What is TRL?

Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) are a method of estimating technology maturity. Several scales exist.

Technology Readiness Levels in the European Commission (EC):

Technology Readiness Level and description:

TRL 1:   Basic principles observed
TRL 2:   Technology concept formulated
TRL 3:   Experimental proof of concept
TRL 4:   Technology validated in lab
TRL 5:   Technology validated in relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
TRL 6.   Technology demonstrated in relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
TRL 7.   System prototype demonstration in operational environment
TRL 8.   System complete and qualified
TRL 9.   Actual system proven in operational environment (competitive manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies; or in space)

You can google TRLs for health and will finds a lot of hits.

If you think of the TRL as a timeline or project plan using TRL can help you to:

Asses your current knowledge and its maturity
Asses your ambition and realism of your project
- A project covering many levels will take time, need several types of competence and may be too big or ambitious. You must justify your choices.
Position you results in time and maturity.
- This is useful in explaining innovation as you can use TRLs to describe the next steps needed.
Explain where you will be at project finish and the next steps needed from your results to market
- If your results are at Level 6 it is often obvious that you will not have a product in the market next year.
Justify your choices and align your work with the expectation of the call text.
- If a specific TRL is ask for you must fulfil this
- If no specific TRL is specified you can justify the maturity of your work by stating where you finish and why and briefly outline the next steps needed outside the project.
Know something about the characteristics of your results
- An early TRL will probably produce papers for further R&D
- A prototype or demonstrator means you have reached a certain level. However a prototype cannot be sold in the market.
- At TRL6/7 you will produce test results from clinical trials
Align your work with the work of other partners
- With several partners you may cover more levels in a project by using input from one partner to the next and at the same time increase the TRL level
- Ensure that you do not set up a project where the partners operate at very different levels and that you will have TRL gaps in the project that cannot be bridged
Explain how you will perform the case of translational/ "bench-to-bedside" projects by using the TRLs to sort your work. With this approach you will cross many levels and this may be a challenge that should be explained

The goal is not to cover as many levels as possible but to know where you start and where you finish justifying your choices and outlining next steps needed (post project).

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