Following the approval from the Competitiveness Council on 23 November, the JTIs should now be in a position to launch the first call for proposals early in 2008.
JTIs are intended to target fields where existing funding mechanisms cannot deliver the scale and speed needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global competition. The first, Artemis, will work on embedded systems in devices and appliances ranging from cars, planes and phones, to energy networks and washing machines.
It is forecast there will be over 16 billion embedded devices by 2010 and over 40 billion worldwide by 2020. By 2010 these “invisible” chips will represent between 30 and 40 per cent of the value of new products.
The second JTI, Eniac, will target the very high level of miniaturisation required for the next generations of nanoelectronics components.
Both Artemis and Eniac are industry led, with at least 50 per cent of their budgets expected to come from industry, €1.7 billion from member states, and €420 million and €450 million respectively from the Commission.
The third JTI, the Innovative medicine initiative development of new knowledge, tools and methods for quicker, better and safer drug development, will receive €2 billion over seven years, with €1 billion from the Commission to support public research and small companies, while the biopharmaceutical industry will matching this amount in kind.
The final programme, Clean Sky, aims to make the European aeronautics industry more competitive and cut the environmental burden of air transport, by reducing emissions and noise. There will be €800 million earmarked in the EU budget, with €800 million from other participants, mainly private companies.
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