Commission staff working document accompanying the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - "Preparing for our future: Developing a common strategy for key enabling technologies in the EU" - Current situation of key enabling technologies in Europe {COM(2009) 512}
Date: 2009-09-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: biotechnology, competitiveness, higher education, investment promotion, microelectronics, nanotechnology, research and development, technology transfer, vocational training

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.09.2009 
SEC(2009) 1257 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

accompanying the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

"Preparing for our future: Developing a common strategy for key enabling technologies 
in the EU" 

Current situation of key enabling technologies in Europe 

{COM(2009) 512} 

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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

accompanying the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

"Preparing for our future: Developing a common strategy for key enabling technologies 
in the EU" 

Current situation of key enabling technologies in Europe 

1. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES 

Currently there has been no shared understanding  within  the EU on exactly what should be 
considered as key enabling technologies (KETs). As a result there is no coherent strategy on 
European level on how these technologies can be better brought to industrial deployment at a 
European  level.  The  Communication  on  key  enabling  technologies  develops  a  common 
strategy for KETs in the EU and proposes a set of measures to improve the related framework 
conditions1. 

KETs  are  knowledge  intensive  and  associated  with  high  R&D  intensity,  rapid  innovation 
cycles, high capital expenditure and highly-skilled employment. They enable process, goods 
and  service  innovation  throughout  the  economy  and  are  of  systemic  relevance.  They  are 
multidisciplinary, cutting across many technology areas with a trend towards convergence and 
integration. KETs can assist technology leaders in other fields to capitalise on their research 
efforts.  

Several Member States have started to identify enabling technologies that are relevant to their 
future  competitiveness  and  prosperity  and  targeted  their  R&D  spending  accordingly  (see 
Table 1). Individual Member State technology policies, while similarly focused, often lack the 
synergies and benefits of economies of scale and scope that arise from more coordinated joint 
actions. Discussions have been also taken place at European level, but have so far not led to a 
shared understanding on which of these technologies a more strategic cooperation is needed to 
improve industrial competitiveness2. The fragmentation of EU efforts is often caused by a lack 
of  a  long-term  vision  and  of  coordination.  Better  division  of  work  is  needed  to  improve 
conditions for industrial exploitation in the EU. 

2. 

OVERVIEW OF KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES 

The  following  section  provides  a  brief  description  of  the  multidisciplinary  characteristics  of 
some  KETs  in  the  EU  and  explains  why  advanced  materials,  nanotechnology,  micro-  and 

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COM(2009) 512. 
Synthesis  report  of  the  key  technologies  expert  group  (2005);  Creative  system  disruption:  towards  a 
research strategy beyond Lisbon. 

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nano-electronics, industrial biotech and photonics have been identified as priority to improve 
European industrial competitiveness. 

2.1. 

Advanced materials 

Advanced  materials  technologies  lead  both  to  new  reduced  cost  substitutes  to  existing 
materials  and  to  new  higher  added-value  products  and  services.  This  will  reduce  resource 
dependency  and  environmental  waste  and  hazards  at  the  same  time.  Besides  the  costs  of 
capital, expenditure on materials is the most important cost factor in high-technology related 
industries. They are of key importance for the competitiveness of EU industry especially since 
Europe is not well endowed with natural resources. Overall, advanced materials markets are 
expected to offer an additional annual volume  within  the  EU  of  €55bn  over  the  next  5  to  7 
years3.  There  is  considerable  potential  in  the  area  of  energy  €19bn  (e.g.  catalysts  and 
batteries),  environment  €12bn  (e.g.  polymers  a nd  smart  packaging),  health  (e.g.  tissue 
engineering),  transport  (e.g.  lightweight  materials)  and  ICT  (e.g.  optical  fibres  and 
semiconductors).  

Material  innovations  can  be  used  in  practically  all  manufacturing  industries  and  form  an 
important  element  in  the  supply  chain  of  many  high  value  manufacturing  businesses.  They 
have  the  potential  to  lead  to  innovations  in  key  industries  such  as  energy,  aeronautics  and 
space, automotive, engineering, textiles, electronics and consumer goods. With a world-class 
research  base  and  major  strengths  in  both  producer  and  user  industries,  the  EU  is  a  world 
leader  in  advanced  materials.  R&D  in  the  key  materials  producing/using  sectors4  is  over  € 
44bn  per  year  in  the  EU  compared  to  €25bn  in  the  US  and  €23.5bn  in  Japan.  Maintaining 
competitive strength will require an increase in the added-value of the materials produced and 
the “knowledge embedded” in them, as well as the productivity of industrial processes while 
reducing  energy  and  material  consumption.  The  EU  Framework  Programmes  for  Research 
and  Technological  Development  provide  funding  for  new  and  advanced  materials.  The 
National Science Foundation in the US allocated $257m of funding in the area of Materials 
Research in 20075. As part of the FP7 an annual average of €120m of EU funding (excluding 
support  at  national  level)  has  been  allocated  for  materials  research  with  increasing  synergy 
thanks to FP7 and increasing EU-wide networking6.  

2.2. 

Nanotechnology 

Nanotechnology is an umbrella term that covers the design, characterisation, production and 
application  of  structures,  devices  and  systems  by  controlling  shape  and  size  at  nanometre 
scale. 

The global market for nanotechnology has been estimated to amount to $147bn in 2007 and to 
grow  to  in  most  optimistic  assessments  to  $1 trillion7  and  possibly  to  over  $3 trillion  by 
20158. The United States (40%) constitutes the biggest market for nanotechnology, followed 
by Europe (31%). Both regions are expected to amount to 35%  of the worldwide market in 

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European Technology Platform on Sustainable Chemistry (2008). 
Defined  as  chemicals  industry  (excluding  pharmaceuticals),  industrial  metals,  aerospace,  and 
automotive. 
National Science Foundation (2009).  
The European Multifunctional Materials Institute was created in the framework of the FP6 Network of 
Excellence. It serves as a European platform to create and conduct projects in research and education in 
the field of multifunctional materials science. 
National  Science  Foundation  estimates,  see  Red  Herring  (2001):  “The  Biotech  Boom:  the  view  from 
here”. 
LuxResearch  (2009):  “Nanomaterials  of  the  Market  Q1  2009:  Cleantech’s  Dollar  Investments,  Penny 
Returns”. 

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2015.  Like  today,  the  majority  of  global  sales  will  be  attributed  to  manufacturing  and 
materials (over 55%), followed by electronics and IT (over 23%).  

established 

in  Europe 

(particularly 

in  nanomaterials,  nanophotonics 

Advanced and novel materials can greatly benefit from the integration of biotechnology and 
nanotechnology,  e.g.  for  coating/surface  engineering.  The  nanotechnology  research  base  is 
and 
well 
nanobiotechnology). In 2008, EU research spending on nanotechnology from public sources 
was $2.6bn (some 30% of the world total) compared with $1.9bn in the US and some $2.8bn 
in Asia9. In Europe, over 240 research centres and 800 companies dedicated to the R&D of 
nanotechnology have been identified10. 
However,  commercialising  these  research  efforts  is  proving  difficult  in  Europe11.  Private 
R&D investments amounts to only $1.7bn in Europe compared to $2.7 in the US and $2.8bn 
in  Asia12.  Moreover  EU  nanotech  patenting  lags  well  behind  the  US  where  most  of  the 
significant developments in the creation and activity of nanotech companies and related jobs 
can be observed. Despite the potential interest from key EU industries such as aeronautics and 
space or automotive, a lack of engineering expertise seems to have held back adoption13. The 
EU market is fragmented, resulting in a lack of critical mass that reduces the effectiveness of 
the  commercialisation  of  nanotechnology.  Considering  the  state  of  technology  maturity, 
issues related to environmental, health and safety (EHS) concerns, standardisation and public 
opinion  needs  to  be  addressed  to  ensure  market  acceptance  and  the  deployment  of 
nanotechnology14.  

European  SMEs  using  nanomaterials  are  mostly  present  in  the  automotive  and  medical  and 
healthcare  sectors  followed  by  energy15.  Within  medical  and  healthcare,  implants  (44%), 
molecular  diagnostics  (28%)  and  drug  delivery  (27%)  are  the  most  important  fields  of 
application.  Applications  in  the  energy  field  are  mostly  related  to  energy  conversion  or 
production (66%) followed by energy saving (38%) and energy storage (28%). 

2.3.  Micro– and nanoelectronics 

Micro-  and  nanoelectronics  deal  with  semiconductor  components  and  highly  miniaturised 
electronic subsystems and their integration in larger products and systems.  

The  worldwide  microelectronics  market  is  valued  at  $261bn  in  2008  (up  from  $200bn  in 
2000)16.  Electronic  data  processing  and  the  telecom  sector  are  the  largest  markets  for 
microelectronics. However, semiconductor components are rapidly penetrating in automotive, 
medical,  industrial  or  consumer  markets.  The  automotive  sector  for  instance  accounts  for  a 
larger proportion of microelectronics sales in Europe (19% in 2008) than it does in the world 
as a whole (8%)17 and Europe can further develop its strengths in the automotive sector with 
excellent  customer  access  and  highly  specialised  applications.  Microelectronic  components, 

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LuxResearch (2009). 
Conseil  Economique  et  Social  –  France  (2008) :  "Les  nanotechnologies"  and  AFSSET  (2008):"Les 
nanomatériaux: sécurité au travail". 
26% of nanotech related patents are filed by the EU25, 40% by the US (Source: OECD patent database 
2007). 
LuxResearch (2009).  
Federal Ministry of Education and Research “The High Tech Strategy for Germany”. 
The  European  Commission  adopted  in  February  2008  the  Code  of  Conduct  for  Responsible 
Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies Research. 
Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (2005): “nanoroad 
SME“:http://www.nanoroad.net/download/sme_survey.pdf. 
OECD (2009): “OECD Information Technology Outlook 2008“. 
Future Horizons (2009): “Semiconductor Market Overview”. 

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such  as  designer-customised  integrated  circuits  are  also  essential  and  major  constituents  of 
spacecraft.  To  qualify  this  technology  for  space,  substantial  efforts  are  needed  to  meet  the 
harsh  environment  and  reliability  requirements  (e.g.  related  to  radiation,  temperature 
fluctuation,  impossibility  of  repair,  etc).  Due  to  the  required  quality  control,  rigorous 
qualification and detailed analysis, the know-how gained has the potential to be used in other 
high reliability sectors (e.g. aeronautics, automotive or defence), as well as green technologies 
(e.g. low energy consumption). Microelectronics applications are present in many industries 
such as for industrial equipment or for consumer products (cameras, TV), automotive (safety 
management, fuel efficiency, engine controls), computing and communications (e.g. wireless, 
smartcards).  Microelectronics  enables  greater  energy  efficiency  in  devices  and  control 
systems in many end-user applications. 

Europe  has  a  declining  share  of  worldwide  investment  in  microelectronics.  From  a  total 
investment of €28bn in microelectronics in 2007 , only 10% was made in the EU compared to 
48%  in  Asia.  Europe’s  semiconductor  market  share  has  declined  from  21%  to  16%  since 
200018.  Nonetheless,  total  direct employment  in  microelectronics  in  Europe  is  over  110 000 
plus  105  000  in  equipment  manufacturers.  Nevertheless,  Europe  has  a  number  of  dedicated 
regions  with  critical  mass  and  particular  semiconductor  competencies  which  are  recognised 
world-wide. These clusters, which address all application fields and have access to the most 
advanced technologies are key assets for European industrial competiveness. 

2.4. 

Industrial biotechnology 

Industrial  biotech  is  the  application  of  biotechnology  for  the  industrial  processing  and 
production  of  chemicals,  materials  and  fuels.  It  includes  the  practice  of  using  micro-
organisms  or  components  of  micro-organisms  like  enzymes  to  generate  industrially  useful 
products, substances and chemical building blocks with specific capabilities that conventional 
petrochemical  processes  can  not  provide.  There  are  many  examples  of  such  bio-based 
products already on the market. The most mature applications are related to enzymes used in 
the  food,  feed  and  detergents  sectors.  More  recent  applications  include  the  production  of 
biochemicals, biopolymers and biofuels from agricultural or forest wastes. 

The contribution of industrial biotech to EU economic performance is currently modest, but 
growing  rapidly.  In  a  recent  OECD  study,  it  is  estimated  that  biotechnology’s  share  of 
chemical  production  will  increase  from  under  2%  in  2005  to  between  9  and  13%  in  2010, 
accounting for $130-180 billion in value19. This implies annual growth rates in the range of 
40-50% for bio based chemicals compared to 3% for overall chemical production.  

Europe is the world leader in key industrial biotechnologies such as enzyme technologies and 
fermentation.  The  most  important  enzyme  producers  are  located  in  Europe  with  a  total  of 
about 80 in Europe compared to 20 in the US20. Nearly 70% of the estimated $313bn spent in 
2006 on R&D of relevance to biotechnology by leading companies in industrial applications, 
was spent by European firms21. 

The global industrial enzyme market was worth about €2.1 billion in  2008. Approximately a 
third of that figure was accounted for by detergent enzyme sales and another third by food and 
feed enzymes. The detergent enzymes market is growing by about 4.5% per year, mainly for 
dishwasher and liquid detergents. Enzymes for food manufacturing have an estimated annual 

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OECD (2009): “OECD Information Technology Outlook 2008“. 
The Bioeconomy to 2030, Designing a Policy Agenda, OECD 2009. 
The Bio4EU Analysis report (European Communities 2008). 
The Bioeconomy to 2030, Designing a Policy Agenda, OECD 2009. 

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growth  rate  of  2-3%.In  biofuels,  large  quantities  of  biodiesel  and  bioethanol  are  being 
produced, largely driven by government support and high energy costs. While this is mostly 
produced  using  conventional  technologies,  improved  industrial  biotech  processes  that 
facilitate the conversion of biomass into fuel are being developed. For example, pilot plants 
are producing bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass such as wood or agricultural waste and 
full-scale commercialisation is conceivable in 2011–201222. 

2.5. 

Photonics 

Photonics  is  a  multidisciplinary  domain  dealing  with  the  science  and  technology  of  light, 
encompassing  its  generation,  detection  and  management.  The  EU  has  strong  positions  in 
many  photonics  applications  such  as  solid  state  lighting  (including  LEDs),  solar  cells,  and 
laser  assisted  manufacturing.  The  Optoelectronics  Industry  Development  Association 
estimates that the global optoelectronics market reached a value of $565 billion in 200623. The 
global market for optoelectronic components was worth $356 billion in 2008 and is expected 
to  grow  at  an  annual  rate  of  3.1%  up  to  2020.  In  particular,  the  green  photonics  (e.g. 
solar/photovoltaics, LEDs, solid-state lighting, and displays) share of this market is expected 
to grow from some 8% to over 50% in 2020. The $200bn global market for optoelectronic-
enabled products (including consumer display/TV and computing/processing) and is expected 
to double in size by 2020. The European photonics industry accounted for revenues of about 
€49 billion in 2006 and is growing rapidly.  

Photonics is a good example of an enabling technology, as there are around 5 000 photonics 
manufacturers  in  Europe  employing  around  246 000  persons  (excluding  subcontractors) 
directly.  In  addition,  the  jobs  of  over  2  million  more  employees  in  the  EU´s  manufacturing 
sector  depend  directly  on  photonic  products.  Germany  accounts  for  39%  of  European 
production volume, followed by France and UK (12% each), the Netherlands (10%) and Italy 
(8%).  Private  R&D  investment  by  the  European  photonics  industry  amounts  to  €3.3  billion 
annually, which represents 9% of turnover24. The European production made up some 19% of 
the world market in 200525. However, production is dominated by Asia, notably Japan (32%), 
Korea (12%) and Taiwan (11%). North America has some 15% of the worldwide production 
volume.  

The potential of these technologies is largely untapped. Increasingly systemic solutions  will 
be  needed  and  evolve  in  order  to  address  major  societal  challenges,  such  as  ensuring  high-
speed  communication,  preserving  food  production,  the  environment,  finding  appropriate 
transport solutions, ensuring high levels of health care for an ageing population, unlocking the 
potential  of  services,  ensuring  internal  and  external  security  and  addressing  the  energy 
question.  Low  carbon  technologies  and  applications  will  play  a  vital  role  in  reaching 
European  energy  and  climate  change  targets.  For  instance,  CCS  and  CO2-related  transport 
grids will be needed to reduce CO2 emission in countries that will continue to rely heavily on 
fossil energy sources. KETs, such as new materials for energy production, transportation and 
storage  play  an  essential  role.  They  could  lead  to  better  resource  and  energy  efficiency  and 

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Novozymes 2008 report and The Bio4EU Analysis report (European Communities 2008). 
The  “Photonics  in  Europe”  study  by  Photonics21  presents  a  smaller  figure  for  the  world  market  for 
photonics products (€228 billion in  2005). This figure does not include accessories, parts and service, 
retail sales cost, optical fibres and fibre cables for communication purposes. 
Towards a Bright Future for Europe, Strategic Research Agenda in Photonics, Photonics21, 2006. 
Photonics in Europe, Economic Impact, Photonics21 and Optech Consulting, December 2007. 

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their environmental impact need to be assessed in a life-cycle perspective, taking advantage of 
the related initiatives promoted at EU level in this context26.  

In  the  supply  chain  of  KETs  advanced  manufacturing  systems  denote  the  range  of  high-
technologies  involved  in  manufacturing,  leading  to  improvements  in  terms  of  new  product 
properties,  production  speed,  cost,  energy  and  materials  consumption,  operating  precision, 
waste  and  pollution  management.  This  is  especially  relevant  in  capital  intensive  industries 
with complex assembly methods. They are needed to help create marketable knowledge-based 
goods  and  the  related  services  (e.g.  modern  robotics).  For  example,  the  production  and 
assembly of modern aircraft involves the whole spectrum of manufacturing technologies from 
the simulation and programming of robotic assembly lines to reducing energy and materials 
consumption.  Other  examples  include  intelligent  control  systems,  automation  for  modelling 
and  production.  They  can  be  applied  in  all  manufacturing  industries  and  form  an  important 
element  in  the  supply  chain  of  many  high  value  manufacturing  businesses.  They  make  up 
some 10.5% of EU industrial productions and provide some 2.2 million jobs and account for 
19% of EU exports and over 40% of EU private sector R&D expenditure27. 

Given  the  rapid  development  in  science  and  research  the  above  technologies  may  rapidly 
become global in the years to come and other technologies may emerge.  

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See the Integrated Product Policy Communication COM (2003) 302; The Strategic Energy Technology 
Plan COM (2007) 723 has the main objective to accelerate the development of key technologies such as 
CCS  and  renewable  technologies;  The  European  Energy  Research  Alliance  (EERA)  launched  within 
the framework of the SET-Plan will set up joint programmes, including basic energy science, enabling 
and breakthrough technologies.  
ManuFuture Platform “Strategic Research Agenda”, http://www.manufuture.org/. 

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Table 1: Key enabling high technologies identified by Member States and the Commission's 
Key Technologies expert group 

Germany: 

United Kingdom: 

France: 

European Commission: 

Nanotechnology 

Nanotechnology 

Biotechnology 

Bioscience 

Nanotechnology 

Biotechnology 

Microsystems 
technology 

Electronics, 
electrical systems 

photonics 

and 

•  Micro-  and  nanocomponents 

for Microsystems 

Optical technologies 

•  Monitoring of image analysis 

processes 

•  Photonic 
processes 

systems 

and 

• 

Intelligent sensors and signal 
processing 

Materials technologies  Advanced materials 

•  Advanced materials 

•  Assembly of multi materials 

•  New  processes  for  surface 

processing 

Materials 
engineering 

science 

and 

Production 
technologies 

High value manufacturing: 

•  System engineering 

Manufacturing: 

•  Products 

•  Processes 

•  Service systems 

•  Value systems 

ICT 

•  Adaptable 

manufacturing 
systems 

• 

ICT 

•  modelling/simulation 

ICT 

•  Computing  &  software  tools 
for 

methods 

and 
collaboration  

High value services 

•  Knowledge 

transfer 

framework for technology 

Sources:  Synthesis  report  of  the  key  technologies  expert  group  (2005);  Creative  system  disruption:  towards  a 
research strategy beyond Lisbon; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research: The High-Tech Strategy for 
Germany  (2006);  French  Ministry  of  Economy,  Finance  and  Industry:  Technologies  clés  2010  (2006);  UK 
Technology Strategy Board: Connect and Catalyse, a strategy for business innovation 2008-2011 (May 2008). 

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