Skip to main content
European Commission logo
en
Research and innovation

Dual-use technologies

What the Commission is doing on dual-use technologies: initiatives, reports, funding opportunities and related documents.

What are dual-use technologies?

Dual-use technologies have both civil and defence applications. They strengthen the Union’s competitiveness, improve resilience and enhance its defence readiness. 

Many technologies and products can have dual-use applications, including artificial intelligence, advanced materials, quantum technologies, space and satellite technologies, and drones.

Commission initiatives

The Commission has set out a range of initiatives that integrate dual-use research and innovation (R&I) across EU policy areas.

  • the Commission proposal for the next Horizon Europe Framework Programme (2028-2034) provides that the programme may support dual-use actions within its proposed EUR 175 billion budget, and that the European Innovation Council (EIC) may support innovation in critical technologies with a focus on defence applications
  • the Defence Mini-Omnibus broadened the scope of the EIC, enabling the EIC Accelerator and STEP Scale-Up calls to support dual-use and defence innovation and better connect civilian technology development with EU defence readiness priorities
  • the proposed European Competitiveness Fund provides that dual-use technologies may be supported across the Fund, to better connect the Union’s technological industry to its defence industrial base and to Europe’s technological innovation capital.
  • the Research Fund for Coal and Steel brings dual-use R&I into Europe’s industrial base through a dedicated dual-use steel call, supporting advanced materials and production capabilities with both civilian and defence relevance
  • the EU Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap highlights the value of Europe’s civilian research and deep-tech base for defence readiness and recognises that many technologies reshaping defence are dual-use by nature
  • the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 identifies dual-use R&I as essential for Europe’s defence, security and technological sovereignty
  • the Action Plan on Drone and Counter-Drone Security sets out several actions to reinforce civil-military synergies and the dual-use potential of drone and counter-drone technologies
  • the proposed Military Mobility Regulation sets out measures on dual-use transport infrastructure, including along the EU military mobility corridors of the trans-European transport network, and provides for regulatory sandboxes to facilitate the development of dual-use air transport solutions, such as unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous systems
  • the ProtectEU - European Internal Security Strategy calls for the dual-use potential of technologies to be exploited in both directions, from civil to defence and from defence to civil.
  • the European Preparedness Union Strategy promotes a “dual-use by design” approach, encouraging the integration of dual-use in technology development
  • the Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030 recognises technologies as the main feature of geopolitical competition. It indicates that the Commission will ensure that the European Innovation Council and the ScaleUp Europe Fund will invest in dual-use technologies
  • the White Paper on Options for Enhancing Support for Research and Development involving technologies with dual-use potential provided several options for supporting R&I involving technologies with dual-use potential

Strategic reports and expert analysis

Several reports, including from independent experts, have underlined the importance of dual-use research and innovation, amongst others: 

  • the “Safer Together” report by Special Adviser Niinistö calls for further unlocking the potential for enhanced civil-military cooperation and dual-use infrastructures and technologies, while respecting the different nature, needs and priorities of civilian and military actors
  • the “Align, Act, Accelerate” report by Manuel Heitor recommends that the next Horizon Europe Framework Programme embraces dual use and that the Commission should optimise the innovation dividend arising from the need for increased national security and defence expenditure by exploiting dual use both ways
  • the “Future of European Competitiveness” report by Mario Draghi stresses the potential that dual-use programmes can bring, including enhancing collaboration between civilian and defence sectors. To that end, he recommends to further concentrate efforts and resources to maximise technological spill-over between civilian and defence innovation cycles
  • the “Future of the Single Market” report by Enrico Letta notes that economic security is pivotal for the Single Market’s future and underlines the importance to encourage R&D in dual-use technologies

The Commission also tasked independent experts with examining the practical and societal implications of supporting dual-use research and innovation at EU level. They produced two reports:

  • a report by the independent Expert Group on the economic and societal impact of research and innovation (ESIR), highlighting the strategic role of dual-use R&I funding to foster security, strategic autonomy, competitiveness and sustainability
  • a report by independent experts from the civil and defence research and innovation communities examining civil-defence synergies, implementation challenges for dual-use projects, and international examples of policy strategies and funding programmes supporting dual-use research and innovation

Funding Opportunities (2026-2027)

Funding for dual-use technologies in 2026-2027 is currently available through the following instruments:

European Research and Innovation days 2025

The R&I days 2025 included a highly attended session on dual-use research and innovation, exploring how the EU can better support technologies with both civilian and defence applications, reduce strategic dependencies, and close capability gaps.

Watch the replay

Read the report

Latest

See all

Events