The European Commission has launched the High Performance Computing (HPC) cPPP in Horizon 2020, investing 700 million euros to address challenges such as increasing the energy efficiency of HPC systems. This initiative includes 21 projects and 8 centres of excellence, which will receive 140 million euros. Supercomputing, also known as HPC, is a contributor to the Digital Single Market strategy, aiming to adapt Europe's economy and society to the digital age. It allows critical sectors to solve life-saving challenges, such as predicting extreme weather conditions or reducing the time for analysing genetic diseases from months to hours. A study published by the European Commission shows that Europe has made significant progress in the past 5 years in using supercomputers. The HPC cPPP is based on a Contractual Arrangement (CA) signed in December 2013, by the European Commission (EC) Vice-President and European Commissioner for Digital Agenda on behalf of the public side, and the European Technology Platform for High Performance Computing (ETP4HPC) Association representatives on behalf of the private side. The main goals and objectives of the HPC cPPP are to develop the next generation of HPC technologies, applications and systems towards exascale, and to achieve excellence in HPC applications delivery and use. Simulations and numerical experiments performed on HPC systems will help us gain a better understanding of how gases and liquids flow, deepen our understanding of climate change, the human brain, new materials, earthquake dynamics and seismic wave propagation, and study extreme events such as the collision of stars in deep space.

-NC-SAClean Sky 2 (CS2) is the most ambitious aeronautical research programme ever launched in Europe. Its mission is to develop breakthrough technologies to significantly increase the environmental performances of airplanes and air transport, resulting in less noisy and more fuel efficient aircraft, hence bringing a key contribution in achieving the Single European Sky environmental objectives. CS2 will help Europe’s aeronautics sector remain competitive, with a current world market share of 40%. The global aviation sector is expected to grow by 4-5% per year, and the EU is investing €4 billion in CS2, with €1.8 billion from the Horizon 2020 programme budget and €2.2 billion from industrial partners. A new call for proposals (budget: €47.9 million) has been issued, covering topics such as development of a highly instrumented, modular fan module for aerodynamic and acoustic wind tunnel testing, integrated automated test bench control system with certifiable test documentation functionality, laminated and panoramic cabin windows for business jet applications, and more. Proposals must be submitted before 5 October 2016. Clean Sky 2 is an ambitious aeronautical research programme launched in Europe to develop breakthrough technologies to increase the environmental performance of airplanes and air transport. It aims to reduce noise and fuel consumption, contributing to the Single European Sky environmental objectives. The EU is investing €4 billion in the programme, with €1.8 billion from the Horizon 2020 programme budget and €2.2 billion from industrial partners. A new call for proposals (budget: €47.9 million) has been issued, covering topics such as development of a highly instrumented, modular fan module for aerodynamic and acoustic wind tunnel testing, integrated automated test bench control system with certifiable test documentation functionality, laminated and panoramic cabin windows for business jet applications, and more. This will help Europe's aeronautics sector remain competitive in the global aviation sector, which is expected to grow by 4-5% per year. Proposals must be submitted before 5 October 2016.

-NC-NDThe European Commission has published the 2016-2017 Work Programme for Societal Challenge 2 in Horizon 2020. The overall objective of the programme is to help set Europe on a solid basis to sustain food security, the natural resource base and sustainable growth path, adapting and innovating to find resilient and efficient alternatives to our fossil-based economy. The programme consists of 4 calls for proposals, with a total budget of 774 million euros (365 million euros for 2016 and 410 million euros for 2017). The 4 calls are: 1. Sustainable Food Security – Resilient and resource-efficient value chains; 2. Blue Growth - Demonstrating an ocean of opportunities; 3. Rural Renaissance - Fostering innovation and business opportunities; 4. Bio-based innovation for sustainable goods and services - Supporting the development of a European Bioeconomy. The Sustainable Food Security call includes 48 actions, such as solutions to multiple and combined stresses in crop production, robotics advances for precision farming, organic breeding, validation of diagnostic tools for animal and plant health, bee health and sustainable pollination, and management of soil water resources in the EU and China. The Blue Growth call includes 11 actions, such as large-scale algae biomass integrated biorefineries, multi-use of the oceans' marine space, interaction between people, oceans and seas, and an integrated Arctic observation system. The Rural Renaissance call includes 16 actions, such as consolidated policy framework and governance models for synergies in rural-urban linkages, coastal-rural interactions, and networking European farms to boost thematic knowledge exchanges and close the innovation gap. The Bio-based innovation call includes 6 actions, such as sustainability schemes for the bio-based economy, adaptive tree breeding strategies and tools for forest production systems, and bio-based products: Mobilisation and mutual learning action plan. Additionally, there are other actions such as the SME Instrument, Fast track to innovation, and Horizon Prize on Food Security.

The European Commission has published the draft work programme 2016-2017 for Societal Challenge 6 in Horizon 2020. This work programme addresses key challenges of the 21st century such as radicalisation and migration, and aims to reduce the gap between institutions and citizens by providing better understanding, analysis and practical solutions. It also integrates the gender dimension as a key element of inclusive societies. The work programme consists of four calls for proposals, covering topics such as education and skills, user-driven innovation, data-driven policymaking, and policy-development in the age of big data. It also includes topics such as reversing inequalities and promoting fairness, engaging together globally, and understanding Europe and promoting the European public and cultural space. In addition, there are other actions such as Fast Track to Innovation, SME Instrument, prizes, public procurement, and experts. The provisional budget for the work programme is 320 million euros (155 million euros for 2016 and 165 million euros for 2017). The adoption and publication of the work programme by the Commission is expected in mid-October 2015.

The European Commission has published the draft work programme 2016-2017 for Nanotech, Advanced Materials and Biotech in Horizon 2020. This work programme covers Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and includes two calls for proposals. The first call is for Energy Efficiency Building, with eight topics ranging from highly efficient insulation materials to new business models for energy-efficient buildings. The second call is for Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology and Production, with sixteen topics ranging from novel hybrid materials for heterogeneous catalysis to new plant breeding techniques in molecular farming. Additionally, the work programme includes cross-cutting actions, Fast Track to Innovation Pilot, SME Instrument, Blue Growth, external experts, and a Pilot on Open Research Data. The total budget for the work programme is 1,077 million euros, with 516 million euros for 2016 and 562 million euros for 2017. The Commission is expected to adopt and publish the work programme in mid-October 2015.

-SAThe European Commission has published the draft Work Programme 2016-2017 for the ICT sector. The programme aims to support core ICT industries through roadmap-based Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), support digital entrepreneurship, strengthen support to start-ups and SMEs, and reinforce the international dimension of ICT activities. It includes four calls for proposals, covering topics such as Smart Cyber-Physical Systems, Cloud Computing, 5G PPP, Big Data PPP, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, ICT Key Enabling Technologies, Innovation and Entrepreneurship support, Responsibility and Creativity, and International Cooperation Activities. There are also other actions such as Fast Track to Innovation Pilot, SME Instrument, Horizon prizes, Digital Assembly Events, ICT conferences, studies and other activities. The provisional budget of the work programme is 1.5 billion euros (763 million euros for 2016, 807 million euros for 2017). The adoption and the publication of the work programmes by the EU Commission are expected in mid-October 2015.

The European Commission has published the draft work programme 2016-2017 of societal challenge 4 in Horizon 2020 The Transport Challenge, 'Smart, green and integrated transport'. This programme is aimed at achieving a European transport system that is resilient, resource-efficient, climate- and environmentally-friendly, safe and seamless for the benefit of all citizens, the economy and society. It is structured in four broad lines of activities: resource efficient transport that respects the environment, better mobility, less congestion, more safety and security, global leadership for the European transport industry, and socio-economic and behavioural research and forward looking activities for policy making. The programme consists of three calls for proposals, with a total budget of 936 million euros (450 million euros for 2016, 486 million euros for 2017). The first call, Mobility for Growth, includes activities such as reducing energy consumption and environmental impact of aviation, reducing aviation noise, maintaining industrial leadership in aeronautics, breakthrough innovation, and identifying gaps, barriers and needs in the aviation research. The second call, Automated Road Transport, focuses on ICT infrastructure to enable the transition towards road transport automation, automation pilots for passenger cars, multi-brand platooning in real traffic conditions, safety and end-user acceptance aspects of road automation, and road infrastructure to support the transition to automation. The third call, European Green Vehicles Initiative, includes optimisation of heavy duty vehicles for alternative fuels use, technologies for low emission light duty powertrains, system and cost optimised hybridisation of road vehicles, next generation electric drivetrains for fully electric vehicles, electric vehicle user-centric design for optimised energy efficiency, and multi-level modelling and testing of electric vehicles and their components. Other actions include Fast Track to Innovation Pilot, SME Instrument, two Horizon prizes, external expertise for monitoring the ELTIS urban mobility observatory.

The European Commission has published the draft Work Programme 2016-2017 for the first Horizon societal challenge, 'Health, Demographic Change and Well-being'. The overall strategic orientation of the programme is 'promoting healthy ageing and personalised healthcare'. It includes 3 calls for proposals, with topics ranging from understanding health, well-being and disease, to preventing disease, treating and managing diseases, active ageing and self-management of health, methods and data, and health care provision and integrated care. There are also coordination activities, Fast Track to Innovation Pilot, InnovFin Infectious Diseases, Innovative Medicines Initiative programme (IMI2), European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership programme (EDCTP2), Horizon Birth Day Prize, Sme Instrument, eHealth events, and a provisional budget of 933 million euros (500 million euros for 2016, 433 million euros for 2017). The topics of the 3 calls for proposals are: 1. Call - Personalised Medicine: Multi omics for personalised therapies addressing diseases of the immune system, new concepts in patient stratification, diagnostic characterisation of rare diseases, networking and optimising the use of population and patient cohorts at EU level, the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative, vaccine development for malaria and/or neglected infectious diseases, promoting mental health and well-being in the young, new therapies for rare diseases, new therapies for chronic diseases, comparing the effectiveness of existing healthcare interventions in the adult population, clinical research on regenerative medicine, PCP - eHealth innovation in empowering the patient, PPI for deployment and scaling up of ICT solutions for active and healthy ageing, EU-Japan cooperation on Novel ICT Robotics based solutions for active and healthy ageing at home or in care facilities, personalised coaching for well-being and care of people as they age. 2. Call - Digital Security Focus Area: Increasing digital security of health related data on a systemic level. 3. Call - Internet of Things: Large Scale Pilots.

>The European Commission has published the draft work programme 2016-2017 of Societal Challenge 5 in Horizon 2020. The objective of this challenge is to achieve a resource- and water-efficient and climate change-resilient economy and society. To maximize the impact of research and innovation activities in 2016-2017, the challenge will prioritize actions that take a systemic approach to promote a more resource-efficient, greener, and more competitive economy. These actions include a call for proposals 'Greening the Economy', which focuses on climate services, a low-carbon Europe, water, raw materials, Earth observation, and cultural heritage for sustainable growth. Additionally, the programme includes support to policy and preparing for innovation procurement, Fast Track to Innovation Pilot, SME Instrument, and specific grant agreements for ERA-NET Cofund actions. The provisional budget for the work programme is 726 million euros (359 million euros for 2016 and 367 million euros for 2017). The Commission is expected to adopt and publish the work programme in mid-October 2015.