We are part of EIT manufacturing: Europe's industry 4.0 innovation network

EIT Manufacturing, Europe's leading industry innovation network, involves more than two million businesses and almost 30 million persons directly. Its aims are to enhance competitiveness, sustainability and productivity in the manufacturing sector.

The initiative has headquarters in Paris and offices in the Basque Country, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Italy. The aim of EIT Manufacturing is to foster and support cooperation in R&D, training and enterprise creation, robotics, digitalisation, zero-defect manufacturing and additive manufacturing.  

The Western Hub, located in the Basque Country, is being set up by Basque companies Aernnova, Corporación Mondragón, IK4 Research Alliance, ITP Aero and TECNALIA, who will nurture and coordinate the participation of French, Portuguese and Spanish companies.

Our colleague Toni Pijoan holds two interim positions in EIT Manufacturing: Director of Business Creation and Director of CLC West.

In its first edition, the initiative involved seven projects:

Two in Innovation

• DEDALUS: Energy supply technology managed by process algorithms integrated into a monitoring and control system.
• SOFOCLES: Flexible smart support systems for sealing processes

One in Education

• YML, Young Manufacturing Leaders: creating a network of students and young people to be mobilised as ambassadors for the manufacturing sector.

Two Regional Innovation Schemes (RIS)

• ManuLearn, Learning through manufacturing challenges: increasing the capacity for innovation and improving digital skills in preparation for future manufacturing challenges.
• ShapiNG, Shaping the Next Generation of manufacturing professionals: motivating young Europeans, particularly secondary school students (aged 15-18 years), and growing their interest in industrial manufacturing activities in EIT RIS countries: Portugal, Spain, Greece and Slovakia

Two in Business Creation

• Open Innovation Centre for the Industry of the future: leading the transformation of European manufacturing industry, by means of diversifying and updating businesses using innovative technologies and new business models. The project will involve more than 100 companies, 50 of whom will receive intensive support, creating a European network of innovative industries 4.0
• Gazelle Accelerator: technology-based European companies have a high potential for growth, but their expansion is often limited by industrial fragmentation and a lack of visibility on the European market. Our programme gives these companies (particularly SMEs and start-ups) the network and support they need to expand and become future European gazelles. The Gazelle Accelerator team is made up of industrial, research and academic partners and will accelerate 50 promising start-ups or SMEs in 2020.