External technology commercialization of non-core technologies

Abstract

Non-core technologies are technologies that a corporation does not want to commercialize or develop further. However, even though these technologies might at first sight not seem to have potential inside a specific corporation they might be valuable to others and may therefore eventually be so also to the corporation.

There are several ways to commercialize non-core technologies including spinoffs, out-licensing agreements and sell-offs. These mechanisms have their own characteristics regarding risk and reward. The Cleantech Innovation Mill (CIM) is a program, established in 2012, that focuses on utilizing the anchor companies' unused ideas by building new ventures around them. This study examines the different mechanisms and the CIM from Wärtsilä's point of view.

The study found that the management of non-core technologies is in a very early stage in Finland and so also in Wärtsilä. To date Wärtsilä has been evaluating opportunities case-by-case in an ad-hoc nature. The study provides recommendations and guidelines on how Wärtsilä could move to a more systematic approach which may lead to a more efficient management process of their non-core technologies.