Putting research into practice
Progress needs people who dare to innovate. Our goal is to support researchers on their path to founding a company so that, for the benefit of society, more solutions to current challenges—such as climate protection or resource efficiency—can be developed and brought to market.
We provide funding where others still hesitate: in the high-risk phase before market entry. We support researchers who want to turn their results into concrete solutions—for example as a startup, patent, license, or open-source offering.
Who we fund
Our programs are designed for individual researchers, prospective founders, and research groups.
What we fund
We support transfer-oriented, interdisciplinary research projects in that are in the transitional phase between completed basic research and market readiness.
Our fundings
innovate! fund
Our innovate! fund supports projects positioned between research and application that demonstrate new ways to improve the efficient use, purity, and availability of water. Next call: January 12 – March 31, 2026.
innovate! academy
We support researchers in engineering, natural, and materials sciences with a transfer focus directly on the path from basic research to market readiness. Next call: January 12 – March 31, 2026.
Add-on Fellowships for Interdisciplinary Science and Transfer
Our Add-on Fellowships support researchers who want to develop and implement bold new ideas for the resources of the future. Next call: January 12 – March 22, 2026.
Joachim Herz Award
We award 500,000 euros to researchers whose projects on the smart use of water are driven by economic analyses and methods. Next call: January 12 – March 31, 2026.