Dear Photonics21 members,

in this newsletter we like to provide you some impressions of the last Photonics PPP Annual Meeting which took place on 27th and 28th March 2019 in Brussels. During the event the new photonics roadmap was officially published and handed over to the European Commission.

We also like to inform you on the first joint EUREKA - Photonics21 Mirror Group call which has recently been launched and which addresses photonics for advanced manufacturing.

In addition to this the European Commission has launched the Horizon Europe Impact Award, the deadline for applications is 28th May 2019.

As always you will find some interesting event announcements within the next weeks and months.

If you would like to inform the Photonics21 membership on any photonics activities or events within your national or regional photonics community or provide us your feedback to the Photonics21 newsletter you can send it to SECRETARIAT@PHOTONICS21.ORG.

Best regards
Photonics21 secretariat

Photonics PPP AGM highlights European photonics leading position

This year's annual gathering, at the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, began by highlighting the strong position of European photonics.

In his introduction, Photonics21 Vice President Giorgio Anania showed that light technologies, with their rich technological development and economic success, are indispensable for powering the future European digital economy. Photonics, Anania explained, is an industry that is growing faster than both the global GDP and that of Europe.

European Photonics remain in a healthy and optimistic position, Anania said, with global leadership in core photonics segments (50% global market share in Production Technology, 35% global market share in Measurement & Automated Vision and around 30% global market share in Optical Components as well as Medical Technology & Life Sciences).

To maintain this leading position ahead of fierce competition from China and Korea, and given that optical technologies remain fundamental components to solving many future societal challenges and the digitisation of industry, future European support is of the utmost importance.

Special Guest Speakers

Offering the science perspective to future photonic developments, Professor Gérard Mourou shared his insights in his keynote speech 'extreme light for the benefit of humanity'. The 2018 Nobel Prize winner in Physics told delegates that European photonics had an exciting future, with chirped amplification getting rid of nuclear waste on earth and debris in space, as well as in healthcare applications making nuclear medicine less expensive, more effective and precise, for example in cancer therapy.

European photonics roadmap "Europe's age of light!" handed over to the European Commission

In preparation of the new EU framework programme Horizon Europe the new European photonics roadmap "Europe's age of light! How photonics will power growth and innovation" was presented and handed over to Carl Buhr, Deputy Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Gabriel, European Commission by the members of the Photonics21 Executive Board. The official ceremony and publication took place alongside the symposium of the Photonics Public Private Partnership Annual Meeting 2019 in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. The photonics roadmap outlines the future research and innovation challenges for the next seven years.

The electronic version is available for download.

First joint EUREKA / Photonics21 Mirror Group Call launched addressing Photonics for advanced manufacturing

Austria, France, Germany, Israel, Poland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have launched the joint call for proposals Photonics for advanced manufacturing, which intends to fund joint research and development in the area of photonics. Applicants are expected to undertake research aiming at marketable products, services or technologies with high market potential in the participating countries and/or Europe. This call will be administered under the regulations of the intergovernmental EUREKA network.

This initiative continues the cooperation within the Photonics21 Mirror Group comprising research funders in the field of photonics in Europe (including associated countries) who jointly implemented a number of transnational calls under the ERA-Net / Cofund scheme of the EC research framework programmes.

Interested parties are invited to submit R&D&I project proposals addressing photonics for advanced manufacturing. Advanced (industrial) manufacturing is commonly defined as the use and/or integration of innovative technologies – here: photonics – in order to improve both products and processes.

To look for potential project partners a matchmaking website for potential proposers has been set up. 

Visit us at the Laser World of Photonics fair in Munich, 24 – 27 June 2019

Another highlight is approaching. This year's Laser World of Photonics is taking place in the last week of June in Munich.

The fair brings together the international photonics community, so don't let this opportunity pass and meet your peers in Munich.

Stop by at the Photonics21 booth and get the latest information on Horizon Europe.

Horizon Impact Award - Call for applications - Submission deadline 28th May 2019

The European Commission has launched the first Horizon Impact Award.

This prize acknowledges and rewards the most influential and impactful projects under Horizon 2020 or FP7 which have created a societal impact and will celebrate the best outcomes and the people who made them happen. The contest is now open to all participants who completed an FP7 or H2020 project.

Each of the five winners will receive €10 000 at the award ceremony during the European Research and Innovation days in Brussels in September.

You can apply through the Funding and Tenders portal.

The deadline for submission is 28th May 2019.

For more information about the eligibility and award criteria, please visit the European Commission website.

Join - European Photonics Venture Forum, 26th-27th June 2019, Munich, Germany

The 5th edition of Tech Tour's European Photonics Venture Forum will take place on 26-27th of June, organized in the framework of the Laser World of Photonics in collaboration with ActPhast, Photonics21 and EPIC.

Check a video from the last edition of Photonics Venture Forum!

The Forum aims to market the photonics sector to a wider investor community and create channels to finance for high-potential photonics businesses. The event will ensure that photonics becomes a pillar of local regional development plans, mirroring the European strategy and driving more support and funding to the sector. EPVF is bringing to light corporate ventures and market opportunities, funding re-boot and EC perspectives, taking into account the specificity and complexity of the photonics sector. To raise awareness of the sector, EPVF has already created a platform for collaboration along the value chain and networking to be seen as crucial for the development of the photonics sector, as a central point of driving innovation in the upcoming decades.

30 companies will be selected from all applications received by a Selection Committee formed by industry experts. During the Venture Forum selected start-ups in the photonics domain will have the opportunity to pitch in front of international investors and Venture Capitalists. In addition, will profit from a special mentorship course and will be able to set One To One meetings with all participants of the forum.

Join now here!

About Tech Tour
Tech Tour is a collaborative online and offline community built over 20 years to bring together tech entrepreneurs with strategic investors through specialized live and online events.

Every year, Tech Tour brings together
2,000+ applying emerging & growth tech entrepreneurs
750+ venture capital & corporate investors
25+ live events and online programmes hosted by partners
In 3 Tech Tracks: Health, Digital, Sustainability/ Industry

Photonics21 - Photonics PPP Annual Activity Report 2018 published

The Photonics21 - Photonics PPP Annual Activity Report 2018 has now been published alongside the Photonics PPP Annual Meeting 2019. It outlines the activities of the platform as well as the performance of the Photonics PPP and the feedback on the Photonics PPP calls throughout last year.

For any further details you can download the report in the download section of the Photonics21 website.

Join - Photonics 4 Intelligent Processing, 19th June, Geneva, Switzerland

This Conference organized by Swissphotonics, the Swiss National Thematic Network (NTN) for photonics, will take place in the framework of the Salon International EPHJ - EPMT - SMT, the most important annual exhibition for Swiss suppliers of watch industry and micro technology.

Multipurpose Laser machining with smart and new technical solutions together with real time monitoring for competitive fabrication processes are the future trends in keeping competitiveness. Examples and potential solutions for the future will be presented and discussed.

Join - Photonics 4 Automotive, 3rd July 2019, Torino, Italy

The workshop will take place in Turin on 3rd June 2019 during the national conference Automotive 2019.

The aim of the workshop is to discuss about the solutions that photonic technologies open up for the innovation of the automotive sector with relevant industrial players and PMEs, clusters and hubs, venture capitalists, and higher education center representatives.

Photonics 4 Optical Fiber Applications, 3rd July 2019, Zaragoza, Spain

In the framework of the Spanish Meeting of Optoelectronics (OPTOEL2019, Zaragoza), Fotónica21 organizes the "Photonics 4 Optical Fiber Applications" Workshop that will take place next 3rd July 2019, from 4.00 to 6.30pm. The Workshop is dedicated to Optical Fiber for communications and sensing applications, and will count on relevant speakers, with representatives of the Administration, industry and academic sector.