Major Funds Announced For ICT Research

Business & Finance - Investment

Tuesday, 28 September 2010 13:10

Written by Mark Dunphy

The European Commission has today announced one of the biggest grant funds ever for research into information and communications technology (ICT).

It means that the Commission has now set aside a total of € 780 million for ICT research in 2011 as part of 'Framework Programme 7' (FP7).

The Commission has promised to maintain a yearly increase of 20% in the research budget for ICT until at least 2013.

Project proposals are invited from universities, businesses and public bodies across the EU who will have to form cross-border partnerships together to pitch for funding.

Today's fund breaks down as follows:

• € 120 million: networking, digital media and service infrastructure
• € 200 million: telecoms, industrial automation, lighting technologies, medical/industrial
• € 200 million: ICT for health and ageing care costs
• € 135 million: ICT for energy efficiency in transport and buildings

Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes said: "Increasing overall investment into ICT research is crucial for our future. The EU's support to our world-class researchers announced today must be accompanied by substantial additional investments by the beneficiaries themselves. This research will help Europe's industry to strengthen its competitiveness."

Today's money is on top of funding announced earlier this year for research into low carbon cars and buildings and for innovative internet applications for energy grids and traffic management.