Nanoelectronics Research on European level


ENIAC ETP & JTI


ENIAC European Technology Platform (ETP)

ENIAC Joint Technology Initiative (JTI)

ENIAC European Technology Platform (ETP)

The principal mission of ENIAC is to:

  • Provide a strategic research agenda for the nanoelectronics sector, with respect to R&D;
  • Set out strategies and roadmaps to achieve this vision through the Strategic Research Agenda and other associated documents;
  • Stimulate increased and more effective and coherent public and private investment in R&D in the nanoelectronics sector;
  • Contribute to improving convergence between EC, national, regional and private R&D actions on nanoelectronics within the European Research Area Framework;
  • Enhance networking and clustering of the R&D capacity in Europe;
  • Promote European commitment to R&D thus ensuring Europe as an attractive location for researchers;
  • Interact with other policies and actors at all levels that influence the competitiveness of the sector such as education and training, competition, IPR, finance and investment, etc.
  • For more information and ENIAC events, visit ENIAC web site

How to express your interest

Any requests, questions or applications for participating in ENIAC should be addressed to the ENIAC office via the ENIAC web site.

ENIAC logo ENIAC Joint Technology Initiative (JTI)

What is a JTI?

A Joint Technology Initiative is a public-private partnership using the 'Joint Undertaking' model. The European Commission has identified JTIs as a new strategy of implementing the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) to support, in a limited number of cases, large scale initiatives that could not be implemented efficiently, using the other R&D funding mechanisms. A JTI focuses on one specific industrial area, has a well defined objective, addresses a market failure and is funded by a combination of private and public investments.

Why a JTI on nanoelectronics?

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are of increasing economic and social importance, underpinning productivity, innovation and growth. They are key to the EU's ambitions under the Lisbon strategy to become the world's most dynamic knowledge-based society and economy.

Today electronics is the leader amongst manufacturing industries. All services and most industrial products rely on electronics to some extent. In the electronics sector, the semiconductor industry (manufacturing 'chips') underpins a pyramid of value, through its pervasive nature, making it a key enabler of innovation, growth and jobs. The shift from the past era of microelectronics (1 millionth of a metre) to nanoelectronics (1 billionth of a metre) will make electronics even more pervasive and strategic than it is today.

The European Technology Platform dealing with nanoelectronics is called ENIAC. It is a large scale, application-driven initiative mobilising all European efforts in this innovation- and technology-intensive nanoelectronics sector. The main goal of the nanoelectronics JTI will be to carry out pre-competitive collaborative research and development (R&D) addressing two objectives which are a substantial part of the Strategic Research Agenda of the ENIAC Technology Platform: enhancing the further integration and miniaturisation of devices and increasing their functionalities. It may also realize other activities related to industrial strategies, including encouraging innovation, standardisation, international cooperation, education and training, and promoting SMEs.

The need for this JTI is high for several reasons:

  • the exploding R&D and manufacturing costs for the next generations of components
  • the need to mobilise more and different competences in a multi-disciplinary and more coordinated manner to address the growing complexity of technology
  • the high risks (technical and financial) to be shared among the different actors
  • the necessity to react flexibly and timely, given the cyclical and rapidly changing nature of the involved industry
  • the importance of addressing the research in a holistic manner, building strategic partnerships between the manufacturers and their customers, linking technology with manufacturing, design and application development
  • the opportunity offered by the vibrant network of SMEs and the emerging 'regions of knowledge' in this field
  • the global and fierce competition
  • the current fragmented funding situation in Europe (the Framework Programme, EUREKA, the various 'pôles de compétitivité', industry's R&D and national funds)

For all these reasons, Europe needs one visionary project, one integrated Joint Technology Initiative. If nothing would be done, all the above factors will lead to a loss of competitiveness for Europe.

Background documents