How to evaluate your TRL

Last updated: November 2, 2026

What TRL is and why it matters on Halo

Technology readiness level (TRL) is a 1 to 9 scale for how mature a technology is, from basic principles observed (TRL 1) to a product in market (TRL 9). It was first developed by NASA and gives industry partners and innovators a shared way to describe the stage of a technology.

You'll use TRL in three places on Halo:

  • Partnering requests. Industry partners select a TRL range they're open to. It tells you whether your work is at the stage they can take on.

  • Proposals. You select the TRL of your solution when you submit.

  • Partnering listings. You select a TRL when you create a listing, and describe readiness and validation in the listing itself.

An accurate TRL helps the right partners find you and sets realistic expectations for what a first project would look like.

The nine levels

These are the levels as they appear on Halo. The right-hand column describes the kind of evidence that usually supports each level.

TRL

Halo label

You can typically show

1

Basic principles observed

Published or observed science that suggests the approach could work

2

Concept development

A defined concept and application, backed by analysis or literature, but no experimental data yet

3

Experimental proof of concept

First lab experiments showing the core effect or function works

4

Validated in lab conditions

Repeatable lab results, with components working together under controlled conditions

5

Validated in relevant environment

Testing under conditions close to real use, such as real samples, matrices or operating ranges

6

Demonstrated in relevant environment

A prototype or pilot-scale system performing in a setting representative of real use

7

Regulatory approval

The approvals or certifications required for your market are in place or underway

8

Product in production

Manufacturing at commercial scale, with consistent output

9

Product in market

Sold to and used by customers

Levels 1 to 3 are research, 4 to 6 are development and validation, and 7 to 9 are commercialization.

How to evaluate your TRL

  1. Define exactly what you're rating. Rate the specific technology you're proposing or listing, not your broader platform or lab. If a request asks for one application of your platform, rate your readiness for that application.

  2. List the evidence you have today. Write down your data, prototypes, pilots, publications, patents and funded projects. Count only what's done, not what's planned or underway.

  3. Match it to the table. Start at TRL 1 and work up. Your TRL is the highest level you can fully back with that evidence. If you're partway through a level, choose the level below.

  4. Check the environment. The jump from 4 to 5 and 6 depends on where testing happened. Lab conditions alone stop at 4. To claim 5 or 6, you need results under conditions close to real use, such as the partner's kind of material, process or scale.

  5. Check against the request. Compare your TRL with the request's range. If you're below it, say so in your proposal and explain how the work would close the gap.

  6. Explain it in your proposal or listing. Selecting a number isn't enough. State what's been validated, under what conditions, and what still needs to be proven.

Common mistakes

  • Rating the plan, not the result. Your TRL reflects what's been shown, not what the proposed project would achieve. Put the future work in your research or delivery plan.

  • Rating the whole platform. A platform validated in one application isn't automatically at that level in another.

  • Selecting a number with no support. Back your TRL with specifics: what was tested, at what scale, under what conditions, and what you compared against.

  • Treating lab results as real-world results. Results under controlled lab conditions support TRL 4, not 5 or 6.

Early-stage work is welcome

A low TRL isn't a weakness on its own. Halo advises industry partners who open a request to TRL 1 to 5 to keep must-haves flexible, since early-stage work may not have answers on scale, cost or performance yet. Early-stage proposals and listings that stand out still:

  • Say plainly what's been shown so far and what a partner's support would test next

  • Lay out a step-by-step plan for testing and validation, tied to outcomes

  • Explain how scale-up, cost and regulatory questions will be evaluated during the project

  • Make clear what the project will prove and what will remain to be validated

What gets early-stage proposals declined is staying conceptual: phrases like "we propose to explore" with no roadmap for validation.

Questions? Email support@halo.science.