Periodic Reporting for period 3 - ECARE (European Clean Aviation Regional Ecosystems)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31
The European Commission has defined ambitious objectives for air transport in its strategy for a European Green Deal, namely (i) to ‘cut emissions by at least 55%’ by 2030, and (ii) to ‘become the world's first climate-neutral continent’ by 2050.
The aeronautical sector must therefore reinvent itself in order to contribute effectively to these objectives. To this end, the European Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CA JU) has been set up to guide the main lines of Research and Innovation activities common to European companies in the aeronautical sector. However, funding for aviation is fragmented into many different funding instruments and funding bodies, sometimes creating misalignments between regional/national and EU initiatives.
The main objective of ECARE was to clarify the landscape of regional / national innovation roadmaps and funding opportunities for aeronautical stakeholders and to create complementarities / synergies between them to enable the European aeronautical industry to achieve the ambitious targets of the CA JU Programme while maximising public funding impact and efficiency.
In response to that, ECARE project developed and disseminated methodologies to create synergy mechanisms applicable to all EU aeronautical regions. These methodologies have been designed and tested in a Pilot involving four major regions of the European aeronautical industry, namely Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France, Hamburg in Germany and Campania in Italy. Over the course of the project, the methodologies have been improved, adapted and tested against the realities of these four regions, turning ECARE into a mature operational guidance project for CA JU and other European regions and countries.
To this aim, ECARE have:
• developed a platform of reference (called ECARE Digital Platform (EDP)) for European aeronautical players that (i) map the funding opportunities in the aeronautical sector at European, national and regional levels as well as the regional R&I roadmaps (RIS3, PRIs), (ii) map the European, national and regional relevant projects (recently finalised, ongoing and planned to commence), (iii) map the available scientific/industrial competences and resources and (iv) provide a forum for exchange of information and identification of partners;
• provided methodologies that have been tested, improved, and validated in four European regions with strong aeronautical expertise to foster complementarities and synergies of funding in the aviation sector;
• provided recommendations to CA JU to optimise funding strategies for future calls;
• established an ESG composed of representatives of regional/national funding bodies, technology clusters and other stakeholders in the aeronautical sector to foster and spread the use of the ECARE methodologies in Europe and integrate their information on the EDP;
• disseminated results through a set of virtual and physical workshops as well as communication events co-organised with CA JU.
The aeronautical sector must therefore reinvent itself in order to contribute effectively to these objectives. To this end, the European Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CA JU) has been set up to guide the main lines of Research and Innovation activities common to European companies in the aeronautical sector. However, funding for aviation is fragmented into many different funding instruments and funding bodies, sometimes creating misalignments between regional/national and EU initiatives.
The main objective of ECARE was to clarify the landscape of regional / national innovation roadmaps and funding opportunities for aeronautical stakeholders and to create complementarities / synergies between them to enable the European aeronautical industry to achieve the ambitious targets of the CA JU Programme while maximising public funding impact and efficiency.
In response to that, ECARE project developed and disseminated methodologies to create synergy mechanisms applicable to all EU aeronautical regions. These methodologies have been designed and tested in a Pilot involving four major regions of the European aeronautical industry, namely Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France, Hamburg in Germany and Campania in Italy. Over the course of the project, the methodologies have been improved, adapted and tested against the realities of these four regions, turning ECARE into a mature operational guidance project for CA JU and other European regions and countries.
To this aim, ECARE have:
• developed a platform of reference (called ECARE Digital Platform (EDP)) for European aeronautical players that (i) map the funding opportunities in the aeronautical sector at European, national and regional levels as well as the regional R&I roadmaps (RIS3, PRIs), (ii) map the European, national and regional relevant projects (recently finalised, ongoing and planned to commence), (iii) map the available scientific/industrial competences and resources and (iv) provide a forum for exchange of information and identification of partners;
• provided methodologies that have been tested, improved, and validated in four European regions with strong aeronautical expertise to foster complementarities and synergies of funding in the aviation sector;
• provided recommendations to CA JU to optimise funding strategies for future calls;
• established an ESG composed of representatives of regional/national funding bodies, technology clusters and other stakeholders in the aeronautical sector to foster and spread the use of the ECARE methodologies in Europe and integrate their information on the EDP;
• disseminated results through a set of virtual and physical workshops as well as communication events co-organised with CA JU.
ECARE developed the ECARE Taxonomy, a comprehensive and user-friendly tool, providing a common framework for understanding and discussing about aeronautical technologies. The taxonomy is divided into 24 main topics and 214 subtopics (See Figure 1). The taxonomy is used as a reference measurement system throughout the different mappings of funded projects, funding opportunities and stakeholders’ competences.
The ECARE project successfully developed the EDP (See Figure 2), a publicly accessible online tool tailored to the needs of the European aviation community. The platform maps funding opportunities at European, national, and regional levels, ongoing, and upcoming projects, along with stakeholder competences. The EDP comprises databases, publicly accessible with over 839 funded projects, 323 funding opportunities, and 999 stakeholder profiles. Thanks to the work performed by ECARE partners, the platform includes features such as advanced search filters, dynamic mapping, workgroups, and messaging tools which enable seamless collaboration and information exchange.
Deliverable D4.1: Handbook for Synergies, provides a comprehensive framework to foster funding synergies in the European aeronautical sector. It introduces the ECARE Pathway to Synergies (See Figure 3), a structured six-phase approach designed to guide stakeholders such as funding bodies, clusters, and organizations in aligning regional, national, and European funding mechanisms. The handbook details 18 synergy mechanisms, offering practical recommendations, step-by-step implementation guides, and best practices examples.
The ECARE Final Event, co-organized with Clean Aviation JU and SESAR JU on December 10, 2024, in Brussels, served as a pivotal moment to disseminate the project’s key results, including the D4.1: Handbook for Synergies and the EDP, to the right stakeholders. Attended by over 50 participants, it showcased successful synergies from pilot regions, ensuring the sustainability and broader adoption of ECARE’s outcomes.
By the end of the project, the ECARE Stakeholders Group comprised 45 members from 18 different countries, these members are clusters, network organisations, funding bodies and research institutions. See Figure 4 for the final list and Figure 5 for the map of ESG members.
To ensure the sustainability of the project’s results, Memorandum of Synergies were signed with EACP (European Aerospace Cluster Partnership), EEN (Enterprise Europe Network), and the SESAR project ENGAGE 2. Notably, EACP has established a dedicated Working Group on Synergies to leverage ECARE results and ensure the continuity and growth of the EDP. ESG members will be invited to actively participate in its activities.
The ECARE project successfully developed the EDP (See Figure 2), a publicly accessible online tool tailored to the needs of the European aviation community. The platform maps funding opportunities at European, national, and regional levels, ongoing, and upcoming projects, along with stakeholder competences. The EDP comprises databases, publicly accessible with over 839 funded projects, 323 funding opportunities, and 999 stakeholder profiles. Thanks to the work performed by ECARE partners, the platform includes features such as advanced search filters, dynamic mapping, workgroups, and messaging tools which enable seamless collaboration and information exchange.
Deliverable D4.1: Handbook for Synergies, provides a comprehensive framework to foster funding synergies in the European aeronautical sector. It introduces the ECARE Pathway to Synergies (See Figure 3), a structured six-phase approach designed to guide stakeholders such as funding bodies, clusters, and organizations in aligning regional, national, and European funding mechanisms. The handbook details 18 synergy mechanisms, offering practical recommendations, step-by-step implementation guides, and best practices examples.
The ECARE Final Event, co-organized with Clean Aviation JU and SESAR JU on December 10, 2024, in Brussels, served as a pivotal moment to disseminate the project’s key results, including the D4.1: Handbook for Synergies and the EDP, to the right stakeholders. Attended by over 50 participants, it showcased successful synergies from pilot regions, ensuring the sustainability and broader adoption of ECARE’s outcomes.
By the end of the project, the ECARE Stakeholders Group comprised 45 members from 18 different countries, these members are clusters, network organisations, funding bodies and research institutions. See Figure 4 for the final list and Figure 5 for the map of ESG members.
To ensure the sustainability of the project’s results, Memorandum of Synergies were signed with EACP (European Aerospace Cluster Partnership), EEN (Enterprise Europe Network), and the SESAR project ENGAGE 2. Notably, EACP has established a dedicated Working Group on Synergies to leverage ECARE results and ensure the continuity and growth of the EDP. ESG members will be invited to actively participate in its activities.
The ECARE project has delivered innovative results that go beyond the current state of the art in fostering synergies across regional, national, and European funding mechanisms in the aeronautical sector:
1. The EDP as a pioneering tool in the aviation ecosystem, providing an integrated platform that maps funded projects, funding opportunities, and stakeholder profiles at regional, national and European level.
2. The D4.1: Handbook for Synergies introduces a structured framework to align funding priorities and optimize resource allocation.
3. The ECARE taxonomy is an important achievement in standardizing the categorization of innovation areas within the European aeronautical sector.
1. The EDP as a pioneering tool in the aviation ecosystem, providing an integrated platform that maps funded projects, funding opportunities, and stakeholder profiles at regional, national and European level.
2. The D4.1: Handbook for Synergies introduces a structured framework to align funding priorities and optimize resource allocation.
3. The ECARE taxonomy is an important achievement in standardizing the categorization of innovation areas within the European aeronautical sector.