FUNLAYERS, the Functional Layered Materials for Advanced Applications project, consists of a European initiative aimed at leverage the interdisciplinary scientific excellence and innovation capacity of INL and strengthen partners’ research in the field of layered materials, capturing future opportunities for joint collaboration in R&I.
Changes in the geopolitical landscape has created the opportunity to accelerate the capability of developing new leading industries in key technology areas essential for increased competitiveness, prosperity and strategic autonomy of the European Union and its citizenship. Despite its flourishing fundamental research community as well as excellent national and European Research and Technology Infrastructures, Europe has lost competitiveness in many of these areas when it comes to create these new key industries, develop them and ultimately root them within the European Union economy.
CMOS technology and its industry are an important example of this lapsus. It was however recognized and a first strong push was made via the CHIPS-JU program which created a strong movement for Europe to become a relevant player on the international stage and to avoid dependencies from other regions. Whereas it is considered an important first step, the program will not overcome the IP dominance of the US. Europe’s engagement in beyond-CMOS technologies continues to be essential for a long-term strategy to be more competitive, gain leadership, autonomy and control in a key technology.
Key to leadership will be to reduce the development time and risks of products like the transition metal chalcogenide transistor, more complex spintronics devices, or Quantum Computing devices and, at the same time, create an economic and innovative welcome culture for startups and established companies willing to produce in Europe and train and educate human resources. This will require coordination between all the actors representing the full innovation cycle, from fundamental research, education, Research and Technology Infrastructures to industry in close dialogue with economy and policy makers.
This coordination meeting could be the spurn to bring all these actors as well as regional, national, and European policy makers together to break silos and design a new cooperation scheme adopting an integrated knowledge to market approach with the goals of: i.) establishing a network for future coordination of actions; ii.) identifying the stakeholders necessary for developing a new industry; iii.) to elucidating the current pipelines and stakeholders within the product development chain; iv.) to identifying the needs and necessary actions for a successful and competitive development of novel technologies, which results in a novel and competitive European high-tech industry.
