This blog has been archived. A new one has been set up at this link.
The European Commission, Spain, Lithuania and Austria have announced new funding for the development of renewable hydrogen via the Innovation Fund.
The three member states will participate in scheme which is part of the second European Hydrogen Bank auction, to be launched 3 December.
In addition to the €1.2 billion in EU funding from the Innovation Fund, the three EU Member States will deploy over €700 million in national funds to support renewable hydrogen production projects located in their countries.
Spain is allocating between €280 and €400 million for the scheme, using funds from its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).
Lithuania is dedicating around €36 million from its Modernisation Fund budget, while Austria is committing €400 million from its national budget.
More details here.
The European AI Office has published the first draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice, developed by independent experts, which will guide the development of ‘trustworthy’ AI models.
The final text will detail how providers of general-purpose AI models may comply with their obligations under the AI Act.
The Code will be drafted in four rounds until April 2025, with the initial draft set to be discussed with around 1,000 stakeholders, member state representatives and international observers, in four dedicated working groups next week.
The first draft provides includes several open questions inviting feedback and further development by stakeholders.
The Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) has called for dedicated funding instruments for civil aviation with an increased budget in Horizon Europe’s successor, known as Framework Programme 10.
The existing Clean Aviation and SESAR 3 joint undertakings have proven to be “a valuable tool” in addressing climate challenges, ASD notes in its position paper on FP10.
“A new Competitiveness Joint Undertaking replacing the existing institutional partnerships will severely impact and reduce the ability of the civil aviation sector to innovate with confidence and long-term stability,” it says, referencing one of the recommendations in Mario Draghi’s report on EU competitiveness.
“Numerous technological domains, within aviation, are on the verge of disruptive change, and thus require significant investment to allow European actors to have their place in the competitive global marketplace,” ASD states.
The group also wants the scope of the existing partnerships to be expanded, for example to focus more on industrial competitiveness and to include low Technology Readiness Levels.
This year European Defence Fund (EDF) has reported a 28% increase in the number of proposals coming from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) compared to 2023.
The EDF received a record number of 298 proposals from entities competing for a total funding budget of €1.1 billion. Applicants submitted research proposals on advancements in next-generation armoured infantry vehicles, counter-hypersonic missile technologies, autonomous mine-clearing systems, and secure space communications.
Successful candidates are expected to be announced in May 2025.
“At a time when European defence readiness is paramount, it is encouraging to witness the commitment of the defence industry, including an increasing number of SMEs, to build a stronger defence technological base and develop cutting edge defence capabilities,” said Margrethe Vestager, EU executive vice-president in charge of competition policy.
More here.
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced on Tuesday that researchers at Swiss institutions will be eligible to apply for ERC Proof of Concept Grants, which support the commercialisation or societal application of research outcomes.
These grants are available to researchers who already hold ERC grants, helping bridge the gap between scientific discovery and its practical application.
The European Commission's eligibility decision under the ERC work programme 2025 aligns with ongoing EU-Switzerland negotiations, including Switzerland's association with EU programmes like Horizon Europe.
More details here.
The Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford has launched a research programme in infectious diseases, aiming to reduce disease-related deaths, curb antimicrobial resistance and build resilience against future pandemics.
The Pathogen programme brings together expertise from academia and industry, to develop real time diagnostics and predictive pathogen detection. Using diagnostics, precision medicine and bioinformatics, the programme seeks to create a global ‘always-on’ pathogen monitoring ecosystem.
“Rapid innovation is needed now to face society’s biggest challenges,” said John Bell, president of the Ellison Institute. “We are building a team of experts with the shared goal of developing technologies that will have a global impact on human health and the health of our planet.”
Global patenting activity reached new heights in 2023 as applications surpassed 3.5 million for the first time. This was the fourth consecutive year of growth in the face of a challenging macroeconomic environment, according to WIPO’s annual World Intellectual Property Indicators report.
China led with 1.64 million applications, the US filed 518,364, Japan 414,413, South Korea 287,954 and Germany 133,053. Moving up to sixth place, India at 64,480 saw a 15.7% increase in patent applications.
British physicist Mark Thomson has been nominated on Wednesday as the next Director-General of CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.
Thomson, who is the executive chair of the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and a professor at the University of Cambridge, will take the baton from the current CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti in January 2026. Thomson was the UK delegate to CERN’s Council since 2018.
“I am honoured to become CERN’s Director-General and am committed to pursuing the Organization’s scientific mission, further developing technologies that will benefit society as a whole, while uniting nations in a shared commitment to advancing science for the betterment of humanity,” said Thomson.
Read the CERN announcement here.
The EU should protect research from political or military agendas, according to a position paper by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), outlining the research funder’s view on the next EU framework programme for research and innovation, FP10.
The paper says expanding FP10’s scope beyond civil defence could disrupt the EU research and innovation ecosystem, with potentially “unprecedented consequences,” particularly if dual-use applications begin to influence FP10 funding.
“Academic freedom should prevail in FP10 and researchers should safeguard the possibility of a conscious decision to contribute to military research, or exclusively to research with civilian purposes,” CSIC says.
Read the position paper on FP10 here.
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced on Tuesday it will award €571 million in Synergy Grants to fifty-seven research groups, aimed at tackling today’s most complex scientific challenges.
Covering a wide range of disciplines, these grants are designed to foster collaboration between leading researchers, enabling them to merge expertise and resources. The funding is part of the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe.
“Innovation thrives on collaboration, especially when tackling the pressing scientific challenges of our time,” said ERC president Maria Leptin. “The ERC Synergy Grants work with Horizon Europe funding to connect brilliant minds across borders and disciplines, enabling them to push the frontiers of knowledge together.”
Read the ERC announcement here.
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
