Technological Non-Dependence

Ensuring access to critical space technologies is key to our economy, society and security. This is why bolstering space research activities in support of EU’s strategic autonomy is a key priority for the European Commission.

The European Commission is enhancing technological sovereignty through greater investment and cooperation.

Through its Horizon 2020 program and the Space Work Programme under the responsibility of DG-DEFIS, the Commission has invested €100 million to promote European non-dependence on key space technologies to underpin the maintenance, development and evolution of our space systems and components, and for which there are presently no alternatives in the EU.

In the current geopolitical context that has increased pressure on global access to technologies, the Commission has decided to  increase investments via Horizon Europe : as of 2023, €20 million  have been allocated on a yearly basis by DEFIS to reduce EU non-dependence in the area of critical space technologies 

Horizon Europe is the EU’s primary funding programme for research and innovation. Its main objectives are to enhance European industrial competitiveness and ensure strategic autonomy  in the space sector.

Over the past decade, the European Union has taken significant strides towards enhancing its technological sovereignty in space. Notably, the Commission has heavily invested and implemented projects in the area of microelectronics for space applications, for example with a focus on GaN (Gallium nitride) technologies, rad-hard Systems on Chips (SoC), space solar cells, and advanced high dissipative packages, among others.

One major example of this investment is the funding of the first rad-hard space graded FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) entirely based on a European supply chain. This development has resulted in the creation of a series of 4 FPGAs products (NG-MEDIUM, LARGE, ULTRA and ULTRA7) that have been developed or are currently under development through EU funding. These FPGAs are crucial components for all types of space missions, including Copernicus and Galileo, and are key enablers of future advanced on-board computing capabilities (e.g. autonomous systems).

In 2008, the Commission, ESA and EDA established a Joint Task Force (JTF) with the objective of ensuring autonomous and unrestricted access to these technologies. Since then, the JTF has mapped critical space dependencies and identified relevant actions.

In this context, the Commission, ESA and EDA have given a fresh impetus to the Joint Task Force to lift up their institutional cooperation under the light of the recent geopolitical context.

The JTF Evolution will lead to new activities, including the development of common JTF roadmaps, institutional synergies, and enhanced collaboration to address the growing technological dependencies faced by the EU in the field of space research. 

In particular, the JTF will enable:

• Greater political focus and top-down approach.
• Greater focus on closing technological gaps. Beyond the identification of critical dependencies, the JTF will lead to joint technological roadmaps and implementation plans.
• Greater and coordinated interaction with Member States and industry.

Close cooperation has been central to the success of research and innovation project. It has enabled alignment of efforts between EU institutions, agencies, Member States and industry. It has   strengthened the links between research, development and manufacturing, with positive impact on uptake of technology, market innovation and EU strategic autonomy in the field of space. 

Through these efforts, Europe will be prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century and maintain its competitiveness in the rapidly evolving global landscape.

The 2024-2026 JTF cycle has been kicked off on May 17^th 2023 and the Final meeting leading to the creation of the JTF Action List has taken place on April 30^th 2024.

The Commission, ESA and EDA closely consulted all relevant European stakeholders e.g. SMEs, industries, associations, Member States.

The JTF Action List 2024-2026 represents a granular and precise view of European technological dependencies, their nature and needed actions for lowering the dependencies from outside Europe. Forty-seven categories of items have been identified from advanced materials, to components, equipment, sub-systems.

This work will directly feed the EU R&D Space priorities. It will reduce technological dependencies in EU Space missions.