First call for the EU’s recession-busting research programmes

Funding opportunity

The European Commission has announced the first round of calls for proposals in public private projects that will inject €268 million in a bid to trigger a sustainable and knowledge-based economic recovery.

A total of €3.2 billion has been earmarked for three European public-private partnerships dedicated to developing new technologies in manufacturing, construction and the automotive sectors. The three partnerships are part of the Commission’s Economy Recovery Plan.

EU Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potočnik said the early launch of the calls, “Proves our capacity to act together rapidly to respond to the research demands of the European Economic Recovery Plan.”

The public private partnerships, “Show that the European Commission is helping industry to invest a critical mass of resources in longer-term research, even in these times of crisis, when the temptation for industry is to think short-term,” said Massimo Matucci, on behalf of one of the partnerships, ‘Factories of the Future.’

Over 800 representatives from Europe’s industry and research sectors gathered in Brussels earlier in the week to mark the announcement of the first set of calls. The three areas covered are new manufacturing technologies, including materials and processes to produce more products while consuming less material and less energy, and producing less waste; more energy-efficient buildings, including new construction, greening of existing buildings, new materials and new construction techniques; and greener cars and smarter transport systems, including electrification of road and urban transport, and research into hybrid technologies.

From 2010 to 2013, a total of €3.2 billion will be allocated for research through these three public-private partnerships, with half of the funds coming from industry and half from the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme for R&D.

For more informaiton, see the Commission website.