19 October 2015

On 13 October 2015, the European Commission adopted the Horizon 2020 Work Programme for 2016 and 2017. The programme foresees up to 938 million € in EU funding for transport research and innovation, including calls on "Mobility for Growth" and "Automated Road Transport". The aim is to drive progress towards a European transport system that is competitive, climate- and environmentally-friendly, safe and seamless for the benefits of the passengers, businesses and society as a whole. 

The programme will support a range of cross-cutting initiatives: the modernisation of Europe's manufacturing industry (€1 billion); technologies and standards for automatic driving (over €100 million); the Internet of Things (€139 million) to address digitalisation of EU industries; Industry 2020 in the Circular Economy (€670 million) to develop strong and sustainable economies; and Smart and Sustainable Cities (€232 million) to better integrate environmental, transport, energy and digital networks in EU's urban environments.

About Horizon 2020
European Union's research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020 was launched on 1 January 2014. Over seven years €77 billion is being invested in research and innovation projects to support Europe’s economic competitiveness and extend the frontiers of human knowledge. The EU research budget is focused mainly on improving everyday life in areas like health, the environment, transport, food and energy. Research partnerships with the pharmaceutical, aerospace, car and electronics industries also encourage private-sector investment in support of future growth and high-skilled job creation.

This news was based on the European Commission press release which can be accessed here.

More informartion on Horizon 2020 can be found here.