Assessing support of pilot production in multi-KETs activities. mKETs Final report

Technology is crucial to maintaining or building industrial leadership. Most governments support research and development (R&D) in key enabling and industrial technologies (KETs). In Europe, as in other world regions, the translation of R&D results into new products and services is suboptimal, and so also are its impacts on growth, jobs and societal benefits. This is mainly due to barriers preventing innovations from crossing the ""Valley of Death"". Close-to-market R&D such as pilot production and demonstration is found at the heart of the Valley of Death, where both costs and risks are very high. KETS are knowledge intensive and associated with high R&D intensity, rapid innovation cycles, high capital expenditure and highly-skilled employment (e.g., Nanotechnologies, Photonics, Industrial Biotechnology, Advanced Materials, Micro- and Nano-Electronics, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies). They enable process, goods and service innovation throughout the economy and are of systemic relevance. They are multidisciplinary, cutting across many technology areas with a trend towards convergence and integration. KETs can assist technology leaders in other fields to capitalize on their research efforts. The overall objective of the Multi-KETs Pilot Lines project (mKPL) was to ""establish a common understanding of the concept of pilot lines deploying multiple Key Enabling Technologies, their role in strengthening the innovation capacity of the European industry, and how these can be supported by EU policy"". The final report of the project provides national, regional and policymakers in the European Union (EU) with an in-depth background and makes recommendations to policymakers on how to support pilot production activities that combine at least two Key Enabling Technologies ("multi-KETs"). "Share the link to this research as wide as possible!"