Digital and Emerging Technologies for Competitiveness and Fit For The Green Deal (Horizon Europe)

As the digitalisation of all sectors accelerates, most industries depend on early access to digital components. Dependence on these technologies represents a clear threat to Europe’s autonomy, particularly in periods of geopolitical instability, exposing Europe to risks of vulnerability. Actions under this Destination will build on EU strengths in low-power consumption and ultra-secure components, Europe needs to develop the essential electronic and photonic components for a wide range of applications such as healthcare equipment, electric and autonomous vehicles, manufacturing and production plants and equipment, telecom networks, aerospace vehicles, consumer products

Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to an open strategic autonomy in digital technologies and in future emerging enabling technologies, by strengthening European capacities in key parts of digital and future supply chains, allowing agile responses to urgent needs, and by investing in early discovery and industrial uptake of new technologies

What is the goal to be achieved?

Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the Green Deal, and more specifically to one or several of the following impacts:

• Europe’s open strategic autonomy by sustaining first-mover advantages in strategic areas including AI, data, robotics, quantum computing, and graphene, and by investing early in emerging enabling technologies.
• Reinforced European industry leadership across the digital supply chain.
• Robust European industrial and technology presence in all key parts of a greener digital supply chain, from low-power components to advanced systems, future networks, new data technologies and platforms.

How can research and innovation contribute to achieving this goal?

Research and innovation actions under this destination will build on EU strengths in low-power consumption and ultra-secure components. Main actions on 6G technologies will be undertaken in the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking. Research and innovation will develop world-class technologies serving the needs of all types of European industries, providing top-performing solutions that businesses will trust and adopt to maintain their competitiveness and maximise their contribution to environmental sustainability. Moreover, research and innovation actions will ensure that Europe stays ahead in this global race and is in a position to achieve game-changing breakthroughs. These actions will support Europe’s open strategic autonomy, and reinforce and regain European industry’s leaderships across the digital supply chain.

Investments in this Destination contribute substantially to climate change objectives. Energy efficiency is a key design principle in actions, which will lead to new technologies and solutions that are cornerstones for a sustainable economy and society.

Call topics for 2021

• Ultra-low-power, secure processors for edge computing
• Open Source Hardware for ultra-low-power, secure processors
• Functional electronics for green and circular economy
• Advanced optical communication components (Photonics Partnership)
• Advanced Photonic Integrated Circuits (Photonics Partnership)
• Coordination of European Smart Network actions
• AI, Data and Robotics for the Green Deal (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership)
• AI, Data and Robotics at work (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership)
• Pushing the limit of robotics cognition (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership)
• European Network of Excellence Centres in Robotics
• Academia-Industry Forum on Emerging Enabling Technologies
• Advanced spintronics: Unleashing spin in the next generation ICs
• Development of technologies/devices for bio-intelligent manufacturing
• Next generation quantum sensing technologies
• International cooperation with Canada
• Investing in new emerging quantum computing technologies
• Support and coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship Initiative
• Framework Partnership Agreement for developing the first large-scale quantum computers
• Basic Science for Quantum Technologies
• Framework Partnership Agreement for developing large scale quantum simulation platform technologies
• Framework Partnership Agreements in Quantum Communications
• Quantum sensing technologies for market uptake
• Framework Partnership Agreements for open testing and experimentation and for pilot production capabilities for quantum technologies
• Strengthening the quantum software ecosystem for quantum computing platforms

Call topics for 2022

• Open source for cloud-based services
• International cooperation in semiconductors
• Advanced multi-sensing systems (Photonics Partnership)
• European Enabling technologies for Beyond 5G/6G RAN disaggregated architectures
• Ultra low energy and secure networks
• AI, Data and Robotics for Industry optimisation (including production and services) (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership)
• Pushing the limit of physical intelligence and performance
• Increased robotics capabilities demonstrated in key sectors (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership)
• Advanced characterisation methodologies to assess and predict the health and environmental risks of nanomaterials
• New generation of advanced electronic and photonic 2D materials-based devices, systems and sensors
• 2D materials-based devices and systems for energy storage and/or harvesting
• 2D materials-based devices and systems for biomedical applications
• 2D-material-based composites, coatings and foams
• Supporting the coordination of the Graphene Flagship projects