Building a Competitive Europe: The Strategic Role of Accessible Research and Technology Infrastructures

Robert Dwilinski, co-founder and President of AMMONO

The second thematic focus of the 10th ASTP-EU Forum, held on 11 December 2025, addressed the EU Strategy for Research and Technology Infrastructures (R&TI). The strategic importance of this topic had already been highlighted at the Informal Competitiveness Council in July 2014, where Member States acknowledged that the implementation of ESFRI infrastructures is critical for maintaining Europe’s scientific leadership and competitiveness in a global knowledge-based economy.

Over the past decade, extensive analytical work and policy reporting have examined the performance of the European innovation ecosystem. These analyses point to a persistent gap between Europe and global competitors in scaling innovation, despite strong research output and startup creation. One contributing factor repeatedly identified is limited and fragmented access to advanced research and technology infrastructures, particularly for innovative companies and deep-tech startups. In this context, improving access to R&TI has emerged as a key policy priority.

The European Commission’s ongoing work on a Charter of Access for industrial users to research and technology infrastructures is framed around several operational dimensions, including increased visibility and availability of services, transparency and quality standards, simplified contractual procedures, sound intellectual property management, prioritisation of EU-based companies, and enhanced cooperation among infrastructures and data access frameworks In practice, access conditions to R&TI often remain underdeveloped at early project stages, with governance and sharing rules frequently defined only after infrastructure deployment. However, recent policy analyses, including the Draghi Report, underline the need to accelerate the effective use of existing R&TI capacities. Facilitating timely and predictable access—particularly for startups and SMEs requiring infrastructure support for proof-of-concept and validation—has been identified as an important lever to strengthen Europe’s innovation performance.

Within this policy framework, differentiated access models are increasingly discussed, balancing public interest objectives, sustainability of infrastructures and fair conditions for industrial users. Simplified access for early-stage companies, alongside standard contractual arrangements for larger firms, is considered among the mechanisms that could contribute to improved uptake of R&TI services and more effective translation of research results into economic and societal value.