Time to ECSEL with 5 billion euros public private partnership
The technology areas of nanoelectronics, embedded/cyberphysical systems and smart systems are strongly interconnected and converge in many high-tech application areas/domains that address the main societal challenges of Europe.
Contributing 50% of the budget of the research and innovation programme of the new joint undertaking on Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership (ECSEL), industry will play a major role by proposing innovative projects that include pilot lines and large-scale demonstrators. The main objective of the work accomplished through ESCEL will be to accentuate the attractiveness of Europe for the high-tech industry and to contribute to the development of new technologies and applications that address tomorrow’s main societal challenges.
“The ECSEL proposal presented today is the result of a concerted effort made by industry and the public authorities to create a new programme that builds on lessons learned, one that looks towards the future needs of our society and that reinforces the continued prosperity of Europe,” explains Jan Lohstroh, Secretary General of ARTEMIS-IA (ARTEMIS Industry Association).
ECSEL will be a second generation joint undertaking that will build upon both the current ENIAC (nanoelectronics) and ARTEMIS (embedded computing systems) joint undertakings that will conclude at the end of 2013. In the period 2008-2013, ENIAC and ARTEMIS will have supported about 120 projects for total activity expenditure close to €3.8 billion (including an estimation for the calls 2013), involving more than 1000 organisations of which around 40% are SMEs.
Of notable importance, ECSEL will also include smart systems (EPoSS – European Platform on Smart Systems Integration), thus combining three technology areas and resulting in a complete and complementary project portfolio, which fits into a single European strategy covering the entire value and innovation chain of the electronic components and systems sector.
The new Public Private Partnership ECSEL will have three major advantages compared to the present situation: it will enhance the coordination of industry’s research, development and innovation (R&D&I) efforts, it will strengthen industry positions by forming a strong group that will act with a concerted approach, and it will lead to efficiency gains in management by putting three programmes under one administrative roof.
The proposal of the European Commission for ECSEL will be submitted to the European Parliament and European Council for comments and adoption respectively. The aim is adoption completed at the end of this year. The launch of the first call for project proposals is planned for the beginning of 2014 and the first projects of the ECSEL programme are expected to start as soon as possible thereafter.