Innovate together: European Manufacturing Conference concludes with the launch of the EUR 5 million call
25 September 2024
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The Innovate Together call will open on 2 October with the aim of accelerating the market deployment of Made in Europe projects. During the European Manufacturing Conference (EMC), EIT Manufacturing, supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, and EFFRA announced the launch of the second edition of their joint call for proposals.
The Innovate Together initiative aims to drive innovation by connecting disruptive entrepreneurs with major industry players, fostering the development of proven, exploitable solutions. The programme will focus on the strategic manufacturing technologies outlined in the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), supporting the European Green Deal by enabling the European industry to adapt to global challenges.
Innovate Together, with the total budget of EUR 5 million comprised out of EUR 3 million of EIT funding and EUR 2 million of contributions from Directorate General Research and Innovation (DG RTD), is now calling for activities to start in May 2025. Former Made in Europe projects are eligible for funding of up to EUR 800 000 each, to support the commercialisation of their marketable results. Projects are limited to 18 months and are encouraged to bring forces from different European regions. Applications for the submission two-stages process will be accepted until 6 December 2024.
The continuation of the programme is proof of the successful cooperation between the two Pillars of Horizon Europe programme represented by EIT Manufacturing and EFFRA (European Factories of the Future Research Association). Recognising this success, European Commission Directorate General Research and Innovation (DG RTD) will be co-programming and co-financing the initiative to expand its impact. Furthermore, DG Communication, Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT), DG Education, Youth, Sports and Culture (EAC), DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW) supported the initiative since its first call in 2023. By accelerating the market deployment of cutting-edge technologies, this call contributes to advancing both scientific excellence and industrial competitiveness while addressing global challenges and societal needs.
Europe is at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation, yet the key lies in translating it into commercial success. Innovate Together will support fast-track commercialisation of green and digital manufacturing technologies to strengthen the industry’s competitiveness.
Caroline Viarouge, CEO at EIT Manufacturing.
Europe’s success depends on its capacity to transform groundbreaking innovations into market-ready solutions. Through initiatives like the Innovate Together Call, we are accelerating the adoption of green and digital manufacturing technologies, ensuring that European industry not only adapts to future challenges but strengthens its global leadership in sustainability and competitiveness. Maintaining Europe’s competitive edge is critical to safeguarding its industrial future, and this continued collaboration between two key pillars is essential to driving innovation and securing the future of manufacturing.
Olaf Pannenbäcker, Chairman of EFFRA
The Innovate Together call will help manufacturing projects make the most of their R&I results in two important areas. First-Time-Right Manufacturing helps to diminish waste and enhance efficiency. End-of-Life management contributes to circularity and climate neutrality. Both of these priorities are hugely important for sustainable competitiveness
Maria Cristina Russo, Director for Prosperity at Directorate General Research and Innovation.
We must overcome the fragmentation of the value chain and accelerate the market deployment of innovations. EIT Manufacturing and EFFRA are well placed to boost manufacturing innovation in Europe by providing people with the right skills, matching technologies with markets, and connecting innovators with investors
Normunds Popens, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.
An impactful call
In 2021, during the first edition of Innovate Together, three projects were selected for the pilot and had received nearly EUR 1.3 million in EIT funding. A strong performing example is the LAMM project, where four organisations from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal and Greece formed an academic-industry partnership to develop two variants of the existing Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) kit. They succeeded in creating two types of end effectors, tailored to the deposition of Ti64 and steel, which were finally integrated into three pilot lines. The increase in WAAM 3D printing productivity has opened up the product to high volume titanium and steel industries such as aerospace and energy.
European Manufacturing Conference takeaways
This call announcement was made during the European Manufacturing Conference, attended by over 400 participants from 33 countries, with renowned speakers such as Alvin Wang Graylin, Global VP of HTC and author of the book “Our next reality”, Monika Bachofner, Head of Open Innovation at Volkswagen AG and Philipp Horner, Chief Sustainability Officer at Voestalpine High Performance Metals.
The event provided many valuable takeaways and highlighted the pressing need for Europe to bridge its innovation gap and skills gap, boost industrial growth and meet decarbonisation targets. Despite its thriving innovation landscape, the lack of strategic investment impedes economic transformation. To address this, the continent must raise its investment share by roughly five percentage points of GDP to maintain its competitiveness on the global stage.
As the industry landscape changes rapidly, strengthening Europe’s manufacturing supply chains’ resilience is also crucial, and this can be achieved through reshoring key manufacturing productions and reducing reliance on external suppliers.
About EIT and EIT Manufacturing
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem bringing together over 3400 partners from top business, research and education organisations across Europe in 200+ innovation hubs. The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. Through dynamic pan-European partnerships, called Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) the EIT Community offers a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship activities, strengthening Europe’s ability to innovate and powering solutions to pressing global challenges while nurturing entrepreneurial talent to create sustainable growth and skilled jobs in Europe.
EIT Manufacturing is one of the nine innovation communities supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. EIT Manufacturing’s main goal is to bring European stakeholders focused on manufacturing together in innovation ecosystems that add unique value to European products, processes and services and inspire the creation of globally competitive and sustainable manufacturing. EIT Manufacturing brings together more than 175 partners (universities, research institutes and companies).
EIT Manufacturing — Making Innovation Happen!
About The European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA)
European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA), is a non-for-profit, industry-driven association promoting the development of new and innovative production technologies. EFFRA was established to shape, promote, and support the implementation of the ‘Factories of the Future’ public-private partnership in H2020, and its continuation, the ‘Made in Europe’ European Partnership. The partnership aims to create an industry-led programme in research and innovation with the aim of launching hundreds of market-oriented cross-border projects throughout the European Union. Such projects will produce demonstrators and models to be applied in a wide range of manufacturing sectors.
Contact Details
Email: communications@eitmanufacturing.eu
More information at www.eitmanufacturing.eu