Photonics Driving Economic Growth in Europe - Photonics21

3. Expected Impact of a Photonics PPP
n Reinforcing links between Photonics clusters in
Europe and their respective regional industry
and public authorities to align priorities, stream-
line efforts, and enable smart specialisation and
growth in European regions.
n A Photonics PPP will grow photonics manu-
facturing in Europe thereby creating further
‘high skill’ employment. This will be achieved
by enabling the photonics products themselves
to be manufactured in Europe, and by ensur-
ing the ongoing competitiveness of other key
photonics-dependent manufacturing sectors in
Europe.
A Photonics PPP will result in further photonics solu-
tions for the societal challenges of Europe and will
have a direct impact on specific industrial sectors:
Photonics leverages industrial
manufacturing
The laser processing industry on its own is a multi-
billion Euro industry, and it also has a substantial
leverage effect on many other industries, most
notably in the European automotive sector.
Lighting solutions foster energy-efficiency
The application of digital lighting solutions would
result in annual savings approaching €300 billion of
the global energy bill, and savings of 1000 million
tonnes of global CO2 emissions per year 2123 .
Photonics drives huge OLAE market growth
Growth of the overall OLAE market will rise from
its present value of €1 billion to greater than €100
billion.
Major CO 2 emissions savings through
virtual presence
Display-enabled rich visual communication for
virtual presence could dramatically reduce travel for
meetings, resulting in a 20% reduction in business
23 ICT for Energy Efficiency, DG-Information Society and Media,
Ad-Hoc Advisory Group Report
trips in Europe alone, potentially saving 22 million
tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Photonic technologies result in advanced
visual displays
Global sales of advanced 3D displays will reach
€10 billion by 2021, with a 35% share expected
for European companies.
Photonic technologies drive healthcare
Photonic technologies could provide a potential
20% cost reduction in healthcare expenditures
associated with the demographic changes anticipated
in Europe 24 .
Photonic sensors increase food safety
The WHO estimates that annually more than two
billion illnesses and the deaths of more than two
million children are caused by unsafe food 2325 ; a
major reason for this is the absence of a low-cost
yet reliable non-contact sensor technology to detect
food-borne health threats.
ICT speeds up the knowledge society
Photonic technologies leverage a telecommunica-
tion infrastructure market worth €350 billion and
impact more than 700,000 jobs in Europe 2426 .
Expansion of the photonics components
and systems markets
The European market share for optical components
and systems in the global market place is nearing
50%, and continues to grow steadily.
24 Photonics21 Strategic Research Agenda Lighting the
way ahead, page 110
25 WHO Reports on Food Safety Issues, WHO Global
Strategy for Food Safety: Safer Foord for Better Health,
World Health Organization, Food Safety Department,
Geneva (Switzerland) 2002, ISBN 92 4 154574 7
26 The Leverage Effect of Photonics Technologies:
the European Perspective, Photonics21
97