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Date Announced: 28 Jul 2021
To ensure Europe’s global competitiveness.
Barcelona, Spain -- PhotonHub is establishing a single photonics innovation hub which integrates all of the best-in-class photonics technologies, facilities, expertise and experience of 53 top competence centres across Europe under one roof as a one-stop-shop solution with open access for any company anywhere in Europe that wants to innovate with photonics. As a result, PhotonHub will provide European companies, in particular “non-photonics” SMEs and mid-caps that are first users and early adopters of photonics, with open access and guided orienteering through the PhotonHub front office in Brussels, across a broad range of services and capabilities offering innovation, training, and business/ investment support:
Training and upskilling supports
Training and upskilling support to companies will cover both technology- and application-specific learning in photonics using lecture-based tutorials, hands-on lab-based training and “Train-the-Trainer” programmes within the hub’s 40 Demo Centres and 10 Experience Centres throughout Europe, all coordinated for consistent standards of excellence under the umbrella of the European Photonics Innovation Academy of PhotonHub. ICFO will be giving the second training session within the Academy on the 11th of August, entitled “Photonics with applications in health, energy and communications".
“Test before invest” innovation support
“Test before invest” innovation support to companies will offer expertise and equipment for design, prototyping, experimentation, engineering and pilot production, with further guidance and seamless links to the industrial supply chain of manufacturing in Europe, all provided by Europe’s top research and innovation facilities offering the broadest possible range of photonics technologies covering the full value chain from early stage product concept to pre-market launch.
Supports to find investment
PhotonHub will help companies innovating with photonics to find investment from suitable sources of venture capital or other private/public sources of growth capital to further boost their capabilities in bringing new photonics and “photonics-enabled” products faster to market.
PhotonHub’s digital community-building platform will ensure fast user-friendly access for European SMEs to the broadest possible range of advanced photonics expertise and technologies on the European scale, covering the entire value chain from TRL3-8.
Regional, national and pan-European innovation network
In order to accelerate the uptake and deployment of photonics technologies by European industry at all levels, support actions need to reach companies in every corner of every region of Europe.
PhotonHub will work closely with regional photonics innovation hubs all over the continent, such as PhotonCAT led by ICFO in Catalonia, to provide additional support to boost photonics innovation among SMEs at the local level. PhotonCAT will also be the photonics node of the Catalan European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) candidate, DIH4CAT, which will support the uptake of digital innovation in general in the Catalan ecosystem.
“The strategic alignment of research centers and innovation labs with SMEs, connecting locally, nationally and across Europe with the goal of facilitating the implementation of new photonic technologies is directly aligned with ICFO’s mission to have a positive impact on society,” said Sergi Ferrando, Business Developer in ICFO’s Knowledge and Technology Transfer team.
“ICFO has a strong history of connecting with industry through programs such as our Launchpad for new technology spin-offs, the Client Liaison Program (CLP) and also myriad industrial partnerships. Application domains are varied, including agrofood, sustainable environment and energy, digital infrastructure, health, and smart cities, to name a few, but the potential for applications in new industrial areas is endless.”
PhotonHub EU began operations in 2021 and will be operating a continuous open call for companies to apply for its support services. Applications for support will be facilitated online through the PhotonHub website. PhotonHub has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Grant Agreement No.101016665, in Public Private Partnership with Photonics21.
E-mail: secretariat@icfo.eu
Web Site: https://www.photonhub.eu
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