KETs 4.0 in Horizon Europe

On 24 April 2018, the Commission’s High Level Group on Industrial Technologies released its Re-finding industry – Defining Innovation report, which makes recommendations on EU research and innovation priorities for industry in the next funding programme (FP9, now named Horizon Europe). A preliminary version of the report was released to coincide with EU Industry Days event in February 2018.

The European Commission appointed the High-level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies to assess, discuss, and recommend support for research and innovation in the area of Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) – and area of intense interest for SusChem.

The report proposes two new KETs: artificial intelligence, and security and connectivity. The group also advises that, while biotechnology should be broadened to “life sciences”, the EU has to continue to prioritise advanced manufacturing technologies, advanced materials and nanotechnologies, micro-/nano-electronics and photonics.

With the right level of ambition and investment, KETs will contribute to support growth and democracy through stronger citizens’ engagement, and prosperity through more equality and better jobs.

Industry innovation
Pierre Barthelemy, Cefic executive director for innovation said: “Cefic welcomes the recommendations of the HLG to have digitalisation integrated into the KETs, in order to advance processes technologies, materials development and new business model creation.”

In this report, the HLG acknowledges a strong EU economy requires a strong industry. Economic growth should be coupled with manufacturing and service. “If Europe wants to be strong in manufacturing, we will need innovation and a new industry policy that gives high priority to KETs,” concluded Barthelemy.

KETs enable cross-sectorial industrial application and are instrumental in addressing societal challenges. The HLG recommends – in view of the Digital transformation and upcoming Horizon Europe / FP9 Framework programme – the following changes for KETs:

KETs conference

KETs will be discussed at the upcoming conference on “The Role of Key Enabling Technologies for Europe’s Competitiveness” organised by , the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union, the German chemical industry association (VCI) and the Federation of German Industries (BDI) on Tuesday, 15 May 2018, from 15:30 to 18:30.

The event will take place at the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union, Rue Jacques de Lalaing 8-14, 1040 Brussels. Prior registration is compulsory for this event.

Re-finding Industry’s role in FP9, KETs and PPPs

At the EU Industry Days event on 23 February 2018 European Commissioner Carlos Moedas (right) launched the conference report ‘Re-Finding Industry’ from the High-Level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies. His speech outlined the  Group's preliminary findings on Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) strategy, their role in a future emboldened European innovation landscape, and showed close alignment with SusChem thinking on KETs, PPPs and the forthcoming European Research and Innovation framework programme FP9.

Commissioner Moedas described three interrelated drivers of a new momentum for innovation in Europe:

• Science to develop the new ideas and technologies of the future
• Start-ups and SMEs to develop the breakthrough innovations, combining technologies and new business models, and 
• Industry to scale up innovations and create economic and social impact.

All three components required support for success and he highlighted industry’s significant involvement in Horizon 2020 that represented an investment of over EUR 20 billion directly in industry.

PPPs 
“Nine out of ten of the collaborative projects [in Horizon 2020] include at least one private sector partner,” he said. “And there are two particular ways we work with industry: the so-called PPPs and the KETs.”

The Commissioner also sees the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), such as SusChem and the SusChem inspired programmes under SPIRE and BBI JU, as great successes that need to be taken forward incorporating learning from the experience in Horizon 2020.

He stated a need to simplify the array of different public-private instruments and make them more open both to new participants and new funders such as Member States and private foundations. He also saw the need for PPPs to be more flexible and able to adapt to both current and future needs.

SusChem has a long tradition of working closely with Member States through its network of National Technology Platforms and the recent PHEONIX initiative for CO2 valorisation includes three Members States working with the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) to develop and implement Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU/ #useCO2) technologies.

KETs
Commissioner Moedas sees KETs as another essential building blocks for innovation success. “With them, we have the power to create products that place us at the forefront of an advanced economy,” he said. “And they underpin our global leadership in so many of our industries. Their importance cannot be understated.”

He thanked the High-Level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies, chaired by Jürgen Rüttgers, for their preliminary report ‘Re-finding Industry’ that advises the simplification and merger of some of the existing KETs and two new KET topics: artificial intelligence, and security and connectivity.

The group has been tasked to review the European strategy on KETs and to recommend how to best place them in the forthcoming mission-oriented research and innovation programme. The group's final report is expected to be published in April 2018.

The report states that Europe’s competitiveness lies in its capacity to create balanced, cohesive, well educated, healthy and protected societies. In this context, KETs must contribute to improving peoples’ lives, fighting poverty and correcting inequalities and, therefore, a new, broader definition for KETs is suggested based on four criteria: impact, relevance, key capacity, and enabling power.

In addition to the two new topics, four of the six KETs are recommended to be merged into two broader categories (materials and nanotechnology, photonics and micro and nano-electronics) and the KET ‘biotechnology’ topic should be broadened to ‘Life Sciences technologies’.

The report also investigates the potential links between KETs and mission-orientated research (see above) as advocated as a core element of FP9 and identifies 14 possible mission topics including ‘Industry renewal’, ‘Circular economy – shift to de-production and re-production’, ‘Carbon re-use - from climate killer to industry asset’, and ‘Bio manufacturing – bringing life to manufacturing’ all of potential interest to SusChem stakeholders.

SusChem view
The HLG report broadly corresponds with SusChem thinking on KETs.

SusChem outlined its position on KETs in a recent paper. The document describes what can be achieved by KETs and details the major technology developments and initiatives needed to:

• Create Advanced Materials for use in energy efficiency, renewable electricity production and energy storage, or smart functionalities responding to stimuli
• Develop Advanced Process Technologies, including Industrial Biotechnology, for more sustainable production including through utilisation of alternative carbon feedstock and alternative energy sources.
• Leverage Digital Technologies for use in advanced process control and materials modelling, to enable disruptive business models and to create new customer experiences.

The paper calls for on the European Commission to ensure strong support for KETs in the next Framework Funding Programme. You can read the full SusChem position paper here.

Research & Innovation shaping our future: LabFabApp

The European Commission has published today the report from the High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU research and innovation. The group was led by Pascal Lamy and included eminent personalities from research, innovation and education. The report entitled ‘LAB – FAB – APP Investing in the European future we want’ delivers a main message that investing in research and innovation is increasingly crucial for shaping a better European future in a rapidly globalising world. 

Our success depends ever more on the production and conversion of knowledge into innovation. SusChem agrees.

The report was launched by Research and Innovation Commissioner Moedas and Pascal Lamy (below) at the Research & Innovation: Shaping our Future conference in Brussels today (3 July) and focuses on proposing guiding principles for designing a post-2020 EU programme for research and innovation. However, it does not propose priority themes or subjects such as health, energy, security, space or oceans.

The 11 recommendations of the report are addressed to the European institutions, national governments as well as to other stakeholders: companies, universities, research institutes, non-governmental organisations and all others engaged in research and innovation within the EU and beyond.

Citizen science

However the report also reaches out to a wider public. The report states that ‘Our society should increasingly become a living laboratory for innovative solutions to the many challenges we face in Europe – be they economic, environmental or social.’ Through broad-based, impact-focused research and innovation policy and investments, society can turn these challenges into innovation opportunities. This requires action and participation by many, if not all of us.

The report believes that we need to get rid of the notion that research and innovation is not relevant to society. To shape our future together, we need to imagine, invent and create. We need research (“Labs”), innovation (competitive fabrication (“Fabs”) and applications for the benefit of all (“Apps”). Hence the title of the report: ‘Lab, Fab, App: investing in the future we want.’

Commissioner Moedas said: "I am extremely grateful for the work of the independent group chaired by Pascal Lamy. The recommendations put forward are a very solid basis for our reflection on the orientations of the programmes that will succeed Horizon 2020."

Eleven recommendations

The report’s recommendations are aimed at maximising the impact of future EU research and innovation programmes and each is exemplified by a key action.

1. Prioritise research and innovation in EU and national budgets - Action: double the budget of the post-2020 EU research and innovation programme.

2. Build a true EU innovation policy that creates future markets - Action: Foster ecosystems for researchers, innovators, industries and governments; promote and invest in innovative ideas with rapid scale-up potential through a European Innovation Council.

3. Educate for the future and invest in people who will make the change - Action: modernise, reward and resource the education and training of people for a creative and innovative Europe.

4. Design the EU R&I programme for greater impact - Action: make the future programme’s pillars driven by purpose and impact, fine-tune the proposal evaluation system and increase flexibility.

5. Adopt a mission-oriented, impact-focused approach to address global challenges - Action: set research and innovation missions that address global challenges and mobilise researchers, innovators and other stakeholders to realise them.

6. Rationalise the EU funding landscape and achieve synergy with structural funds - Action: cut the number of R&I funding schemes and instruments, make those remaining reinforce each other and make synergy with other programmes work.

7. Simplify further - Action: become the most attractive R&I funder in the world, privileging impact over process.

8. Mobilise and involve citizens - Action: stimulate co-design and co-creation through citizen involvement.

9. Better align EU and national R&I investment - Action: ensure EU and national alignment where it adds value to the EU’s R&I ambitions and missions.

10. Make international R&I cooperation a trademark of EU research and innovation - Action: open up the R&I programme to association by the best and participation by all, based on reciprocal co-funding or access to co-funding in the partner country.

11. Capture and better communicate impact - Action: brand EU research and innovation and ensure wide communication of its results and impacts.

You can read the full report here.  

Top Innovators needed to shape European Innovation Council

The European Commission is looking for top innovative people to help shape the new European Innovation Council (EIC). If you think you could help strengthen Europe's capacity to generate and scale up breakthrough innovations then the Commission is inviting you to join a High Level Group (HLG) that will advise on the design of the new EIC.

It is hoped that the High Level Group will start its work by early 2017 with an initial duration of 24 months, which may be renewable. The High Level Group will consist of have up to 12 members who would need to be available to work with the group by the end of 2016.

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, set out his ambition to create a European Innovation Council in June 2015. Its aim is to boost the impact of EU research and innovation programmes by stimulating innovative start-ups and SMEs with the potential to grow into world-beating businesses.

The EIC will focus on support for innovative firms and entrepreneurs with the potential to scale up rapidly to become the game-changers of the future, helping spur growth and new jobs in Europe.

Commenting on the EIC HLG Commissioner Moedas (above) said: "Europe can do more for innovators, especially those with the ambition and capability to create new markets. EU support for innovation must be open to start ups and innovators with the potential to scale up, and reflect their needs. That is why I am setting up this High Level Group, and invite our leading innovators to put their names forward."

How to apply

The full call for applications for the EIC HLG can be found on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal and the deadline for applications is 27 October 2016. Applications are invited from individuals acting in a personal capacity, who are already active in different parts of the innovation ecosystem, such as:

• Entrepreneurs who have started and scaled up innovative enterprises at European/global level 
• Investor and start-up communities (including banks, Venture Capitalists, Business Angels, crowd funders etc.), and 
• Those involved in the wider innovation ecosystem (knowledge transfer, business schools, innovation hubs, accelerators, etc.).

The Commission will assess applicants against the following factors and criteria:

• Their track record in the start-up and/or scale up of innovative firm(s) at EU/international level 
• Their Commitment and passion for innovation
• Their contributions to the development of the broader innovation ecosystem at EU/national/regional level 
• Any recognition by authorities and/or achievements, for example in the form of prizes and awards obtained at national, European or international level 
• The balance of members within the group in terms of skills, experience, gender, age and geographical origin.

EIC background

The European Commission ran a public call for ideas between 16 February and 29 April 2016 to gather stakeholders' views on disruptive, market-creating innovation, on gaps in the current innovation support landscape and on the potential remit of a European Innovation Council. As the SusChem blog reported Cefic submitted a position paper to this call. A report on the results of the call was published in July 2016.

The HLG will be another step towards the establishment of a European Innovation Council. A number of pilot actions for the EIC could be launched during 2017 under Horizon 2020 with a full-fledged EIC rolled out in the successor ‘FP9’ programme.

The KETs Manifesto

With a new intake of MEPs at the European Parliament and Team Junckers in the process of confirmation as the new European Commission, the High Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies (HLG KETs) has launched a new manifesto. The document underlines the vital role of KETs as the cornerstone of a European industrial renaissance.

The members of the HLG, including SusChem representatives, see an integrated KETs-based industrial policy as an essential element to enable the re-industrialisation of Europe.

The KETs Manifesto calls on politicians and policy-makers to support KETs and give a high priority to an integrated KETs innovation and manufacturing policy that can stimulate jobs and growth in the European Union. The document states that a market pull can be created by ensuring a systematic use of EU KETs to meet Europe’s societal challenges including the use of public procurement to accelerate market uptake.

Policies are needed that increase the confidence of both the public and investors in new technologies and that address barriers to investment and implementation. Similarly policies must support the reduction of the skills gap in KETs-related industrial sectors in Europe.

Policy-makers are also called upon to support large-scale manufacturing initiatives undertaken in strategic European industrial domains.

Call for success
“We are calling on MEPs and all European policy-makers to give their full support to ensure the success of Europe’s industry, today and tomorrow,” said Dr. Gernot Klotz, SusChem board member and a member of the HLG.

KETs support the drive for jobs and growth in Europe. The global market volume for KETs-based products will be € 1000 billion by 2015 and could grow between 10 and 20% in the following decade.

Europe’s target of manufacturing achieving a 20% share of the EU’s total GDP by 2020 can only be achieved through a comprehensive development and deployment of KETs.

What are KETs?
Six KETs have been defined:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Advanced Materials
• Industrial Biotechnology
• Micro-Nanoelectronics
• Nanotechnology
• Photonics

These are all areas where SusChem has an active research and innovation agenda and a contribution to make and the chemicals sector enjoys a unique position in European industry able to deploy KETs into the products society needs and uses on a daily basis.

The selected KETs are areas where Europe has a strong knowledge base but needs to accelerate the translation of this world-beating knowledge into innovative products and service.

This means that Europe must continue the process of rebalancing policies towards enhanced technological research and innovation and must invest in KETs to boost Europe’s competitiveness and accelerate our industrial manufacturing renaissance.

The HLG KETs was initiated by the European Commission and includes representatives from key actors along strategic European value chains. You can find more information here.

Smart Chemistry at Smart Cities Stakeholder

SusChem will be at the Smart Cities Stakeholder event in Budapest on 5 and 6 June demonstrating how chemistry can provide Key Innovations for improving energy efficiency in the urban environment and addressing other Smart Cities issues. SusChem has just published a new report - ‘Innovative Chemistry for Energy Efficiency of Buildings in Smart Cities’ - outlining where Key Innovations in chemistry can make an immediate impact to improve energy efficiency during the refurbishment of buildings.

SusChem coordinator and Innovation Manager at Cefic Jacques Komornicki will be attending the Smart Cities Stakeholder Platform Annual Conference in the Hungarian capital with a clear message on how chemistry can provide a range of sustainable solutions for Smart Cities.

“The Chemical Industry is a leading provider of innovative solutions for energy efficiency and construction in Europe,” says Jacques. “And these Key Innovations are available right now providing substantial savings for building owners and users.”

Efficient innovation

The Key Innovations described in the new SusChem report are:

• High Performance Insulation Foams and Vacuum Insulation Panels that can reduce energy heating costs from 30% up to 80%.

• Phase Change Materials (PCM) that enable walls and ceilings to absorb and store excess heat during the day and dissipate it at night, enabling further savings of energy on heating and cooling.

• High Reflectance and Durable Outdoor Coatings that if applied to roofs and walls reflect radiation from sunlight and reduce roof and wall temperatures, leading to energy savings on cooling.

• High Reflectance Indoor Coatings that reflect light better than normal paints and maximize the feeling of space and illumination.

“Overall using these tested energy efficiency solutions can reduce primary energy use in buildings by up to 70%,” claims Jacques.  Today 40% of primary energy n Europe is used for heating and cooling buildings.

These innovative solutions from chemistry combined with an annual urban building refurbishment rate of around 3% could result in direct savings for building owners and users, make a significant contribution to achieving EU energy targets, and generate jobs.

Tool-box, ballot box

“Clearly the chemical industry has a tool-box of solutions that can contribute to drastically decreasing the energy consumption of buildings,” continues Jacques. “These innovations are particularly suited to the renovation market and this market in turn has the potential to create growth and jobs in Smart Cities that adopt them whilst also contributing significantly to their emissions reduction goals - a double win!”

The conference is the first in a series of Annual Conferences of the Smart Cities Stakeholder Platform and follows a ‘bottom-up’ process conceived to allow matchmaking and active exchange between industry and city partners as well as other stakeholders on the best Key Innovations, which have emerged from the Platform’s stakeholders.

Key Innovations are right at the core of debate as these are what interest the cities as well as the solution providers. The first day is fully devoted to discuss all Key Innovations following which delegates will vote for a ‘Top Three’ to be presented at the plenary session on day two. Day two will also provide stakeholder perspectives on the achievements of the Smart Cities Stakeholder Platform.

The chemistry industry’s Key Innovations will be presented at the stakeholder event by Rinske van Heiningen of Akzo Nobel in his presentation on Advanced Materials for Energy Services on day one.

“We are confident that the Chemistry Key Innovations will contribute to reach the Smart Cities targets,” concludes Jacques.

What are ‘Smart Cities’?
 

Smart cities go beyond the EU’s “20-20-20” objectives (20% reduction in CO2 emissions, a 20% share of energy from low carbon sources and a 20% reduction in the use of primary energy through energy efficiency measures) for the deployment of cost-effective low carbon technologies with a particular focus on energy, ICT and transport sectors.

Many cities across Europe are already committed to building tomorrow’s cities today - in particular those involved with the Covenant of Mayors organisation to which Cefic and SusChem are affiliated . This group of city authorities is developing a sustainable development framework that will allow them to voluntarily go beyond the 2020 targets.

The chemistry industry is represented on the European Commission’s High Level Group for Smart Cities and Communities (HLG) by GiorgioSquinzi, CEO of Maipei and recent past president of Cefic. The HLG acts as an advisory body for the Commission on the Smart Cities Stakeholder Platform and the European Innovation Partnership. The Commission has recently launched its own website for the EIP on Smart Cities and Communities.

For more information on SusChem activities in support of the Smart Cities and Communities initiative, or to discuss potential collaborations in this area, please contact SusChem Coordinator Jacques Komornicki at Cefic.

Smart Cities need Smart Chemistry

The European Commission’s High Level Group for Smart Cities and Communities (HLG) has convened for the first time on 14 May in Brussels. The chemical industry was represented on this important policy group by Giorgio Squinzi, CEO of Maipei and recent past president of Cefic. Chemistry-based products and services are key enablers for improving energy efficiency in the urban environment and addressing other Smart Cities issues. SusChem is working hard to maximize chemical innovation in this area and has just published a new report outlining where chemistry can make an immediate impact.

About three-quarters of the EU’s citizens live in or around cities and the trend is for increasing urbanization. Cities are therefore crucial for the social, economic and entrepreneurial development of the EU. From an energy perspective urban areas consume 70% of energy output and account for 75% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions.

Policy issues in urban areas represent a microcosm of the general issues facing society, but intensified and accelerated. These issues include reducing energy consumption, encouraging greater use of renewable energy sources, adaptations of transport and other infrastructure such as ICT to meet changing needs whilst improving mobility of the population, amongst other objectives on health and education. And this must be achieved at competitive cost and in an environmentally sustainable manner.

To achieve true ‘smart living’ in the future will require major joint public and private efforts to tackle the significant technical and societal issues. To help address these issues a Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership (EIP) has been proposed by the European Commission. The initiative is supported by a Smart Cities Stakeholder platform. Cefic will be participating in the Smart Cities Stakeholder Platform Annual Conference that takes place in Budapest on 5 and 6 June.

Truly smart and innovative cities will need to make the best use of Europe's great capacity for research and innovation to improve the urban environment. The HLG consists of a selected group of senior CEOs, mayors and finance experts (see photo below). Their role is to formulate a technological transformation agenda that can be implemented via the new EIP during Horizon 2020. And chemistry has a key role to play.

What are ‘Smart Cities’?
Smart cities go beyond the EU’s “20-20-20” objectives (20% reduction in CO2 emissions, a 20% share of energy from low carbon sources and a 20% reduction in the use of primary energy through energy efficiency measures) for the deployment of cost-effective low carbon technologies with a particular focus on energy, ICT and transport sectors.

Many cities across Europe are already committed to building tomorrow’s cities today - in particular those involved with the Covenant of Mayors organisation to which Cefic and SusChem are affiliated . This group of city authorities is developing a sustainable development framework that will allow them to voluntarily go beyond the 2020 targets.

Chemical innovation
The role of chemical innovation in realizing Smart Cities challenges may not be well recognized but it is a key innovation area. This is highlighted in a new SusChem report: ‘Innovative Chemistry for Energy Efficiency of Buildings in Smart Cities’.

SusChem’s wide stakeholder representation from the chemical sector and associated value chains make it well placed to identify currently available chemistry-enabled products that can make an immediate impact on energy efficiency – in particular in terms of refurbishing the current building stock – at an affordable cost.

The report analyses the nature of Europe’s building stock – comprising some 1.6 million structures in the EU-27 – and concludes that substantial gains in energy efficiency can be gained through refurbishment solutions.

The report highlights five solutions that together represent a Key Innovation area for Smart Cities and Communities:

• Reflective Indoor Coatings to reduce energy for lighting 
• High Reflectance and durable outdoor coatings to reduce air conditioning costs 
• Phase Change Materials (PCM) for temperature control
• New Insulation foams for significant heating savings
• Other insulation modules such as Vacuum Insulation

All these solutions are assessed for technical feasibility and impact. What is required to deploy the solutions, the infrastructure required and possible interfaces with other Smart Cities technologies are considered. Financial requirements and possible funding sources are also discussed.

SusChem has a substantial track record with ‘smart living’ projects that connect research and industrial groups along relevant value chains. These include its Smart Energy Home initiative, the Energy Efficient Buildings PPP and the Building UP FP7 project. Chemical research and innovation are essential to achieving smart living and smart cities will benefit from the early and in-depth involvement of the chemicals sector.

For more information on SusChem activities in support of the Smart Cities and Communities initiative, or to discuss potential collaborations in this area, please contact SusChem Coordinator Jacques Komornicki at Cefic. The new SusChem report can be downloaded here.

Sustainable chemistry on Commission HQ

Yesterday (2 February) a 'mega banner' promoting sustainable chemistry was unveiled on the European Commission's headquarters, the Berlaymont building, in Brussels.


The 40 metre tall banner celebrates International Year of Chemistry with the message 'Chemistry innovating for a sustainable future'.

The banner coincides with an important conference for the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Chemical Industry (HLG) that takes place in Brussels on 10 February.

The conference will take stock of the current situation for the European chemicals industry and present examples of actions undertaken to implement the recommendations of the HLG report published in early 2009 with particular emphasis on innovation and human resources.