At IMDEA Materials, we believe that excellent research should not stop at the lab. That’s why we are launching the “Materialise 2026 Proof-of-Concept (PoC) call“, an initiative designed to accelerate the journey from scientific results to real-world applications.
This call reflects our commitment to scientific entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and innovation. By supporting early-stage validation, we aim to help transform promising research into solutions with clear industrial and societal value.
What does the PoC call support
The selected project will receive funding and expert support to advance the Technology Readiness Level of research results, validate market potential and explore industrial applications, develop prototypes, run validation experiments, and engage with industry
In short, this is about answering the key technical, market, or regulatory questions needed to move towards investment and impact of innovative materials science.
Materialise Call results 2025
In last year’s inaugural 2025 Materialise call, four proposals were received covering a wide range of innovative ideas:
- Smart implants for cardiovascular and neurovascular personalised surgery
- Software for guided laser adaptation in selective laser melting scanning
- Acoustic liners based on triply-periodic minimal surfaces
- Fire-resistant lightweight polymer composite enclosures for electric vehicle battery packs
A panel of four external experts from industry and academia, all specialists in innovation and technology transfer, reviewed the proposals and selected the project “BRAID4CARE” (Braided 4D-printed smart implants for cardiovascular and neurovascular personalised surgery), led by Carlos Aguilar Vega (research assistant at UPM), and Profs. Jon Molina and Andrés Díaz Lantada from IMDEA Materials, for funding.
You can find out more about this year’s 2026 programme here.