PITCCH links corporates and SMEs through structured open innovation challenges

PITCCH is an EU supported project that aims to accelerate the uptake of advanced technologies across European industry by orchestrating structured collaborations between large companies that pose technical or business challenges and small and medium sized enterprises that provide novel technologies. Funded under Horizon 2020 INNOSUP and operating as a Pan-European Open Innovation Network, PITCCH uses technology centres as intermediaries to facilitate matchmaking, project scoping and pilot activities.

Why PITCCH exists and what it promises

European industry includes a long tail of large firms with market reach and SMEs that often originate specialised breakthrough technologies. PITCCH addresses the friction that prevents those two groups from working together at scale. The project argues that structured open innovation leads to four principal benefits: higher probability of breakthrough innovation, accelerated commercial uptake of advanced technologies, reduced financial risk for pilots and proofs of concept, and higher returns on innovation investment. Those benefits are real when collaborations move beyond introductions and produce funded pilots, but they are not automatic. Success depends on realistic scoping, agreement on intellectual property, access to follow on financing and a credible path to industrial integration.

Technologies and sectors in scope

PITCCH focuses on advanced technology domains where SMEs typically lead radical innovation. The stated technology priorities are photonics, nanotechnology, nano-electronics, industrial biotechnology, advanced materials and manufacturing, and digital technologies. The project encourages challenges that are cross disciplinary and that target European priority areas and global societal challenges.

How the corporate challenge model works

Large enterprises submit Corporate Challenges on the PITCCH Open Innovation Platform. Technology centres act as intermediaries to find SMEs or startups that can propose technical solutions. The ideal submission is a real business problem that requires novel solutions not available on the market yet and that involves some research activity. The consortium vets challenges for relevance to EU priorities and for genuine novelty. If the challenge fits, PITCCH coordinates calls for solutions, shortlists SMEs, facilitates proof of concept and supports next steps such as pilot testing or engagement with national and regional funding bodies.

Call details and practical submission information

At the time of publication PITCCH announced a second call for Corporate Challenges and invited submissions from large enterprises via the PITCCH Open Innovation Platform. Submissions were required by 31 July 2021. PITCCH is an INNOSUP funded project operating under Horizon 2020 and the project acknowledges grant agreement No 882463. PITCCH offers matchmaking and facilitation services rather than direct grant funding to corporate challengers or to winning SMEs, although the platform can link to regional funding, Seal of Excellence processes and other support services.

Outcomes and examples from PITCCH rounds

PITCCH has run multiple corporate rounds and publicly profiles selected winners to showcase unexpected or promising pairings. These case summaries show the range of problems addressed and the types of SME technologies that were matched to corporate challenges.

Each of these pairings moved to a Proof of Concept or pilot phase facilitated by PITCCH. The examples underline two practical points. First, corporate problems tend to be downstream, systems oriented and require integration of new materials or processes into existing operations. Second, SME technologies are often specialised and need careful scoping and pilot funding to demonstrate industrial feasibility.

Context within the EU innovation landscape and realistic expectations

PITCCH sits among a constellation of EU programmes that aim to build stronger innovation ecosystems. The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency EISMEA administers many such initiatives and the EIC programmes offer grants, equity and acceleration services for deep tech companies. PITCCH complements these efforts by focusing on demand led corporate challenges and by mobilising technology centres as matchmakers. However, several persistent obstacles remain in this model. These include intellectual property negotiations, alignment of corporate procurement and regulatory timelines with SME development cycles, securing follow on financing beyond a pilot, and ensuring that successful small scale tests scale to production. Measuring systemic impact will require tracking which pilots convert to long term commercial relationships and to measurable revenues.

Practical advice for corporates and SMEs engaging in PITCCH

Caveats and what to watch for

PITCCH and similar open innovation brokers can lower search costs and speed introductions. They do not guarantee adoption or financing. Organisations should watch for hidden costs such as extended integration cycles, unresolved IP ownership, and misaligned incentives between a pilot and the business case for deployment. Independent evaluation of whether pilot projects lead to revenue, procurement contracts or scaled manufacturing is necessary to judge the programme's effectiveness.

Practical next steps and further information

Large enterprises interested in submitting Corporate Challenges were invited to use the PITCCH Open Innovation Platform and to meet the 31 July 2021 deadline for that call. The project is INNOSUP funded under Horizon 2020, grant agreement No 882463. PITCCH also provides access to additional resources through its API and database and signposts successful applicants to national support structures. For firms seeking to participate, the realistic expectation is that PITCCH will facilitate introductions and structured pilots but further negotiation, contracting and funding commitments will be needed to move to commercial scale.

This article retains information published by PITCCH and related EU programme pages. It expands on the model and adds practical context from the European innovation ecosystem while noting the implementation risks that matter for corporates and SMEs considering engagement.