What are Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs)?
Developed by NASA in the 1970s, TRLs are a systematic metric used to assess the maturity of technologies during their development.
The TRL scale has 9 levels, with TRL 1 being the lowest level of technology readiness and TRL 9 being the highest. As technologies progress from concept to commercialisation, they advance through higher TRLs corresponding to certain development milestones. When using TRLs, it is important to note that the levels are not focused on the technology alone. The levels are also assessed on the application of the technology and the operating environment. If the technology is used for a different application the TRL levels will need to be reassessed and it will likely be necessary to work through the stages again.
TRLs can be a helpful tool when working though the development of a technology. Of note, a key aspect of Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) is that it uses a stage-gated model, with projects needing to achieve certain TRLs to be eligible, progress through the program and receive further funding.
The TRLs can be challenging to navigate and we have developed an infographic which describes each TRL in simple terms and illustrates it with two examples: one for a product and the other for software. We hope this provides a useful reference guide when assessing the TRL of your technology.
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