Latest Science|Business news & analysis
Welcome to the weekly Science|Business roundup of the most significant news in R&D policy and funding, tailored for our LinkedIn audience.?
In this week’s main R&D policy news:?
Europe overtakes Asia on deep tech investment: A greater proportion of capital is flowing to science and engineering-heavy firms. But tech companies say EU legislation is holding them back.??
Meanwhile in Brussels, the European Commission’s Clean Planet chief expects simplified research and innovation partnerships in Horizon Europe’s successor, as collaborative research faces an uncertain future.?
Airbus CEO criticises ‘unmanageable’ EU regulations. Guillaume Faury says he hopes the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal will make it easier for European companies to attract investment?
Outgoing research commissioner Iliana Ivanova tells Widening countries to “continue investing” in national R&D programmes and reform their funding systems.?
An analysis of position papers from seven member states in central and eastern Europe shows great divergence of opinion over how the EU should organise and structure the next framework programme for research and innovation, FP10.?
In the Ecosystem column: Widening countries in central and eastern Europe line up for AI factories. Estonia, Slovenia and Poland join the bidding for EU funding, with ambitions to build national AI sectors?
And, finally, a new industry group says fusion is needed for European autonomy. But although necessary for energy independence, the European Fusion Association admits it’s unlikely to be cheaper than solar or fission?
In funding news:??
We have good news for the 2025 EU research budget. The European Parliament has managed to fend off a Horizon Europe budget cut and negotiated €25 million more than proposed by EU governments.?
In international news, we take a close look at how the UK’s new innovation agency, Aria is investing its ￡800 million budget, and assess how researchers expect Donald Trump’s re-election as US president to influence transatlantic cooperation in AI.?
Back in the EU, we dive into the potential plans for blinded evaluation of grant applications in Horizon Europe and see how European pharma R&D spending stacks up against global competitors.?
In our weekly columns, this week’s Funding Radar rounds up calls targeted at young researchers, while in the Data Corner, we track Greece’s success in Horizon Europe’s civil security cluster.?
Last but not least, a special treat for those curious about where Horizon Europe money goes. We have a breakdown of who wins big in Horizon Europe, in a snapshot from the newest edition of Horizon Europe: the Essential Guide.?
Policy Bulletin
Europe overtakes Asia on deep tech investment
A greater proportion of capital is flowing to science and engineering-heavy firms. But tech companies say EU legislation is holding them back. Click here to read more
R&I partnerships will have ‘important role’ in FP10
Commission’s Clean Planet chief expects simplified partnership in Horizon Europe’s successor, as collaborative research faces an uncertain future. Click here to read more
Airbus CEO criticises ‘unmanageable’ EU regulations
Guillaume Faury says he hopes the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal will make it easier for European companies to attract investment. Click here to read more
Boost national R&D spending, Ivanova tells Widening countries
Outgoing research commissioner tells member states to invest more in research and innovation. Click here to read more
What Widening countries want from FP10
An analysis of position papers from 7 member states in central and eastern Europe points to divergent views on Framework Programme 10. Click here to read more
The Ecosystem: Widening countries in central and eastern Europe line up for AI factories
Estonia, Slovenia and Poland join the bidding for EU funding, with ambitions to build national AI sectors. Click here to read more
Fusion is needed for European autonomy, says new industry body
But although necessary for energy independence, the European Fusion Association admits it’s unlikely to be cheaper than solar or fission. Click here to read more
Funding Newswire
Horizon Europe cuts avoided as Parliament strikes 2025 spending deal
Provisional agreement means R&I gets €25M more than the Commission proposed, but the budget will still be lower than in 2024. Click here to read more
How the UK’s new innovation agency works
Leaders of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency set out how projects are selected, risk tolerance, and who owns IP arising from the ￡800M it has to invest. Click here to read more
Funding Radar: This week we round up calls targeted at young researchers
Here’s a list of funding opportunities in the EU, UK, Switzerland, Tanzania, and the US. Click here to read more
Push for blinded evaluation gathers momentum
Research commissioner designate Ekaterina Zaharieva puts her weight behind moves to reduce bias by making the first stage of grant applications anonymous. Click here to read more
Trump victory triggers uncertainty over transatlantic relations in AI
New administration could boost artificial intelligence research funding, take a more hands-off approach to AI regulation, or both. Click here to read more
Growth in European pharma R&D spending outpaced by US and China
For the first time, China has overtaken Europe in drug discovery, industry research shows. Click here to read more
Greece tops the league table in winning EU funding from the civil security cluster
The country leads, and Greek organisations take the crown for participation in Horizon Europe civil security research. Click here to read more
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