At EARPA’s Autumn Meeting 2024, EARPA’s President, Michele De Gennaro reiterated, ‘Europe cannot afford to lag behind in the global race for innovation. Europe needs to invest more, and it needs to do so now.’
Making reference to Mario Draghi’s report, he mentioned how the automotive industry has been functioning as a formidable engine of innovation within the EU’s economy. However, more funding and innovation is needed.
The point was brought up following the release of EARPA’s input paper to the Next Framework Programme which contains high-level recommendations to shape the future transport and automotive research program, aiming to positively influence the upcoming consultation phase.
He mentioned that for the automotive sector, this means doubling down on research in electrification, autonomous driving, and green technologies that provide accessible solutions. It was also emphasised the importance of EARPA’s members responsibility to contribute even more in their research efforts.
‘Our (EARPA) research must ensure that Europe not only adapts to the transition to a carbon-neutral economy but also leads it.‘
EARPA‘s Autumn Meeting 2024 (30 September – 1 October 2024), attracted over 200 attendees, which included EARPA Members and other professionals from the European road mobility and automotive sector.
The first day of the event was dedicated to EARPA Members, which included internal workshops focused on upcoming EARPA position papers and collaboration opportunities for calls related to the Horizon Europe research & innovation framework programme.
The second day included EARPA General Assembly and a full day of plenary sessions. The first key note session welcomed Andrea Gentili and Patrick Mercier-Handisyde from the European Commission, who provided updates and the state of progress of the Horizon Europe Working Programme. Moreover, EARPA member have presented great results and inputs of EU funded projects in the mobility sector.
Other session topics included EARPA’s Ad-Hoc Paper, Circular Economy throughout the road transport system, Software Defined Vehicles and Success Stories from European Projects. See the list of all the speakers and the name of their presentation here.
The next big meeting for the EARPA community and the sector will take place from 4 – 5 March 2025, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City for EARPA’s Spring Meeting 2025.
To view more photos from the event, click here.
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