The Valley of Death of Innovation
The gap where Germany's best inventions die
The Scale of Innovation
In innovation research, the maturity of a technology is measured on a scale from 1 to 9 — the so-called "Technology Readiness Level" (TRL). The scale was originally developed by NASA and is now a worldwide standard:
This scale sounds like a continuous path from idea to product. But it hides a gap — a gap that becomes a trap for countless inventors.
The Valley of Death
Between TRL 3 and TRL 7 lies a zone that has earned a telling name in innovation research: the "Valley of Death."
The gap no one wants to bridge
This is the zone where technologies are too mature for research funding — but not yet mature enough for industrial investment. Where academic success no longer counts — but commercial success has not yet begun.
This is where inventions die. Not because they don't work. But because no one feels responsible for them.
What Is Funded
Basic research (TRL 1-3) is well funded in Germany. Universities, Max Planck Institutes, DFG projects — there is money, infrastructure, careers. Here ideas are born and principles are proven.
Industrial development (TRL 7-9) is equally well funded — by companies that already have the infrastructure to bring a technology to market. Here it's about optimization, series production, market launch.
But in between? In the zone of TRL 4-6? There is a structural void.
The Actors and Their Limits
Universities
Their job is basic research. They can prove a principle — but they lack the resources to bring it to market. When a research project ends, the scientist moves on. The technology stays behind.
Companies
They want finished solutions. Technology at TRL 7+ that can be integrated into existing production. The risk of TRL 4-6 — years of development with uncertain outcome — doesn't fit in quarterly reports.
Funding Agencies
They have programs for basic research and programs for industrial development. But bridging programs? Rare. And when they exist, they require companies as applicants — inventors without companies need not apply.
Technology Transfer Centers
They consult. They network. They organize workshops. But they don't develop. They have no engineering capacity, no prototype workshops, no test facilities. They are brokers without inventory.
The Five Words
There's a sentence that summarizes the entire German innovation system in five words. An inventor hears it sooner or later from every funding agency:
"Do you even have a company?"
Not: "What have you invented?"
Not: "What problem do you solve?"
Not: "How can we help?"
But: "Do you fit in our box?"
An inventor without a company is not anticipated. They don't fit any form. They disrupt the process.
The Cartel of Ignorance
What's being described here is not a new phenomenon. Prof. Erich Häußer, former President of the German Patent Office, analyzed it precisely in the mid-1990s:
"Inventors, but also scientists — as far as they don't belong to the establishment — are no longer supported with all means, promoted and generally recognized for their achievements, but neglected, often treated outright badly or — which is almost worse — simply ignored."
— Prof. Erich Häußer
Häußer called this system the "Cartel of Ignorance". And he warned:
"If we don't manage to break through this cartel of ignorance, we will in quite foreseeable time become a low-wage country again."
That was 30 years ago. Nobody listened. The warning has become reality.
The Consequence
So who takes an invention from TRL 3 to TRL 7?
The inventor themselves. With their own money. With their own time. With their own health. Against all resistance. For decades.
This is not a hero's story. This is system failure.
Germany has excellent basic research. Germany has highly qualified engineers. Germany has abundant funding pots. And yet innovations migrate — to China, to the USA, anywhere someone is willing to take on the risk of the middle TRL stages.
What Would Be Needed?
The Valley of Death is not a law of nature. It's the result of decisions that could be corrected:
- Technical development capacity: Not just consulting and networking, but real engineering resources for inventors. Designers, prototype builders, test facilities.
- Continuous TRL funding: Programs that accompany a technology from TRL 3 to TRL 7, without the inventor having to file new applications at every stage.
- Partnership models: Structures in which inventors are involved as equal partners — not as suppliers of intellectual property.
- Mentality change: The first question to an inventor should be: "What have you invented?" — not: "Do you even have a company?"
Conclusion
The Valley of Death is not an inevitable phase of technology development. It's a gap in the system that is deliberately left open — because closing it would require courage, resources, and willingness to change.
As long as this gap exists, German inventors will continue to fight alone. Some will give up. Some will emigrate. Some will watch their ideas being realized elsewhere.
Prof. Häußer was right. The Cartel of Ignorance has won.
"Decline doesn't begin with a catastrophe. It begins when you stop asking the right questions."
This essay is part of the series "Germany's Innovation Desert"
The material will flow into the book "Celestial Mechanics in the Machine Tool."