Israel, which holds the rotating presidency of Eureka, a pan-European industrial network of 40 countries, will be
part of more than one-third of the network’s R&D projects.
“In a
global environment of ever-changing dynamics, innovation is the key to our
survival and progress,” Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
said Wednesday evening in Tel Aviv, at an event marking Israel’s presidency of
the program.
“Innovation is the philosophy of 3,800 Israeli technology
companies and eight Israeli Nobel Prize winners. We have turned into a
competitive hi-tech economy open to international cooperation. Today, in the face
of a global economic and financial crisis, our economy is still strong and
healthy.”
The event is being held in Israel for the first time this week,
under its Eureka chairmanship year for 2010- 2011. Eureka’s high-level group
representatives and national project coordinators approved a series of
cooperative R&D projects in a variety of areas, including renewable energy
and advanced environmental technologies.
During Wednesday’s meeting in
Tel Aviv, Eureka’s decision makers approved €51 million of investments in 56
projects submitted by Eureka member countries, which will collaborate to turn
these R&D investments into viable technologies and products.
Out of
the 56 projects, 17 have Israeli partners representing more than 30 percent of
the total. Israel is the only non-European member country out of Eureka’s 40
members.
“It is quite an accomplishment that more than 30% of the
projects considered and finally approved have Israeli partners,” said Israel
Shamay, executive director of the Israeli Eureka Chairmanship Program. “This
reflects Israel’s deep involvement in Eureka, right from the first meeting held
in Tel Aviv. I believe that more Israeli firms will be involved in submitting
proposals, as the level of exposure to advanced Israeli technologies will grow
during our chairmanship year.”
Investments in the following fields were
covered: electronics, IT and telecom; industrial technologies; renewable energy;
biological sciences and technologies; chemistry, physical and exact sciences;
and technologies for protecting man and the environment.
In the coming
months, Eureka is planning to launch a Clean-Tech Initiative campaign aimed at
encouraging project proposals focused on R&D cooperation in the clean-tech
sector, renewable energy, environmental and water technologies.
Eureka
was created as an intergovernmental initiative in 1985 and is a pan-European
network for market-oriented, industrial R&D. It approves projects that total
€1.5 billion per year.
More than 40% of the companies that participate in
the Eureka program are small and medium-sized, including
start-ups.
During its Eureka chairmanship, Israel will host five major
events with representatives of the 40 member countries, including the European
Commission. They will take place in Tel Aviv, Eilat, Haifa, Jerusalem and
Nazareth. Eureka will celebrate its 25th anniversary under Israel’s
chairmanship.
It will take place in Jerusalem under the auspices of
President Shimon Peres.