New EIT urban mobility and manufacturing innovation communities launched

The European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), the European Commission body which supports Climate KIC, today launched a competition for new Innovation Communities in the areas of urban mobility (EIT Urban Mobility) and added value manufacturing (EIT Manufacturing). The winners will join Europe’s largest innovation community to bring solutions to European citizens.

The competition is open until July 2018 and the winning partnerships will be announced in December 2018. The proposals should be submitted by partners from business, higher education and research institutions to tackle societal challenges by developing innovative products and services.

Peter Olesen, Chairman of the EIT Governing Board, said:

‘An EIT Innovation Community is a unique long-term partnership with a potential budget of up to 400 million EUR for the first seven years of its operations. Its set-up must be born from a strong desire to do things differently, with like-minded people and organisations ready to experiment and operate at the boundaries of innovation to create true innovation ecosystems with high interconnectivity.’

Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, added:

‘The EIT’s Innovation Communities are part of Europe’s answer to the global challenges facing our societies. It is only by innovating, investing in education and developing entrepreneurial mind-sets that we will be able to build resilient, competitive and inclusive societies. I am looking forward to welcoming the new Innovation Communities in the fields of added-value manufacturing and urban mobility.’

Martin Kern, EIT Interim Director, said:

‘The EIT Community successfully delivers innovations and trains entrepreneurs that address today’s major societal challenges. We’ve created more than 6,000 jobs and supported more than 1,100 innovative start-ups to accelerate their growth: they raised more than €600m in external investment. These two new Innovation Communities in urban mobility and added-value manufacturing will greatly advance the EIT Community’s ability to boost Europe’s innovation capacity.’

EIT Manufacturing will strengthen and increase the competitiveness of Europe’s manufacturing industry. This new Innovation Community will transform today’s forms of industrial production to become more knowledge-intensive, sustainable, trans-sectorial and low-emission.

EIT Urban Mobility will ensure a greener, more inclusive, safer and smarter urban mobility system. With over 70 % of EU citizens living in urban areas, there is a paramount need to invest in up-to-date urban transport systems.

The EIT has organised an Information Day on 13 February in Brussels. Register here to join us: http://eitinfoday.onetec.eu/index.html.

More information about the Competition can be found here: https://eit.europa.eu/collaborate/2018-call-for-proposals.