Industrial leadership
The Industrial Leadership pillar has an indicative budget of €17 938 million; however, this figure is yet to be ratified by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and so remains subject to change.
The Industrial Leadership pillar aims to speed up the development of the technologies and innovations that will underpin tomorrow’s businesses and help innovative European SMEs grow into world-leading companies. It will provide major investment in key industrial technologies, maximise the growth potential of European companies by providing them with adequate levels of finance and help innovative SMEs grow into world-leading companies.
The pillar consists of three specific objectives:
Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies will support the development of technologies underpinning innovation across a range of sectors. Horizon 2020 will have a strong focus on developing European industrial capabilities and a major component of 'Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies' are Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), which under Horizon 2020 are defined as:
- Micro- and nano-electronics; photonics
- Nanotechnologies
- Advanced materials
- Biotechnology
- Advanced manufacturing and processing
- Development of these technologies requires a multi-disciplinary, knowledge and capital-intensive approach.
Access to risk finance will aim to overcome deficits in the availability of debt and equity finance for R&D and innovation-driven companies and projects at all stages of development by leveraging private finance and venture capital.
Innovation in SMEs will stimulate all forms of innovation in SMEs, targeting those with the potential to grow and internationalise across the single market and beyond.