Framework F045: TRL Levels and Commercialization Roadmap Toolkit

Use the TRL framework to map, align, and accelerate your journey from lab to market

A great innovation doesn’t reach the market on merit alone. It needs the right proof, at the right stage, with the right partners. Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) offer a globally recognized framework for tracking tech maturity — and this framework shows you how to use them to plan funding, mitigate risk, and align with regulators, customers, and internal teams.

From TRL 1’s concept validation to TRL 9’s market launch, this tool gives you the structure to de-risk development and communicate clearly at every step.

What You Will Achieve With This Framework

✔ Understand all 9 TRL levels and the activities that define each stage​
✔ Accurately assess your current TRL and identify what’s needed to progress​
✔ Build a commercialization roadmap aligned to technology readiness level transitions
✔ Align scientific, technical, and regulatory workstreams around a shared status language​
✔ Communicate with funders and partners using TRL benchmarks they trust

Who This Is For

  • Deep-tech startups and university spinouts navigating the path to commercialization

  • Innovation teams aligning internal R&D with go-to-market goals

  • Public-private partnerships managing milestone-based funding

  • Product and program managers overseeing technical risk and regulatory gates

When to Use It

Use this framework when:

  • You’re developing novel technology with multiple validation stages

  • Funders or stakeholders ask for a TRL designation

  • You want to coordinate engineering, testing, and regulatory milestones

  • You're building a multi-phase product roadmap or grant proposal

What This Framework Replaces

✘ Guesswork around “how close” you are to market
✘ Unclear communication across technical and non-technical teams
✘ Missed funding due to vague progress descriptions
✘ Development delays caused by skipped validation steps​

How It Fits Into Your Innovation Process

Use this early and often — from concept to deployment. It connects research, validation, and market readiness in one clear continuum.

Framework Sections

1. Why TRLs Matter: A common language for cross-sector, cross-border innovation

2. TRL Levels Explained:

  • TRL 1–3: Concept to Proof-of-Concept — Lab research, modeling, and early validation

  • TRL 4–6: Validation to Pilot — Real-world testing, subsystem integration, regulatory engagement

  • TRL 7–9: Demo to Launch — Full operational trials, certifications, commercial deployment​

3. Advancement Checklist:

  • Is the current TRL clearly defined?

  • Are testing and compliance activities in place?

  • Are funding and partners aligned with TRL goals?​

4. Common Pitfalls at Each Level:

  • TRL 2: Unvalidated assumptions

  • TRL 4: Skipped documentation

  • TRL 6: Lack of real-world data

  • TRL 8: Delayed regulatory approvals​

5. Example Use Cases:

  • Biotech lab navigating FDA and TRL 6

  • Agri-tech sensor validated in greenhouse testing

  • Clean energy storage moving from TRL 8 to TRL 9 with utility partners​