On 11 December the European Parliament gave its strong support to Commission proposals to launch the first ever Europe-wide public-private research partnerships. These Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) will pool industry, Member States and Commission resources into targeted research programmes. They will create critical mass for European research and innovation, consolidate the European research community in key strategic areas and streamline project funding to bring research results on-stream quicker. The first four, approved by this parliamentary vote, will be in the areas of miniaturisation technologies, invisible computers, innovative medicines and greener aviation. Following the green light from Member States on 23 November, it will now be possible to go ahead with the ambitious plans to establish these JTIs in 2008.

ARTEMIS will address the invisible computers (embedded systems) that today run all machines from cars, planes and phones, from energy networks and factories to washing machines and televisions. Forecasts predict there will be over 16 billion embedded devices by 2010 and over 40 billion worldwide by 2020. By 2010 these invisible chips will represent 30-40% of the value of new products, in consumer electronics (41%), telecommunications (37%), automotive (36%) and health equipment (33%). ARTEMIS could therefore result in benefits for the EU economy of more than €100 billion over the next ten years.

ENIAC will target the very high level of miniaturisation required for the next generations of nanoelectronics components. IWith ENIAC, Europe intends to increase and focus its own research on nanoelectronics to grab a growing share of the €200 billion semiconductor market and of the 5 times larger market of innovative electronics products. This will result in new applications in communication and computing, transport, healthcare and wellness, energy and environmental management, security and safety, and entertainment.

ARTEMIS and ENIAC being industry-led, at least 50% of their budgets are expected to come from industry, €1.7 billion from participating Member States, and €420 and €450 million respectively coming from the Commission.


See also: Joint Technology Initiatives, a new EU research initiative: Frequently asked questions