This exploratory study aims at finding influences of characteristics on commercialization of results of research and innovation projects funded by the EU. This study will help overcomer the Valley of Death, which is the troublesome transition from research to the subsequent commercialization. This study aims at two themes within FP7-NMP which were launched in 2009. These themes fund research public-private partnerships that will help strengthen the industry in their sector. This study focuses on the themes: 'Factories of the Future' and 'Energy-efficient Buildings'. 10 case studies of projects within these themes are performed to explore which characteristics are of influence on commercialization of project results. This study finds that characteristics that are of influence are: 'Number of partners', 'Collaboration', 'Clearly defined roles and scope', 'Good project management', 'Number of SMEs', 'having partners from the value-chain' and 'involving the end user'. The findings from this study suggest that for commercialization the technology used in the project should be limited in scope and mature enough at the start for commercialization of project results to be likely. With these findings a conceptual model is designed that the European Commission can use to better design research projects in order to stimulate commercialization of research results.