Southampton photonics expertise to boost 19m Euros European digital innovation hub
A new pan-European photonics digital innovation hub has been awarded 19 million Euros to accelerate the uptake and deployment of photonics technologies.
PhotonHub Europe will integrate the best-in-class photonics facilities, expertise and experience as a one-stop-shop solution with open access for companies that want to innovate with photonics.
Photonics - the science and technology of light - is a key digital technology that is radically transforming the traditional industrial base.
Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre, part of the Zepler Institute for Photonics and Nanoelectronics, is one of the world's leading institutes for photonics research. The University's cleanroom complex includes the CORNERSTONE service, a rapid prototyping foundry for silicon photonics researchers.
Dr Callum Littlejohns, Principal Enterprise Fellow and CORNERSTONE Co-ordinator, says: "The PhotonHub Europe project gives unprecedented access to Europe's leading photonics experts for businesses who can benefit from photonics technologies. As part of the project, the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) will share its world leading expertise in fibre optics, lasers, silicon photonics and more.
"The 19 million Euros funding for the PhotonHub Europe consortium will significantly contribute to further unlocking the potential of photonics technologies by enabling proof-of-principle demonstrations through collaborations between academic experts and businesses who focus on the end use of the technologies."
The ORC is one of 53 European partners that will be connected to SMEs and 'mid-cap' companies as first users and early adopters of photonics. The project will enable training and upskilling support, 'test before invest' innovation support and provision to find investment.
It is hoped the initiative will directly create over 1,000 new high-tech European jobs and nearly 1 billion Euros in new revenues and venture capital by 2025.
Professor Hugo Thienpont, Director of Brussels Photonics (B-PHOT) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and overall coordinator of PhotonHub Europe, says: "Photonics is essential to the functioning of new applications which are powering the new industrial wave - Industry 4.0 - and which are also critical to our ability to fundamentally address the enormous global societal and environmental challenges of our times.
"European industry needs to be at the forefront in innovating with photonics, making the most of our combined strengths across all parts of the innovation value chain, and working collaboratively across all member states, to support European business innovation and growth.
"This is the motivation behind the establishment of PhotonHub Europe which is directly building on top of over 15 year of previous European projects and collaborative efforts by all of the organisations involved in developing and integrating the infrastructure necessary for such a major undertaking."
PhotonHub Europe is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme and will commence in early 2021. It will operate a continuous open call for companies to apply for its support services, with applications for support facilitated online through the PhotonHub website located at www.photonhub.eu.