Abstract: INTERSECT aims at driving the uptake of materials modelling software in industry, bridging the gap between academic innovation and industrial novel production, with the goal of accelerating the process of materials selection and device design and deployment. The Innovation Management task is explicitly conceived to monitor the market needs and the technical evolution throughout the project lifetime, and to plan an exploitation strategy after its end. One main purpose of Innovation Management is to constantly refine the project work plan so as to meet the market and partner institutions’ (including academic, R&D institutes, EU infrastructures) needs with state-of-the-art technological solutions.

This deliverable includes the initial IM strategy and a detailed Innovation Management Plan of action. IM activities are managed by AMAT, in close collaboration with the Project Coordinator (CNR), the WP leaders, and the Advisory and Exploitation Board (AEB). Since innovation is not restricted to scientific invention, but embraces all the development and exploitation aspects of the project (such as commercialization, dissemination, licensing, IP management, etc.), this document is tightly connected and complementary to First Data Management Plan (Deliverable D4.2), First Business Plan (Deliverable D4.3), First report on dissemination and communication activity (Deliverable D4.4), Risk assessment and risk mitigation reports (Deliverable D5.2) and the consortium agreement that regulate specific actions and rules in the projects and within the participant groups.

In the initial part of the project (M1-18) the focus activity was on the design and the implementation of software (WP1-2) and the setup of the pilot cases (WP3). Thus, so far the application of this plan was premature. The exploitation activity planning is going to be predominant in the second part of the project, when outcomes and results will be achieved. Nonetheless, we have already set up the innovation tools described below, and we analyzed the qualifying aspects of the projects (e.g., deliverables and governance) along the lines of the present innovation plan (see Sec. 3.4.5). This constitutes the initial step for the actual implementation of the innovation plan.

The rest of the document is organized as follows:
● Section 1 – Introduction: it briefly presents INTERSECT and describes the purpose of the document and its intended audience;
● Section 2 – Innovation Strategy: it describes the IM approach;
● Section 3 – Innovation Management: it describes the application of the general;
Innovation strategy to INTERSECT and the specific framework for assessment, as a result of the Mapping phase;
● Section 4 – Conclusion: it summarizes the main outcomes of this deliverable.

Info & Download: V. Lunardelli, L. Neri, and A. Calzolari (2020): Innovation Management Plan. Deliverable D4.5 of the H2020 project INTERSECT (final version as of 30/07/2020). EC grant agreement no: 814487, CNR, Modena, Italy.

Find all the INTERSECT deliverables developed so far in our Report page!

Executive summary: One main goal of the INTERSECT project is the realization of a novel multi-scale multi-physics simulation platform connecting the materials modelling to the simulation of the electron device operations. The result will be the release of the Interoperable Material-To-Device Simulation Box (IM2D) which is conceived as an interoperable, robust and friendly software solution for easier exploration of the materials workspace from an electronic device-oriented industrial perspective. In particular, IM2D aims at enabling the simulation-aided design and optimization of devices for disrupting electronics (e.g. storage class memories, selectors, etc.), relying on the state-of-the-art quantum-mechanical materials modelling at the device level.
The beneficiaries of INTERSECT’s IM2D platform will include the entire ecosystem of companies, research institutions and universities operating at various levels in the semiconductor field, including integrated device manufacturers, fabless semiconductor companies, semiconductors foundries, and R&D labs. In this huge playground the business opportunities associated with IM2D are twofold:
(i) as a tool to increment the business of industrial stakeholders of semiconductor verticals;
(ii) as a software product in the simulation software market.
As anticipated in the constituting Grant Agreement of the INTERSECT project, and confirmed in the consortium agreement between participant partners, “the project goal is the realization of a ‘pre-competitive’ software solution that will provide the natural basis for start-up creation beyond the project end”. Even though the final commercialization of the IM2D code goes beyond the aim of the present project, in this first business plan we thoroughly analyze the characteristics, the segmentation and the needs of the two reference markets (namely the semiconductor and the simulation software market). We will describe the solutions and the roadmap for eventually entering these businesses.

A detailed plan with a specific business model, a marketing plan and an analysis on the sustainability and future funding of the IM2D infrastructure – too premature at this development stage – will be described in the “Business plan assessment and revision” (deliverable D4.7), due at month 30. Meantime, you can take a look at the first INTERSECT business model in the following resuming canvas scheme, and send suggestions for improving to intersect@nano.cnr.it!

References and download: A. Calzolari, L. Neri, and V. Lunardelli (2020): First Business Plan. Deliverable D4.3 of the H2020 project INTERSECT (final version as of 30/01/2020). EC grant agreement no: 814487, CNR, Modena, Italy.