage climate and sustainability technologies (TRL 2–6), including participants from IE University and external research institutions.

Online Learning (6 weeks) – Participants join weekly live sessions, work on practical commercialization tools, and receive guidance from experienced entrepreneurs, innovation experts, and technology transfer professionals.

Week 1 – Climate Opportunity & Commercial Framing: Introduction to climate innovation and the commercial opportunities emerging from Europe's green transition. Participants learn how to position their research within relevant market contexts, identify promising commercial applications, and begin translating technical innovation into a compelling value proposition. The session also introduces the Business Model Canvas and the programme pitch deck, which will be developed throughout the programme.

Week 2 – Customer Discovery & Market Validation: Applying lean customer discovery methodologies to identify relevant stakeholders, understand customer needs, and validate market assumptions. Participants map their target ecosystem, design stakeholder interviews, and use market insights to refine both their commercialization strategy and value proposition.

Week 3 – Intellectual Property Strategy: Understanding how intellectual property supports commercialization decisions. Participants explore patent fundamentals, freedom-to-operate considerations, university IP ownership models, and the strategic options available for licensing, collaboration, or venture creation.

Week 4 – Productization & Commercial Use Cases: Transforming research outcomes into deployable products and services. Participants define potential minimum viable products (MVPs), explore commercialization pathways for deep-tech and climate technologies, and align product development with clearly defined market opportunities.

Week 5 – Business Model Design & Commercialization Strategy: Building a robust business model that supports long-term value creation. Participants develop the key elements of their Business Model Canvas, define revenue mechanisms, identify strategic partners, and outline a realistic commercialization roadmap aligned with their technology readiness level and market ambitions.

Week 6 – Venture Narrative & Investor Readiness: Developing a compelling commercialization story and preparing to communicate research-driven innovation to investors, industry partners, and other external stakeholders. Participants finalize their commercialization strategy and deliver a complete investor-style pitch deck that integrates the work developed throughout the programme.

Mentoring – Throughout the programme, each team receives a structured mentoring journey designed to accelerate commercialization progress and continuously strengthen their pitch development. Teams benefit from dedicated guidance from experienced entrepreneurs, industry experts, and commercialization professionals through a combination of business mentoring, IP support, and pitch coaching.

The mentoring pathway includes:

• Two formal business mentoring sessions per team delivered by industry entrepreneurs or experts throughout the programme (approximately every two weeks), focusing on commercialization strategy, Business Model Canvas refinement, IP and KTTO pathway questions, and venture or pitch development. Each session includes a recurring 5-minute pitch practice, allowing teams to iteratively improve their storytelling, confidence, and pitch delivery.
• One dedicated IP strategy mentoring session to support teams in evaluating intellectual property considerations, protection strategies, and commercialization pathways.
• A midpoint pitch and narrative review session with Alex, providing targeted feedback on pitch structure, clarity, positioning, and delivery while there is still time to refine the final investor-facing narrative.
• Group and 1:1 mentoring during the bootcamp, providing tailored support as teams finalize their commercialization strategy and prepare for external presentations.

Time commitment – The expected workload during the online programme is approximately 3–4 hours per week, including live sessions, independent work, and preparation of weekly deliverables.

In-Person Bootcamp (3 days, Madrid)

• Develop entrepreneurial and commercialization skills for climate and sustainability technologies at TRL 2-6.
• Conduct structured customer discovery and market validation with industry stakeholders and potential users.
• Understand intellectual property protection, licensing, and spin-off creation pathways through KTTO-supported workshops.
• Build viable commercialization strategies, business models, and go-to-market plans for research-driven technologies.
• Engage with investors, corporates, and innovation ecosystem actors to explore partnerships, pilots, licensing, and venture-building opportunities.