Technology Infrastructures

New and innovative technologies, such as road traffic safety solutions or multi-material 3D printing, need to be tested and up-scaled before they can enter the market successfully. Technology infrastructures are facilities, equipment, capabilities and support services where industrial players can find support to commercialise new products, processes and services, in full compliance with EU regulations.

These technology infrastructures require high investment both in setting-up and keeping up with the state-of-the- art. Analysis show large regional differences in terms of financial support, fragmentation, risk of duplication and transnational accessibility difficulties.

This publication suggests that the EU together with Member States can have a more ambitious and shared vision to support industry scale-up and technology diffusion at EU level. It also identifies the key four challenges that need to be addressed to create a technology infrastructures landscape which will help Europe’s industry to succeed on global markets: prioritisation, visibility, accessibility and networking