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EE|Times EUROPE 59

PHOTONICS
Age of Light: Europe Harnesses the Power

of Photonics

By Anne-Françoise Pelé

urope is often described as a laggard growth of overall EU industrial production photonics sector has implications for recruit-
in the global technology race. Though (1.3% annually), said Cochard. The European ment, particularly within SMEs. Photonics
that’s admittedly true in some areas, photonics sector is also progressing faster R&D requires Ph.D.s and other advanced
Elike artificial intelligence, it is not so than other European high-tech industries, degree holders, but photonics companies also
in all. Photonics — the science of creating, such as the IT industry (4.5%), medtech need technicians and skilled workers.
manipulating, transmitting, and detecting (4.9%), and microelectronics (4%). The European photonics research industry
light — could be one of those bright spots. Despite the harsh competitive environ- has developed a strong ecosystem for nur-
A new report charts Europe’s progress in ment, Europe has been able to secure second turing innovation and startups. Back in 1996,
photonics and notes what the EU needs to place, after China, in the global photon- the Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) Project, dedicated
do to ensure the success of innovators and ics market. From 2015 to 2019, Europe’s to inertial confinement fusion, was launched
startups in the field. global-market share remained stable, at at the CEA Laboratory CESTA near Bordeaux,
16%. Photonics was also given high priority France. The 176-beam laser facility aims to
According to a newly released for funding in the Horizon 2020 Framework deliver about 1.3 MJ of energy to targets for
Program for Research and Innovation and its
high-energy–density physics experiments,
report, the global photonics successor, Horizon Europe. Companies could including fusion experiments. Over the past
25 years, the project’s research dynamic has
indeed benefit from strong research dynam-
market grew by 7% each ics to expand their activities in photonics had a positive effect locally, having fostered
year from 2015 to 2019. But and grab their share of this fast-growing the creation of 94 startups, 49 established
companies, and 3,000 direct and more than
market, Cochard said.
what about Europe? Is it 10,000 indirect jobs in the region, according
leading, lagging, or carving 390,000 JOBS... to the report.
In 2019, the European photonics industry
its own way? comprised more than 5,000 companies. And ...BUT 5× LESS CAPITAL INVESTMENT
Photonics development primarily yields
from 2015 and 2019, it created over 30,000
jobs, expanding its workforce to more than hardware solutions, and hardware initiatives
390,000. That translates into an annual not only are more capital-intensive than
Photonics applications span many sectors, employment growth rate of 2.1%, twice that software efforts but also take longer to
from optical data communications to imag- of the European manufacturing sector over- establish and sustain large companies.
ing, lighting and displays, manufacturing, all (about 1% CAGR for the EU28). The higher risk associated with hardware
the life sciences, health care, security, and The report specifies that the European pursuits has left European investors less
safety. According to a newly released report photonics industry accounted for approx- likely to commit to photonics companies, the
compiled by the European Technology imately 1.5% of the total manufacturing report notes.
Platform Photonics21 and French market employment, with a revenue per employee of The EU’s funding opportunities are
research and consultancy firm Tematys, the about €250k, over the study period. necessary for getting photonics initiatives
global photonics market grew by 7% each The rate of employment growth in Europe’s off the ground but are insufficient for
year from 2015 to 2019.
But what about Europe? Is it leading,
lagging, or carving its own way?
In a presentation at the recent SEMI
Connecting Heterogeneous Systems Summit,
Jacques Cochard, partner, Technology
Transfer and Research Valorization at
Tematys, provided facts and figures on
European photonics industry trends. Even
though the study’s 2015–2019 time frame
predated the pandemic, the recently released
outcomes shed light on Europe’s vision and
goals in this strategic technology domain.
16% MARKET SHARE...
The European photonics industry grew from
€76 billion in 2015 to €103 billion in 2019,
achieving a 7% annual growth rate. Not only
is that the same as the global growth rate,
but it is 3× the growth rate of the EU gross Long-term evolution of the production of the European Photonics Industry (€ billion)
domestic product (2.3% per year) and 5× the (Source: Photonics21/Tematys, “Market Data and Industry Report 2020”)

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