The first major Joint Technology Initiatives (JTI) endorsed by the EU at the end of last year have been launched today with the first meeting of the governing boards of ARTEMIS and ENIAC in Brussels.
Under the JTIs, public and private stakeholders in designated sectors will take strategic and funding decisions jointly.
ARTEMIS is a public-private partnership looking into the field of embedded computer systems, while ENIAC targets the nanoelectronics sector.
ARTEMIS is to receive funding of €2.5bn, while €3bn is earmarked for research on nanoelectronics in the EU under ENIAC.
The thinking behind the establishment of the JTIs was to pioneer an entirely new way of funding research in Europe, promoting economies of scale, cost savings and much shorter times to market for products based on designated technologies.
Commenting on ARTEMIS, Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, said: “Invisible computers embedded in all devices of industrial application can have a tremendously positive impact on Europe’s economy. Increasingly, useful applications affecting the daily life of consumers rely on such embedded systems, whether in credit cards or in cars.
“Also the new Airbus includes many embedded technologies from fly-by-wire to cabin pressure control. This is why €2.5bn of European public and private research investment into embedded systems over 10 years is very worthwhile, ensuring that European technology remains at the forefront worldwide.”
Speaking about ENIAC, Reding said: “Today, it is the smallest technologies that are taking the largest leaps forward, and our industries must do the same. The possibilities offered by nanoelectronics are only limited by our imagination. They underpin all aspects of everyday devices and so concern everyone in Europe. ENIAC, which has a budget of €3bn over 10 years, is a concrete way to ensure that such a key industrial sector continues its strong economic growth, right here in Europe.”
Two other JTIs, the Innovative Medicine Initiative, which will support the development of new medicines, and Clean Sky, which will seek to increase the competitiveness of the European aeronautics industry while reducing emissions and noise, are due to be launched soon.
By Niall Byrne
