One year on, the New European Innovation Agenda is advancing and Commission launches new innovation initiatives
Today, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, in collaboration with the Commission, is organising a conference on deep tech entrepreneurship, in Stockholm, Sweden. Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager, will deliver a keynote speech setting out the progress made since the adoption of the New European Innovation Agenda in July 2022, to position Europe at the forefront of the new wave of deep tech innovation and start-ups.
Delivery of the 25 actions is well advanced: to date, nine actions under the five flagships set out last year have been implemented and 16 are ongoing, including a revised State Aid R&I&D Framework, a draft Listing Act, a Deep Tech Talent Initiative, and an Innovation Talent Platform. These also include the recent launch of the Regional Innovation Valleys, which will help regions become hotspots for collaboration, innovation and development, fostering a dynamic ecosystem that encourages entrepreneurship and promotes technological breakthroughs. In addition, the New European Innovation Agenda is supported by a collective effort of Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe. 14 countries have announced more than 100 actions at national level with strong focus on funding for deep tech scale-ups and on fostering, attracting, and retaining deep tech talent.
Executive Vice-President Vestager said: “Innovation and deep tech are vital for the green and digital transition. Deep tech reshapes industries, enhances lives, and redefines possibilities. It fuels economic growth, drives sustainable development, and tackles global challenges. This Agenda fosters collaboration, nurtures startups, and promotes cutting-edge technologies. Together, we can position Europe as a global deep tech leader, driving innovation for a prosperous future.”
At the conference, the Executive Vice-President will also announce the launch of the EIC Scale Up 100 initiative that aims to identify, promote and support 100 promising deep tech companies in Europe to grow into global tech champions and potentially to become ‘unicorns’ (exceeding €1 billion valuation). Those future deep tech champions will be selected among the top-performing awardees of financial schemes of the European Innovation Council, other national, European innovation programmes and beyond. The initiative will help the companies develop their corporate leadership strategies, reach strategic investors, and partners, expand internationally, access networking, and peer exchange.
In addition, she will welcome the new EIC Board President, Michiel Scheffer, who is officially starting his mandate today. He will lead the EIC Board that is advising the Commission on strategy and implementation of all EIC activities.
