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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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