As part of the Innovation Action 2018, the ECSEL (Electronics Components and Systems for European Leadership) call for proposals aims to carry out pilot actions, demonstrations and large-scale testing of new products, which can be divided into:
- Introduction of new technologies and methods as critical elements for the development of innovative products;
- Demonstration or pilot action, aimed at the creation of a product prototype for possible large-scale use;;
- Reproduction for the market, intended to create the conditions for a greater dissemination, of a product already tested on the market.
The call for proposals allocates a total of €110 million. ECSEL projects are European projects, with funding parameters similar to Horizon 2020 (i.e. up to full coverage of expected costs) that consents the definitive development of innovative products and solutions tested in other programs (e.g. Horizon itself) and the testing of their applicability under market conditions.
In this context, the call finances projects with a TRL (Technology Readiness Level) between 5 and 8, i.e. between the stage of technical validation in the relevant ecosystem up to the tested and completed system level.
The budget for the ECSEL program is pre-defined on a national basis and investments for a total of 15 million euro are planned for Italy, for both public and private partners.