EU industrial leadership gets boost through eight new research partnerships
The European Commission today launched eight contractual Public Private Partnerships (cPPPs) of strategic importance for European industry. The partnerships will leverage more than €6 billion of investments to be allocated through calls for proposals under Horizon 2020, the new EU programme for research and innovation. Each euro of public funding is expected to trigger additional investments of between three and 10 euro to develop new technologies, products and services which will give European industry a leading position on world markets.
European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "Europe needs industry to innovate to create income and jobs. New technologies and products, such as green cars, energy efficient buildings and cleaner manufacturing processes, are essential to address societal challenges such as climate change, energy and resource efficiency. We want these contractual PPPs to have a substantial impact on the competitiveness of the EU industry, on sustainable economic growth and the creation of new high-skilled jobs in Europe."Vice President Neelie Kroes, Commissioner responsible for the Digital Agenda, said: "This is a great opportunity for Europe. These PPPs will maintain our global lead in robotics, photonics, high performance computing, telecoms and give us a head start in smart cities, intelligent transport, education, entertainment, media and other promising markets. Combined with a comprehensive industrial strategy, the PPPs will ensure vigorous European leadership and a better future for all."The eight contractual Public-Private Partnerships are:- Factories of the Future (FoF), to support the manufacturing industry through the development of sustainable production technologies and systems (Link to factsheet)
- Energy-efficient Buildings (EeB), to increase the competitiveness and energy efficiency of the construction industry (Link to factsheet)
- European Green Vehicles Initiative (EGVI), to develop a competitive and resource efficient transport system with significantly less CO2 emissions (Link to factsheet)
- Sustainable Process Industry (SPIRE), to make the process industry more resource- and energy-efficient (Link to factsheet)
- Photonics, one of the key enabling technologies for our future prosperity and an essential element of many sectors, from energy and health, to everyday products like DVD players and mobile phones (Link to factsheet)
- Robotics, a key driver of industrial competitiveness and essential to address key societal challenges in areas such as demographic change, health and well-being, food production, transport and security (Link to factsheet)
- High Performance Computing (HPC), which plays a pivotal role in stimulating Europe’s economic growth and advancing European science (Link to factsheet)
- Advanced 5G networks for the Future Internet (5G), to stimulate the development of network internet infrastructure to ensure advanced ICT services for all sectors and users (Link to factsheet)
The contracts setting up the PPPs were signed today by the Commission and chairpersons of specially-created industrial research and innovation associations, representing more than 1,000 large and small enterprises across Europe.