TU Darmstadt and Focused Energy cooperate

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

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

Focus Energy aims to enable safe, clean and inexhaustible energy generation through laser-based nuclear fusion in just a few years. The company is based in Darmstadt and Austin in the USA. According to Professor Tanja Brühl, President of TU Darmstadt, the transfer of intellectual property is particularly important for spin-offs. Start-ups are often unable to act and lose their attractiveness for 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 work at TU Darmstadt and the target laboratory for our company," says Markus Roth, physics professor at TU Darmstadt, expert in laser fusion and co-founder of Focused Energy.