The circular economy will be one of the big winners in the European Commission’s €11bn research and innovation plans over the next year.
Announcing this week how it plans to invest the final annual spend scheduled as part of the EU research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020, the Commission made clear that tackling societal challenges and generating sustainable growth were the priorities.
“For every 100 euro we invest through Horizon 2020, we expect to add 850 euro to our GDP by 2030, creating millions of jobs for Europeans,” said Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.
It is the last budget for the 2014-2020 period, and will be followed by the Horizon Europe programme between 2021-2027. For the next year the focus will be on funding key projects in areas relating to plastics, climate change, cybersecurity, clean energy, and the digital economy. Over €200 million will be targeted at advancing solutions that support energy intensive industries become more circular.
Check out the Commission’s news pages for more on the 2020 budget plans.
