INSIDE

INSIDE Industry Association

INSIDE Industry Association is the European Technology Platform for research, design and innovation on Intelligent Digital Systems and their applications. INSIDE is one of the three private partners of the Chips Joint Undertaking, based on a tripartite governing model between the Participating States, the European Commission and the private sector as represented by three Industry Associations. Together, we strive to ensure that the industry and academic community are supported and get funds contributing to the creation of innovative, competitive, trustworthy, and sustainable solutions for European industry and key application domains in respect of European values. With its Members (industry, SMEs, start-ups, universities and research institutes) INSIDE represents European excellence in Intelligent Systems and covering the entire value chain, from semiconductor manufacturers to system integrators, connectivity providers, software companies, vertical applications and final users.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Max Lemke (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology) and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and

10 Jan 2025 · EU Digital Vehicle ecosystem

Response to Interim Evaluation of Digital Europe

20 Sept 2024

The Digital Europe programme is designed to bridge the gap between digital technology research and market deployment. Furthermore, according to the Chips Act, the Chips for Europe Initiative (i.e. Pillar I of the Chips Act, which is largely implemented by the Chips JU) shall support pilot lines for production, testing and validation bridging the gap from the lab to the fab of advanced semiconductor technologies. These pilot lines will most probably be set up, hosted and operated by consortia primarily or even only consisting of RTOs (Research and Technology Organisations). Once up and running, the pilot lines will be available to a wide range of public and private users such as start-ups, SMEs, large companies, universities and RTOs for the purpose of production, testing and validation. However, for truly bridging aforementioned gaps and ensuring effective technology transfer, this approach is not good enough: we believe it is crucial for each hosting consortium of such pilot lines to have collaborative Lab to Fab accelerator projects together with industry, complementing the set-up, integration and process development activities funded under Horizon Europe and the operational activities of the pilot line funded under the Digital Europe programme. To optimally address user requirements, these Lab to Fab accelerator projects should already begin in the set-up phase of the pilot lines.
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Meeting with Ivars Ijabs (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and AENEAS and European Technology Platform on Smart Systems Integration e.V. - EPoSS e.V.

11 May 2022 · Chips Joint Undertaking

Response to Communication on the future of research and innovation and the European Research Area

2 Aug 2020

Feedback from AENEAS, ARTEMIS-IA and EPoSS on ERA roadmap AENEAS, ARTEMIS-IA and EPoSS, the three industry associations acting as the private members of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking (JU), very much welcome the European Commission’s intention to revitalise and reinforce the European Research Area (ERA). According to the roadmap proposed by the European Commission, the ERA will ”pull together all national and European efforts”, contribute to ”setting the direction for Member States and the Union to the delivery on their research, innovation and investment agendas”, help “combine EU and national research and innovation investment instruments” and be “crucial in supporting the development of coherent national agendas providing added value in realising critical mass and efficient allocation of resources”. Actually, this is precisely what ECSEL has been doing successfully in the domain of Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) since its establishment in 2014 as a Public-Public-Private Partnership on the basis of article 187 TFEU. In a unique tri-partite approach involving the European Commission (representing the Union), participating states (currently 25 Member States and 4 Associated Countries) and AENEAS, ARTEMIS-IA and EPoSS as the private partners representing R&I actors, public and private resources are combined. As a result, 1.2 B€ EU funding from Horizon 2020 will leverage 1.2 B€ national (and in some cases also regional) co-funding and 2.4B€ in-kind contributions from the R&I actors involved in ECSEL projects. This co-funding mechanism - in combination with ECSEL’s Multi-Annual Strategic Plan based on the pan-European Strategic Research Agenda for ECS developed by the three industry associations - is aligning European and national R&I efforts, thereby putting an end to fragmentation and effectively implementing the ERA in the ECS domain. See https://www.ecsel.eu/sites/default/files/2020-07/ECSEL%20JU%20Compendium%20-%2016%2007%202020%20Final%20%282%29.pdf. After 2020, it is the intention to basically continue this tri-partite approach in the envisaged institutionalised European Partnership on Key Digital Technologies (KDT). The stated objective of the KDT partnership is to reinforce Europe's potential to innovate through the contribution of electronic components and systems, including microsystems, software technologies, sub-assemblies, and systems of systems giving secure and trusted technologies to strategic value chains. It aligns R&I policies among its participating states to reach the critical mass needed for achieving Europe’s sovereignty through the tri-partite involvement of Member States, Associated Countries, the EU and R&I actors from industry and research. Key changes in the KDT partnership vis-à-vis ECSEL include • An extension of the technological scope to related aspects of software and photonics, emerging computing technologies and flexible electronics; • A doubling of R&D efforts; • Strengthened collaboration with other partnerships and programmes; • An improved co-funding mechanism on the public side; • Measures for maximising impact; • Contributions to Europe’s green and digital transitions; • A broadened range of activities beyond research and innovation; • More synergies with other EU funding programmes; • A more effective governance. The full KDT partnership proposal will soon be made available on the European Commission’s website for “European Partnerships for Horizon Europe”. We are convinced that the ECSEL Joint Undertaking and the KDT partnership as its successor are both worth mentioning in the forthcoming ERA Communication, as prime examples of putting the ERA into practice.
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Response to European Partnership for Key Digital Technologies

27 Aug 2019

AENEAS, ARTEMIS-IA and EPoSS, the three industry associations being the private members of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking (JU, see https://www.ecsel.eu), very much welcome the identification by the Commission – in close cooperation with the Member States – of a European Partnership for Key Digital Technologies (KDT) as a priority in the strategic planning for Horizon Europe. Within cluster 4 of its second pillar, we see a pivotal role for such European Partnership for KDT as the successor to the ECSEL Joint Undertaking (JU) after 2020. The new JU will not only strengthen European leadership in KDT, but applications of KDT will also be instrumental in addressing global challenges such as transport & smart mobility, health & wellbeing, energy, digital industry and digital life as well as driving the digital transformation of Europe’s economy and society. Based on our favourable experiences with ECSEL, we expect the European Partnership for KDT to: • Leverage EU funding from Horizon Europe with co-funding from national, regional and other public sources, as well as in-kind contributions from R&I actors in a proven tri- partite approach; • Assemble the critical mass needed to make a real difference in this strategic domain; • Build a vibrant ecosystem involving large firms, SMEs, universities and institutes, fostering fruitful collaborations between industry sectors and along value chains, covering not only KDT technologies, but also their applications beyond the KDT industry; • Strengthen the global competitiveness of European KDT industry and ensure Europe’s sovereignty and autonomy by providing Europe’s other industries and markets with independent and unrestricted access to KDT; • Align European and national R&I efforts on KDT thanks to its co-funding mechanism and its industry-driven Multi-Annual Strategic Plan (MASP); To make the European Partnership for KDT even better than its predecessor ECSEL, we have the following suggestions: • Double the budget; • Foster synergies with other relevant European Partnerships and EU funding programmes by ensuring compatibility of the respective rules and modalities and making good use of Lighthouse Initiatives for building bridges to relevant projects in other programmes, including EUREKA clusters; • Simplify the co-funding mechanism, with more alignment of funding rates, procedures, timing and requirements between Participating States, as well as multi-annual financial commitments, a higher degree of central financial management, a single funding source for each beneficiary (instead of funding from both the JU and national/regional authorities), and single (instead of double or triple) reporting on activities and costs; • Increase efficiency by sharing back office tasks of the JU with other JUs. Furthermore, it makes sense to widen the scope – but only if EU and national/regional budgets for the new European Partnership for KDT get commensurate enlargements w.r.t. the ECSEL JU – to semiconductor-based integrated photonics, as well as selected software technologies (beyond embedded software) and their applications within the current domain of ECSEL to cover full value chains and networks. By and large, we very much support the Commission’s plans for a European Partnership on KDT as outlined in the Inception Impact Assessment. For detailed comments we refer to the attachment. As indicated therein, we have a strong preference for Option 3, because only an institutionalised European Partnership based on Article 187 TFEU will bring together the critical mass of public and private resources needed to ensure Europe’s competitiveness, sovereignty and autonomy in the strategic domain of KDT and act on the basis of an industry-driven, truly pan-European common strategy. A JU would create a long-term dedicated implementing structure representing the deepest level of integration, engagement and up-front commitment from public and private partners.
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