Over three years, the program expects to make available roughly $2.2 million in resources and plans to support 10 to 15 companies annually.
Hurricanes, flooding, and aging infrastructure are pushing South Florida to find new solutions faster, and Florida International University’s Risk and Resilience Tech Hub (RRTH) wants to help get them there.
RRTH is a research and innovation initiative based at FIU’s Office of Research and Economic Development, focused on strengthening infrastructure against extreme weather and long-term wear. Its Innovation Center is the arm that works directly with companies, pairing them with university and industry partners to move new technologies toward pilot deployment, manufacturing, and commercialization. The center is now opening its 2026 to 2027 applications.
The program is designed for startups and small businesses working on concrete, cement, and construction materials, coastal and flood resilience, transportation infrastructure, and building systems. Applicants should generally have a technology that has moved past early prototyping, a defined pilot or commercialization pathway, and interest in deploying or expanding within South Florida.
“The RRTH Innovation Center is designed to help companies move closer to deployment by connecting them with testing, engineering expertise, manufacturing resources, and commercialization support,” said Yogeswaran Umasankar, Emerging Technology Research Specialist at the Risk and Resilience Tech Hub.
Over the next three years, the program expects to make available roughly $2.2 million in resources, averaging about $720,000 annually, and plans to support 10 to 15 companies each year.
That support includes access to FIU’s Wall of Wind hurricane testing facility, the University of Miami’s ACCESS Lab for cement and concrete testing, UM’s Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure for composite materials testing, and Titan Florida’s R&D Laboratory.
Companies can also tap engineering and technical integration services, manufacturing and collaboration space at Titan Florida’s Innovation Hub in Wynwood, equipment rental support, and non-dilutive workforce grants where available.
Umasankar pointed to South Florida’s research base as a driver for the program. “We have world class research institutions, industry partners, and real-world challenges that make this an ideal place to develop and demonstrate new technologies,” he said.
Applications are open now through August 22, 2026, and take about 20 to 25 minutes to complete. Selected companies will be announced September 21, with a Demo Day set for the week of October 26.
Applications can be submitted here.
Pictured above: FIU’s Wall of Wind (WOW), one of the testing facilities available through the RRTH Innovation Center. Companies can use the facility to validate the performance of their infrastructure technologies under hurricane force winds and wind driven rain.
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