Small is beautiful

A new nanoelectronics joint technology initiative (JTI) aims to make small science big news

The project, called Eniac, could have implications for telecommunications, transport, consumer goods, manufacturing, healthcare and energy. EU commissioner for information society and media Viviane Reding said that the possibilities offered by nanoelectronics “are only limited by our imagination”.

“They underpin all aspects of everyday devices and so concern everyone in Europe,” she said at the 22 February launch. “Eniac, which has a budget of €3bn over ten years, is a concrete way to ensure that such a key industrial sector continues its strong economic growth, right here in Europe. It is only thanks to the support received for Eniac from the European parliament and from the council that we can launch this new research initiative.”

Nanoelectronics is about manipulating electronic devices at molecular level, e.g. in the space of just a few square millimetres. When combined with powerful and reliable software, these miniature electronic devices could deliver vital new services. In the automotive industry for example, further reduction in emissions could be achieved with computer-controlled hybrid engines and collision avoidance for pedestrians and other vehicles.

Europe’s semiconductor industry is worth around €200bn today, and drives a €800bn electronic systems market. Estimates indicate eight to ten per cent annual growth in this sector in the coming years, three times more than overall economic growth.

EU member states who wish to participate will pool their public funding with universities and industry, including many innovative SMEs, by setting up public-private partnerships. Within the next few months Eniac will be fully operational as an organisation based in Brussels with its own rules, own staff, premises and budgets. Its tasks will include co-ordinating research through calls for proposals and funding of research projects of European scale.

The idea of such a joint undertaking, says the commission, is to streamline the provision of project funding from both the public and private sector, in order to bring innovations to the market quicker. The commission also launched in February a second joint technology Initiative called Artemis which targets embedded computing systems.