For nearly 20 years, Ploughshare has been the catalyst that enables UK government intellectual property to go further, creating hundreds of jobs and adding millions to the economy in the process.
Established in 2005 by the UK Ministry of Defence, in the same decade as other well-known public sector technology transfer offices including STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council) and LifeArc, an independent report published by SQW has found that our expertise in licensing government IP and creating spin-outs to date, have contributed to:
- £126 million to GVA
- 500 high-value jobs have been created
- £163m+ of export sales
The assessment covered 64 companies, including 16 spin-outs and 48 licensees, with the benefits traced back to 2002/03 when commercialisation was undertaken in-house by Dstl.
An independent study commissioned by the Government Office of Technology Transfer in April 2024 noted Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) via Ploughshare is one of the most “prolific generators of spin-outs”. Of the 84 spin-outs identified in the study, nearly 20% were created as a result of Ploughshare’s commercialisation capabilities. The report noted that “without Ploughshare, there would have been very few, if any, options for companies to develop similar technologies.”
Over the last five years, Ploughshare has bolstered its resources and expertise with significant growth in both its commercialisation and back-office teams, and laid new foundations to enable us to accelerate the pace at which government and crown-owned IP can deliver impact. Establishing the Ploughshare Accelerator Fund in 2021, a unique investment tool, has enabled Ploughshare to invest in very early-stage technology in a way that is unrivalled by any other public sector technology transfer office.
Looking ahead…
Ploughshare will continue to build on the last two decades and bring more and more cutting-edge technology into the market. Our spin-outs are on track for exponential growth over the next few years; Presymptom Health is due to release its first product to the market in 2025 which has the potential to save millions of lives, Sentinel Photonics will continue to build its collaboration with the UK Ministry of Defence and provide more capability to our frontline, and with the evolution of Telesemica’s product portfolio, the company will look to enter new markets and provide industry-leading solutions to further help improve public safety.
In Defence Science and Technology we’re always excited about the prospects of our cutting edge programmes and what that means for Defence capability. Ploughshare’s work – taking Defence ideas and using them to tackle both defence and civilian issues and opportunities – showcases that Defence research can deliver beyond immediately protecting and supporting our Armed forces. Seeing the latest developments from Ploughshare’s spin-outs, it’s great to see the range of benefits being delivered for the UK by our innovative communities.
– Jason Field, Head of DST Commissioning, Sponsor of Ploughshare
