Highlighting photonics in Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 will see the development of a new public private partnership (PPP) in the Europe’s photonics sector. It is hoped the PPP will enable the industry to maintain its international competitiveness and bring more new products to market.
The development of the PPP is directly supported by the European Commission, which has allocated an investment of €1.5bn under Horizon 2020 to the Key Enabling Technology. The partnership has been closely developed alongside the Photonics Strategic Multiannual Roadmap from Photonics21, a voluntary association of over 2,000 industrial enterprises in the sector.
Horizon2020projects.com spoke to Dr Michael Mertin, Photonics21 president, about the development of the PPP and his expectations for the next research and innovation framework programme.
What is the background to the development of a PPP in the photonics industry and what benefits will this new form of relationship bring?
The rationale behind the creation of a PPP is to increase the competitiveness of the European photonics industry through more innovation and reducing the time-to-market for new products. With a European photonics industry that is ahead of the international competition, we will accelerate economic growth and create well paid and secure jobs in Europe. The Commission is supporting the photonics industry by setting up a funding programme within Horizon 2020.
One benefit of this new form of relationship is that Horizon 2020 will enable the photonics community to join forces in various research and innovation projects. Knowledge and funding of different players – including large companies, SMEs, and research institutions, from different countries – will be pooled together to achieve advancements in photonics.
Another benefit is that the new form of relationship ensures that public money is spent wisely. This is achieved by the industry’s commitment to multiply the funds received from the Commission by a factor of four. The industry’s strategic research and innovation agenda for Horizon 2020 was developed by the photonics community within the work groups of Photonics21. More than 300 photonics experts contributed to the identification and description of the most relevant research and innovation topics, and a public consultation ensured that other communities and end users were involved.
How will the PPP develop the relationship between the photonics industry and the European Commission?
The Photonics PPP will strengthen the relationship between the photonics industry and the Commission by establishing a closer alignment of industrial and public strategies and by a formalised agreement regarding the multiplication of the public funding. Moreover, the co-operation between both parties will be intensified since Photonics21 will continue to provide its industrial and scientific expertise, acting as the key advisory body to the Commission for photonics research and innovation funding throughout Horizon 2020.
How would you assess the achievements made in the photonics sector under FP7?
In the period 2007-2012, FP7 funded 96 photonics research and innovation projects throughout the various photonics application areas. The overall photonics budget in ICT during FP7 is about €460m and throughout the duration of FP7, the budget for photonics research and innovation funding slightly increased if you compare the different work programmes. These developments under FP7 have contributed to significant achievements in the European photonics sector. In addition, the Commission has recognised the growing importance of the photonics sector by defining photonics as a Key Enabling Technology of Europe.
What are your priorities and expectations for photonics in Horizon 2020?
Our priorities for photonics research and innovation funding in Europe have been outlined in the recently published Photonics Strategic Multiannual Roadmap. The photonics community expects that Horizon 2020 allows for photonics funding along the full innovation value chain in Europe. Europe needs to strengthen the industrial deployment of its excellent photonics research results by promoting greater integration across the whole research and innovation value chain.
Horizon 2020 needs to ensure that an increased budget of funding is spent on applied research and demonstration programmes for photonics to minimise the time-to-market and to allow for the rapid development of new products, hence we expect to overcome the ‘valley of death’ (the gap between investing money to generate knowledge and earning money by applying knowledge to produce and sell products).
In addition to this, specific deployment programmes will be needed to demonstrate the impact of photonics technologies. Furthermore, we need to improve the infrastructure for photonics manufacturing in Europe and establish pilot production facilities in which industry and research institutes can jointly develop innovative photonics production processes. We also expect a fast-track funding vehicle for photonics SMEs, which will play a major role in driving innovation and economic growth in Europe.
Dr Michael Mertin
