of Photonics Technologies: the European Perspective The Leverage Effect

The Leverage Effect of Photonics Technologies: the European Perspective
7.3
The field of photonics is
growing fast and creating
vast opportunities
The study showed that the field of photonics is still in its early stages
of development as an industry and is predicted to grow significantly in
the coming decade. Not only the growth rates of the last decade and
the recent quick recovery from the credit crunch but also the leverage
assessment shows that the photonics industry is still in its early stages.
However, also the heterogeneous character is clear and some areas are
in their early stages of industrial development (e.g. photovoltaics, 3D
displays, high power diode lasers), while others are already in their so
called late phase of development (LCD displays, optical storage systems,
consumer scanners). The conclusion is that innovation is at the core of
this dynamic market, providing many opportunities for (new) market
developments; new innovations will emerge, creating new products
and related services.
To deal with this dynamic market development, the following recommendations
are provided:
● To fully exploit the opportunities of this growing field, research and
innovation is core. Full support is needed to provide a competitive
base for this exploitation.
● Although some areas are clearly fast growing and can be seen as
priorities for policy, many new research and application areas will
emerge. In policy, start up initiatives need to be addressed.
● Photonics are expected to bring a range of new innovations, but
which ones are not clear yet. Focus on all opportunities demand
takes a lot of effort and therefore will in general not be done by
all companies. This can lead to limited anticipation on new other
opportunities. Policy support to periodically identify new potential
opportunities is needed (conferences, foresight studies), however in
close cooperation with research and industry.
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