Brussels, 27/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) want to push forward the breakthrough of key enabling technologies and reinforce the EU's position in the sector.
The first meeting of the high-level group on key enabling technologies (KET) gave rise to a memorandum of undertanding between the Commission and the EIB, which will pave the way for better access to funding for investment in KET (nanotechnology, micro-nanoelectronics, industrial biotechnology, advanced materials, photonics and advanced manufacturing technologies), the global market for which, worth €650 billion in 2008, is set to grow to more than €1,000 billion in 2015.
KETs serve the most strategic industries, such as automotives, chemicals, space and aeronautics, health, energy and others. They are present in everyday products, in the form of nano-components produced by the nanoelectronics industry for mobile telephones, high-energy-yield photonic crystal LED screens and displays, advanced batteries used in electric vehicles and which combine state-of-the-art materials and nanotechnologies, bio-chips which combine advanced materials, nanoelectronics and photonics to detect disease, and low-friction tyres based on industrial biotechnology, etc.
In order to guarantee the EU's full involvement in the rise of KET and to consolidate its leading position in the sector, the Commission has set in place a high-level group, which was inaugurated on Wednesday 27 February, to help it to implement its strategy to relaunch industrial production in Europe. Symbolic of the cross-cutting influences of KET, four commissioners - Antonio Tajani (Industry), Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda), Maire Geoghegan-Quinn (Research) and Johannes Hahn (Regional Policy) are involved.
This group, which will be made up of representatives of technology suppliers for each of the six KETs, downstream users, civil society and stakeholders from across the sector - local and regional authorities, communities of SMEs, competences and research, and the EIB - aims to promote the industrial deployment of European KETs, both to reinforce the EU's position as a global player in the sector and to stimulate growth and employment and respond to societal challenges. The questions examined by the group include research and innovative issues, financial engineering mechanisms for KET projects, cooperation between various players in the chain, trade and questions related to state aid, human capital and national/regional responsibilities and policies. (EH/transl.fl)