Asghar Nouralizadeh made the remarks Sunday at the Research and Technology Festival of the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry. He said the fund’s mission is to finance ideas through the commercialization of tech-based products and, as the country’s main financing authority for the knowledge-based sector, it supports companies that have received certification from the Vice Presidency for Science, Technology and the Knowledge-Based Economy at all stages of growth and development.

Nouralizadeh said the fund’s support begins with early-stage needs such as company and brand registration, participation in domestic exhibitions, and training and capacity building, and extends to educational and research grants. Researchers and technologists who have reached the stages of prototyping, product development or process development at universities or research centers and seek to enter commercialization are eligible for the fund’s financial support, he added.

He emphasized that oil, gas and petrochemicals are among the country’s most important areas of competitive advantage, noting that the fund’s strategy is to concentrate support on sectors where Iran holds such advantages. In this framework, the oil industry has been selected as a key priority, with efforts focused on identifying leading companies and linking startups and knowledge-based firms to them through supply chains.

Broad cooperation with the Oil Ministry and RIPI

Citing past cooperation with major petrochemical groups, Nouralizadeh said the fund is prepared to define and implement similar—and even broader—collaborations with the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry and the Oil Ministry to commercialize knowledge-based ideas, projects and technologies.

He said the oil sector’s large share of gross domestic product underscores the need to expand specialized financing institutions. With industry participation, he added, effective financing bodies can be established to support knowledge-based companies. The fund is also ready to help develop non-governmental research and technology funds with oil-industry stakeholders to activate credit lines and financial agencies in key oil and gas hubs.

Nouralizadeh said joint efforts with the Oil Ministry and the vice presidency could also expand science and technology parks in strategic oil, gas and petrochemical regions such as Mahshahr and Assaluyeh. Through accelerators and venture capital institutions, companies based in these areas can receive financial support and co-investment in innovative ideas and technologies.

Sanctions as a catalyst for technological gains

Referring to international conditions and global innovation indicators, Nouralizadeh said reports for 1403 and 1404 show declines in research and development spending in some leading countries. He said the trend presents an opportunity for Iran—particularly in the oil sector—to increase its share of global innovation indicators by focusing on commercially oriented R&D.

He stressed that the fund’s approach goes beyond purely academic research, prioritizing R&D that leads to products, technologies and commercialization. Current conditions, he said, require maximizing the country’s strong domestic knowledge base, especially in the oil industry.

Nouralizadeh concluded by thanking the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry and said the fund is ready to define shared areas of cooperation to expand the role of technology, R&D and knowledge-based companies in achieving advanced oil technologies, with the goal of delivering tangible, impactful results for the country.