Corporates should bet on the future, not wait for it
Offtake agreements let companies back emerging tech before it scales, turning cautious buyers into the driving force behind the next wave of innovation.
Innovation often falters in the gap between invention and scale. A lab breakthrough may promise to solve a major problem, but until it works at industrial scale, investors, governments and corporates struggle to know whether to take it seriously.
One of the most powerful yet underused ways to bridge this gap is through offtake agreements. These are contracts where a company commits in advance to purchase the output of an emerging technology once it’s produced.
For a startup, it sends a crucial signal to investors: there will be customers on the other side if we can get this built. For a corporate, it can mean the difference between watching an industry emerge and helping to shape it.
Offtakes are not simple. They ask large organisations to stretch beyond their comfort zones. Procurement systems are designed to reduce risk, not embrace it. Boards want certainty before signing long-term contracts. And in a world where quarterly results dominate, executives often hesitate to make commitments that may not deliver for years.
