TU Darmstadt and Focused Energy cooperate

The university transfers the rights to its intellectual property to the start-up. In return, it will become a shareholder in the company, which was spun out a year ago.

TU Darmstadt and the start-up Focused Energy have signed an IP-for-shares agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the Technical University grants the rights to its intellectual property to the company it spun off last year. In return, the university will receive shares in the nuclear fusion company.

Focus Energy aims to enable safe, clean and inexhaustible energy production through laser-based nuclear fusion within a few years. The company is based in Darmstadt, Germany, and Austin in the United States. According to Professor Tanja Brühl, President of TU Darmstadt, the transfer of intellectual property is particularly important for spin-offs. Startups are often unable to act and lose their appeal to investors if they lack the authority to transfer and use patents, she says.

"Thanks to this investment model, we can use the results of my many years of research at TU Darmstadt and the Target lab for our company," says Markus Roth, a physics professor at TU as well as an expert in laser fusion and co-founder of Focused Energy.