Europe’s long-term economic, technological and environmental goals need innovation, in particular in advanced material field. This innovation can accelerate the transition to green and digital technologies, but these innovations can represent significant costs for SMEs and industrial start-ups.
These innovations concern composite materials found in medical devices, automotive parts, but they are also used in the pharmaceutical, energy and construction industries. These materials have many advantages such as being lighter, more durable, stronger and less toxic, which makes them very interesting for SMEs and industrial start-ups.
In order to validate those advanced materials, SPM’s and industrial start-ups are confronted to expensive investment costs that can be challenging to fund.
To allow those SPM’s and industrial start-ups to finance investments essentials for innovation, the EU invested more than €285 million to create access to Open Innovation Test Beds (OITB). OITBs offers access to installations and services, needed to develop, test and upscale nanotechnologies and materials. As this process is mandatory and costly, the ITOBs provide relief to SMEs and industrial start-ups. Thanks to that, SPM’s and industrial start-ups have easier market access, reducing costs and risks. It facilitates innovation, in particular to green technologies and digital technologies.
Source : Open Innovation Test Beds to accelerate European innovation
