In the brochure “Powering the Digital Transformation in Europe” recently published by the European research funding program conducted by the ECSEL Joint Undertaking (JU), TTTech was quoted as “possibly the defining success story” regarding SMEs within the program.
The ECSEL Joint Undertaking (JU) stands for “Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership” and is a public-private partnership funding research, development and innovation projects in digital key technologies. The program is financed by its 30 participating states and the European Union. TTTech is currently participating in 10 ECSEL-funded research and development projects in fields as varied as industry 4.0, aerospace, autonomous mobility and off-highway developments.
The cited ECSEL JU brochure offers anecdotal evidence from OEMs, SEMs and public research organizations on the program’s impact. European cross-sector funding programs like ECSEL JU can facilitate companies’ access to new networks and partnerships significantly. Collaborative R&D projects result in R&D cooperation producing innovations with huge market potential as well as new customer relationships.
Having first participated in ECSEL’s predecessor, the ARTEMIS JU program, in 2008, TTTech has since grown its workforce from then 150 to now more than 2,000 employees world-wide with an average Compound Annual Growth Rate of about 25%. Due to this rapid growth, the brochure refers to TTTech as “possibly the defining success story” among (former) SMEs within the program. R&D Programs like those run by the ECSEL JU have always played a part in the company’s success. Adapting its strong core technologies for several key markets, TTTech Group has been able to spin off SMEs of its own and drive growth with acquisitions, Co-Founder and CTO Dr. Stefan Poledna is quoted in the brochure.
In a presentation given at the European Forum for Electronic Components and Systems (EFECS) last fall in Helsinki, Andreas Eckel, Team Leader Innovation Programs & Funding Management at TTTech, had fittingly compared OEMs to trees capable of producing a multitude of seeds. However, it needs programs like those run by the ECSEL JU to provide the fertile ground for those seeds to fall on as it connects OEMs with SMEs to complement each other’s research and development endeavors for the benefit of European innovation and sustainable welfare.
