Research partnerships between the EU, the private sector and Member States today presented their first calls for projects and partners under Horizon 2020, the EU's €80 billion research and innovation programme.

The calls are worth a total of €1.13 billion in public funding, which will be complemented by a comparable amount from the private partners.

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said:

"Only if the best brains from academia, industry, SMEs, research institutes and other organisations come together can we successfully tackle the huge challenges that we are facing. We are committed to prioritising the impact of the European budget on the recovery, and these partnerships are doing just that, with first calls for proposals for 1,1 billion euros to be matched by industry, within a package representing an overall 22 billion euros boost to growth and jobs creation over seven years. They will continue delivering results that no single country, company or even the European Union as such would achieve alone."

The launch of first calls comes almost exactly one year after the European Commission put forward the Innovation Investment Package, a set of proposals to establish seven public-private and four public-public partnerships.

The seven public-private partnerships launched today represent a total investment of €19.5 billion into research and innovation over the next seven years, where the EU contribution of €7.3 billion will unlock a €12.2 billion investment from the private sector and the Member States. Together with four more public-public partnerships with Member States, they form the Innovation Investment Package representing more than a €22 billion investment into Europe's future.

The competitive calls launched by the partnerships are open to the participation of companies, SMEs, universities, research organisations and others. The best projects will be selected for funding through peer review.

Click here to access the Horizon 2020 participant portal.