EU pursues public-private approach to tech R&D

Under the plan announced Tuesday, technology companies and research
institutes will be able to marry their own research and development
(R&D) investments with additional funds from the member states and
the EU through new Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs).

With the JTIs, which can be established as independent legal
entities and accept funding from any source, the EU hopes to unite –
and focus – the region’s widely fragmented R&D efforts and make
more efficient use of research funding.

The first JTI, called Artemis, will focus on embedded systems, an
area signaled by European ministers as being of strategic importance
for Europe’s economy. European industry’s own research investment in
this area is estimated at around €15 billion (US$19 billion) to €20
billion per year, according to the EU.

Artemis is expected to be operational by 2008, and will have a
budget of €3 billion over seven years, more than half of it from
industry. Several European companies have expressed interested in
joining the initiative, including car marker DaimlerChrysler, mobile
phone manufacturer Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and consumer electronics manufacturer
Koninklijke Philips Electronics.

Source: Digit

I love stories like this. Companies investing in research for the sake of research, not to outdo their competitor. Let’s face it, science helps us all so if you can get all these companies to put a little gold in the pot at the end of the rainbow then maybe we will all benefit from its effects in our lifetime.