Publicly funded automotive research in EU.pdf - EAGAR

Fundamental research
Applied research
Pre-competitive
development
Industrialisation &
commercialisation
All options selected
EAGAR – Publicly funded automotive research by the European Commission
open for all scientific domains, but the authors are not aware of any project with relevance for automotive.
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
(#5) Number of calls per research stage targeted
Figure 8: number of calls per research stage targeted
All programmes are open to all types of organisation and require collaborative initiatives with at least
three independent organisations from at least three Member States or associated countries.
Overview of technology specific programmes for automotive RTD
In November 2008 the European Commission announced the European Economic Recovery Plan with
the “European Green Cars Initiative” as one of the three Public Private Partnerships. These Public
Private Partnerships (PPP) are a venture of the European government and the European industry.
The main objective of the initiative is the increased use of renewable and non-polluting energy
sources in the road transportation. It aims mainly at the electrification of mobility and road transport
as well as at supporting the automotive industry in the recent economic situation. Besides supporting
the electrification of road transport, advanced internal combustion engines, bio-methane use, and
logistics are assessed and supported as well. € 500 million will be available for a direct funding
through FP7, matched with another € 500 million coming from the private sector. € 4 billion were
available through loans of the European investment bank 12 (this amount has actually been widely
exceeded). A first round of € 108 million was launched in 2009. 13
Figure 9 shows the number of programme calls per technology category for the reviewed time frame.
The most calls were issued in the fields control systems & interfaces, electronics hardware, hybrid
powertrains & electrification and actuation technology. These categories correspond with the many
calls concerning ICT topics. Moreover, a high dedication to technologies linked to the electrification
of the road transport can be seen. The small number of calls concerning the advanced IC engines and
the fairly small amount of calls regarding fuel cells is eye catching. Furthermore, only one call is targeting
“Manufacturing methods”. The funding of active as well as passive safety technologies is declining,
since many calls concerning these topics were launched in the recent FP6. 14
12 European commission, Research – industrial technologies,
http://ec.europa.eu/research/industrial_technologies/lists/green-cars_en.html
13 European Commission, European Green Cars Initiative,
http://ec.europa.eu/research/transport/pdf/2010_greencar_flyer_en.pdf
14 European Commission, EU road safety - trends and figures 2009
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