How to make smarter use of R&D investments

The cost of duplication in R&D

According to the European Patent Office, up to 30% of all R&D expenditure is wasted on redeveloping existing inventions. In the EU alone, this translates to €25 billion wasted each year on duplicating research that has already been carried out elsewhere. This underlines the importance of leveraging the right tools and knowledge to make informed decisions at every stage of the innovation process.

From guesswork to strategic innovation

To avoid costly duplication and ensure smarter innovation, companies must rely on strategic analysis and technological scouting. These approaches allow them to map the innovation landscape, identify white spaces, and open up to cross-sector collaboration, which is a key enabler of breakthroughs in today’s interconnected innovation ecosystems.

How we support smarter R&D

At PNO, we help organisations navigate their innovation journey using a proven mix of methodologies, data intelligence, and financing strategies. With tools like Wheesbee, our proprietary data-mining platform, we provide actionable insights through business intelligence and strategic foresight, supporting better decision-making and more efficient innovation planning.

Real-world impact: The AI-CUBE Project

One example of this approach in action is AI-CUBE: Artificial Intelligence and Big Data for Process Industries. This is an European project funded by Horizon 2020. In this project, we used our expertise to identify cross-sector technology transfer opportunities for AI and Big Data, aiming to boost energy efficiency and reduce R&D costs in the process industry.