An important investment of more than 100 million euro is made available from the European Union in a Call for proposals opened on 15 October.

The call features two important topics in the field of electronics; specifically, Generic micro- and nano-electronic technologies (ICT-25-2015) and Cross-cutting ICT KETs (ICT-28-2015).

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector represents 4.8% of the European economy. The transformative power of ICT can help not only to boost competitiveness, create jobs and support growth in Europe, but also to enable innovative solutions to societal challenges. In Horizon 2020, the European Union is investing at least 25% more in ICT research than in previous research programmes.

The specific objective of the call Generic micro- and nano-electronic technologies is to keep Europe’s position at the forefront of advanced micro- and nano-electronic technologies developments. A total of 48 million euro will be invested in the call ICT-25-2015, in order to ensure strategic electronic design and manufacturing and maintain Europe’s global position in the area.

Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) are at the core of new and future smart applications and products. For the call ICT-28-2015, a budget of 54 million euro will be used to develop European industrial capabilities in the field of micro-nano-electronics, as for example in integrated platforms for the healthcare and food sectors.

The deadline for submitting proposals is on 14 April 2015 for each of the two topics.

Different type of actions are comprised in the call: Research and innovation actions, with a EU funding rate of 100% of the eligible costs; Innovation actions, with a contribution equal to 70%, and Coordination and support actions, with a 100% applicable funding rate.

More information on the call for proposals can be found in the Participant Portal website:

ICT-25-2015:  http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/9088-ict-25-2015.html

ICT-28-2015: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/9090-ict-28-2015.html