ENIAC heads towards the implementation phase
The new version focuses on societal needs and developments, increasingly linking its technology priorities to ‘lead markets' and key application areas such as energy and environment, health, security, communication and mobility, transportation, and entertainment.
In the last years, the Platform has successfully carried out its strategic mission, first bringing together the key European industrial and scientific R&D performers in Nanoelectronics to commonly define the Strategic Research Agenda, and then federating them in Association for European NanoElectronics Activities (AENEAS).
This dedicated legal structure will allow them to take part in the joint undertaking, a public-private partnership with the EC and relevant member states expected to implement European-wide large research projects under the label of the Joint Technology Initiatives (JTI).
"Now that these goals have been achieved, the time has come to take the next step and move towards the implementation phase," said Alain Dutheil, ENIAC Vice-Chairman. "To contribute to the competitiveness of European Nanoelectronics, the next challenge of ENIAC / AENEAS stakeholders will be to actively work together to turn the Strategic Research Agenda into strong industrial research programs and research projects capable of capitalising on European strengths".
Out of the thirty-four currently established European Technology Platforms, ENIAC is one of the six expected to found the Joint Technology Initiatives. At the Press Conference, the representatives of ENIAC and of the European Commission confirmed that the ENIAC Joint Technology Initiative, a program intended to mobilise around €3 billion in the next years, is expected to be endorsed by the Council of the European Union before the end of the year, after a positive opinion by the European Parliament on 10 December. The start of the Joint Undertaking that will implement this first-of-a-kind public-private partnership for European R&D is planned early next year.
On the occasion of the Forum, and complying with the rotation concept adopted by the Platform and its legal association, chairmanship of ENIAC / AENEAS will be transferred from Wolfgang Ziebart, Chief Executive Officer of Infineon Technologies, to Alain Dutheil, Chief Operating Officer of STMicroelectronics.
