European Commission and industry to invest € 3.2 billion in economic recovery (14/07/2009)
On 13 July the European Commission and industry announced the first round of research calls for proposals injecting €268million in three key market areas in order to trigger economic recovery and make it more sustainable and knowledge-based.
A total of €3.2 billion has been earmarked for European public-private partnerships (PPPs) dedicated to develop new technologies in manufacturing, construction and the automotive sectors.
These collaborations between the Commission and the industry will foster global competitiveness for European businesses, bring down the excessive energy consumption of Europe's buildings that make up one-third of EU CO2 emissions, and develop new and sustainable forms of road transport.
The three planned partnerships are part of the Commission's European Economy Recovery Plan endorsed by the European Council on December 2008 aiming to promote the convergence of public interest and industry commitment for research.
Over 800 representatives from Europe's industry and research sectors gathered to mark the announcement of the first set of calls for proposals that will be officially launched on 30 July for projects to run by mid-2010.
From 2010 to 2013, a total of € 3.2 billion will be allocated for research through the 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. The first cross-thematic calls for proposals are part of three PPP:
- Factories of the Future (€ 1.2 billion) – аn initiative to help EU manufacturers, especially small to medium businesses, adapt to global competitive pressures by increasing their knowledge and use of the technologies of the future;
- Energy-efficient Buildings (€ 1 billion) – аn initiative to promote green technologies and development of energy-efficient systems and materials in European buildings;
- Green Cars (€ 1 billion) – аn initiative emphasizing the development of renewable and non-polluting energy sources, safety and traffic fluidity in the automotive field. «Greening» is necessary to achieve EU and world targets for emissions reductions.