What are Technology Infrastructures?
Technology Infrastructures (TIs) are important tools for industry to lower the costs and risks arising during the technology development, testing, prototyping, validation and upscaling phases, in order to bring technologies to higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and eventually reach industrial application and market entry. Due to their functions and importance for our industry, TIs are essential for Europe’s technological sovereignty, strategic autonomy and competitiveness.
TIs are described in European Commission Staff Working Document (SWD 2019/158) as 'facilities, equipment, capabilities and support services required to develop, test and upscale technology to advance from validation in a laboratory up to higher Technology Readiness Levels prior to competitive market entry. They can have public, semi-public or private status. Their users are mainly industrial players, including SMEs, which seek support to develop and integrate innovative technologies towards commercialisation of new products, processes and services, whilst ensuring feasibility and regulatory compliance.'
TIs come in various forms and can be sector-specific or technology-focused, such as pilot lines, testing facilities, clean rooms, demonstration sites, and living labs.
They are usually hosted and operated by Research and Technology Organisations and technical universities. Companies can also offer Technology Infrastructures.
Why are Technology Infrastructures important?
Technology Infrastructures provide tailored services as well as advanced technical expertise and facilities to support industry including SMEs and start-ups in research and innovation, technology development, testing and upscaling.
In this role, Technology Infrastructures also
- help businesses reduce their investment risks by mitigating the uncertainties in testing new ideas, technologies and production processes
- accelerate deployment of research and innovation results and strategic technologies in industrial ecosystems and research and innovation ecosystems
- shorten time-to-market and enhance commercialisation
- offer cost efficient solutions to companies by minimising the requirement for specialised in-house equipment, along with access to expertise for evaluating technological and business opportunities
- ensure compliance with existing safety standards and certification requirements
TIs play a vital role in driving European innovation, in accelerating the green and digital transition goals promoted in the Policy Agenda for the European Research Area (ERA), and in enhancing Europe's strategic autonomy, technological sovereignty and competitiveness.
The development of Technology Infrastructures and their long-term sustainability requires public investment and highly skilled technical staff to remain at the forefront of innovation and technological excellence.
What the Commission is doing
Following the Commission Communication on a New ERA for Research and Innovation, the Commission has launched concrete work on a coordinated European approach to Technology Infrastructures to support European industry, especially SMEs and startups.
This is being prepared under the ERA Policy Agenda (2022-2024) and Action 12 “Accelerating the green/digital transition of Europe’s key industrial ecosystems”, developed under the Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe.
This will further implement the Council Conclusions on Knowledge Valorisation (23 May 2024), which call for a definition of Technology Infrastructures, a mapping of user needs, and the development of an EU strategy.
The European approach will address key-challenges like limited accessibility and visibility to industry, in particular SMEs, fragmentation of the Technology Infrastructure landscape and lack of coordination of services and investments.
The approach is focusing on:
- Definition and Typology: Clearly define Technology Infrastructures and identify their main types
- User Needs Analysis: Understand industry, including SMEs and start-ups, specific needs for Technology Infrastructures, identify and address the existing service and facility gaps
- Improving visibility and accessibility of Technology Infrastructures: Propose measures to overcome barriers to access, including across regions and national borders
- Strategic Priority Areas: Identify areas where Technology Infrastructures can have the biggest impact on supporting key EU priorities and propose pilot actions to improve their availability
- Investment Prioritisation and coordination at EU level: Develop mechanisms for identifying common investment priorities and coordination EU-level activities
- Cooperation and networking among TIs: Support measures to exploit the potential of synergies among Technology Infrastructures
It benefits from the structured input and recommendations of the Expert Group on Technology Infrastructures (EGTI) and the results of the survey on user needs, which have been concentrated in the respective final report “Towards a European Policy for Technology Infrastructures: Building Bridges to Competitiveness", and accompanying analytical report on user needs for Technology Infrastructures. These reports represent key input for the preparation of the forthcoming European Strategy for Research and Technology Infrastructures, aiming to strengthen Europe's innovation ecosystem and ensure its global competitiveness in the green and digital transitions.
Survey on user needs
To gain a deeper understanding of the needs of industry for Technology Infrastructures and their services, as well as the barriers they may face to accede them, the Commission launched a public survey from August 2024 to November 2024. With more than 300 answers collected directly from industrial users, it will help the Commission to draw conclusions on the future direction and support required for Technology Infrastructures. The results of this survey are presented and analysed in the analytical report on user needs for Technology Infrastructures of the Expert Group on Technology Infrastructures (EGTI).
European Commission Expert Group on Technology Infrastructures
The Commission has been advised on the key elements of its European approach to Technology Infrastructures by the Expert Group on Technology Infrastructures (EGTI), which started its work in February 2024.
The Expert Group’s final report “Towards a European Policy for Technology Infrastructures: Building Bridges to Competitiveness", alongside its analytical report on user needs for Technology Infrastructures, published in February 2025, offer critical insights and recommendations for advancing the accessibility of TIs across Europe.
Publications
This report presents the findings of the Commission Expert Group on Technology Infrastructures (EGTI), established in November 2023 to analyse, support, and provide recommendations for improving technology infrastructures (TIs) in Europe.
This analytical report complements the Expert Group on Technology Infrastructures report “Towards a European Policy for Technology Infrastructures, Building Bridges to Competitiveness”. The report gathers extensive evidence on user needs for TIs, presenting the findings of the Expert Group, mainly gathered through a public survey addressed to enterprises, as well as a comprehensive collection of inputs and analyses of other relevant bodies and initiatives.
This report presents the results of the study “Policy Landscape Supporting Technology Infrastructures in Europe”. It consists of a thorough landscape analysis of all strategies, policies, programmes, instruments, public and private investment plans and funding streams supporting Technology Infrastructures (TIs) in Europe. It provides background information to support the discussions on the development of a more strategic and coordinated approach to Technology Infrastructures at the European level in the context of the European Research Area (ERA) Action 12.
This report presents the results of the study “Policy Landscape Supporting Technology Infrastructures in Europe”. It consists in a thorough landscape analysis of all types of strategies, policies, programmes, instruments, public and private investment plans and funding streams supporting Technology Infrastructures at regional, national and EU levels.
- Le paysage politique au soutien des infrastructures technologiques en Europe - Résumé
Projects and results
Research project database (CORDIS)
The Commission's primary portal for results of EU-funded R&I projects. Here you can find projects related to Technology Infrastructures.
Examples of Technology Infrastructure projects
- RITIFI:Stimulating European research and technology infrastructure growth
- Convert2Green: Converting Facilities Network for accelerating uptake of climate neutral materials in innovative products
- Exploit4InnoMat: An Open Innovation Ecosystem for exploitation of materials for building envelopes towards zero energy buildings
- CLEANHYPRO: Open Innovation Test Bed for Electrolysis Materials for Clean Hydrogen Production
- H2SHIFT: Services for hydrogen innovation facilitation and testing
Contact
Want to find out more about the Technology Infrastructures or want to contribute?
Email us at: RTD-TECHNOLOGY-INFRASTRUCTURES@ec.europa.eu
