“Benefits Depend on Your Commitment”

In 2014 the new European financing programme, Horizon 2020, kicked off. € 80 billion will be distributed among different research projects between 2014 and 2020.

The programme is the successor of the Seventh Framework (SF7) and is comprehensive, focusing on all different parts of the European society and stimulating Research, Development and Innovation (RDI).

Since the programme is relatively new, a lot of questions still exist on the subject. During the Forum Europa Seminar: maritime innovation in Horizon 2020, hosted by FME, light was shed on the programme to enlighten its purpose. Erik van de Burgwal, consultant EU Transport R&D programmes at NL Enterprise Agency, explained that Horizon 2020 consists of three cornerstones: Excellent science, Industrial leadership and Societal challenges; each in turn consisting of different action programmes.

According to Van de Burgwal “Horizon 2020 is a fundamental part of our ways to access and increase innovation.” But, why and how is the programme relevant for the Dutch maritime industry? Maritime Holland spoke to Marnix Krikke, innovation & human capital director at Netherlands Maritime Technology (NMT).

-Horizon 2020 focuses on stimulating RDI. Why is that so important?

“Almost every company wants to be innovative, to stay ahead of competition. Mostly, they first explore which possibilities they have within the company to do research and develop, but often it appears to be more desirable to cooperate with other parties in order to achieve the goals of the company. This can be competitive, in which case a product or service is developed and marketed together. The other possibility is precompetitive RDI and, in this case, the company develops knowledge together with other parties, which can later be used to develop a product within the company. Or together. Horizon 2020 enables these procompetitive collaborations.”

– Could you shortly explain how you can participate?

“Every year new action programmes kick off and different topics will be selected for which a consortium may enrol. Around this topic some committed companies and knowledge institutions, will form a core consortium, based on their interest to research this topic. When the call is published by the EC, the core consortium can gather more interested parties and a research proposal can be developed and submitted. There is a lot of competition between different consortia to make the cut, so it is paramount to join a consortium that will submit a quality proposal. Companies that would like to receive more information about participating or on the interesting subjects can contact Forum Europa. Network organisation Maritime by Holland established this portal, to support their backing. They can also initiate contacts with relevant parties or consortia. Also, this fall will organise an international brokerage event in Rotterdam during which we explore the possible relevant topics in 2016/2017. This way the Dutch maritime industry gets a chance to get to know the programme in an accessible way.”

– What happens when your symposium’s proposal is accepted?

“When a proposal is accepted, the partners will sign a consortium agreement and start their activities according to the project plan, usually covering a period of three years. Partners who are committed and actively participate will get most out of the project. Ultimately, a success of European projects is based on the commitment of the partners. There are four different kinds of projects. The first is Research and innovation action, which is a research project with elements of innovation incorporated. Then there is Innovation action, which is an innovation project including a demonstration, pilot and market replication. Third, an SME instrument is available, specially developed for small and medium enterprises that want to invest in RDI. And lastly, the Coordination and support action project type, which is for supportive activities. Take, for example, the Retrofit project, financed by SF7, which perfectly shows what can be achieved with EU-projects. In this project, sustainable retrofitting technologies were analysed, so ship owners and designers could have better tools to decide on retrofitting of their existing vessels. In view of the current changes in regulations in this area, it is a very actual topic.”

– What kind of maritime projects are available?

“The EU wants the Horizon 2020 programme to stimulate innovation, but also to contribute to EU-objectives, such as social, environmental and economical. Maritime themes certainly fit within these objectives. For 2015, I think the three most relevant topics for the maritime industry are Robotics (ICT24) since the developments in 3D-printing, digitalisation et cetera are really interesting for the production process; Renewable energy (LCE3) and System modelling and lifecycle cost optimisation for waterborne assets (MG4.3). There are some other maritime topics and there are more to come, but still we think that there are not enough. That is why Vessels of the Future, a European research organisation, was established. Around 50 European maritime companies, research institutes, universities and branch organisations, seven of which are from the Netherlands, joined the initiative to promote maritime research, development and innovation and influence the agenda of the EC, primarily for the 2016-2017 programme. ”

– What are the pros and cons of this programme?

“To participate in the programme, you need to be willing to share the company’s knowledge with the other participants in the consortium. Companies can profit from the vast knowledge base within the consortium. Next to this, starting a project within the Horizon 2020 programmes requires a long-term effort. The selection period alone takes about half a year and the projects themselves mostly take around three years to complete. On the upside, Horizon 2020 can act as a lever for your company, since the costs for your efforts and research will be reimbursed by the EU while you are gaining knowledge. Furthermore, the network possibilities you will create by joining a consortium are tremendous. This can be exploited even after the project has finished. And lastly, you are visibly performing RDI, which will have a positive influence on your company’s reputation.”

Anne Kregting