From 17-18 November, the European Conference on “Dual-Use Technologies” opened its doors in Málaga (Spain) to over 170 representatives of companies, research centres, institutions and public authorities gathered from 16 EU countries.
This two-day event is part of the yearly cycle of conferences initiated by the European Network of Defence-Related Regions (ENDR) – managed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS).
The European Commission in partnership with IDEA (the Agency of Innovation and Development of Andalusia) conceived this European event focusing on cyber security/defence and digital technologies (robotics, big data, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and sensors) with the goal of raising awareness about the available EU funding opportunities in the sector and to enable matchmaking of SMEs.
Opening Session: The cyberspace as a field of innovation
The event was opened by Paul Anciaux of DG DEFIS and Esperanza Nieto Lobo, Director-General for Planning Economic and Financial Policy of the Regional Andalusian Government, who welcomed attendees and iterated the importance of sparking interconnection among Europe’s regional defence communities.
To set the scene of the conference Colonel Francisco Palomo from the Joint Cyberspace Command (CMCCE) of the Spanish Ministry of Defence outlined the Spanish perspective of cyberspace combat systems by analysing current technologies and assessing future needs. This was followed by an overview of the European cybersecurity and defence market provided by Andreas Mitrakas, Head of Unit of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, who outlined the high growth and innovation potential of the sector.
Ever-increasing funding opportunities at EU level
The morning sessions were dedicated to presentations of funding opportunities at EU-level, on the backdrop of the recently adopted EU Policy on Cyber Defence. The first presentation was delivered by Getter Oper, Policy Officer at DG DEFIS outlining how the European Defence Fund (EDF) dedicates significant funding for project proposals in the field of cyber defence and digital transformation - with over 120 million euro allocated under the 2022 EDF work programme for Research and Development projects. Programme Managers at DG CNECT and the IDEA Agency instead focused, respectively, on the opportunities under the Horizon Europe programme and the Enterprise Europe Network.
Panel Discussions present success stories
Panel discussions in the afternoon allowed industrial and institutional representatives to share experiences of cooperative defence industrial projects. The first panel - with the participation of Roberto Cascella from the European Cyber Security Organisation, Jorge Maestre of Indra and Belén García Molano of Airbus Defence and Space - focused on how it is possible to strengthen cyber resilience and the European cyber market. The second panel discussed regional experiences on supporting the cybersecurity industry with case-studies presented by Enrique Rando González of the Andalusian Digital Agency and Hélène Morin of Bretagne Development Innovation – an ENDR Member.
Over 130 B2B meetings and pitching sessions for SMEs
The rest of the day was dedicated to SMEs that presented their innovative solutions in cyber defence around 8 technological challenges presented by Indra, Navantia, Telefónica Tech and Airbus Defence and Space. As part of the event, 136 Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings took place to enhance synergies between civil and military companies.
A participating SME said this about her experience with the ENDR conference:
"Apart from the interesting conferences, for us, an SME, the opportunity to meet decision-makers of corporations such as Navantia or Indra has been a key factor”
- Beatriz, DatLight
In addition, 15 companies and research groups pitched their innovative projects, shared their initiatives and success stories of cybersecurity and defence practices, sensors and microprocessors, robotics and autonomous systems.
Day 2 of the conference featured organised field visits to the regional defence and aerospace innovation hubs, including to the Malaga Tech Park Headquarters (visting Hispasec Sistemas, S.L., Babel Group, and Quandum Aerospace S.L.). The Park hosts 600 companies with over 23,000 employees.
Participate in future ENDR Events!
Future ENDR Conferences will take place in 2023. The next one will be in January in Bordeaux and will be dedicated to Green Technologies in Defence. Registrations are already available by visiting the event webpage!
Subscribe to the Newsletter and Join the ENDR
Details
- Publication date
- 21 November 2022