Commission authorises €63.6 million aid by France to the DEFI Composite R&D programme
The European Commission has decided to authorise under EC Treaty state aid rules the financial support of €63.6 million granted by France to the DEFI Composite research and development (R&D) programme. DEFI Composite is being implemented by a consortium of 46 partners led by the aircraft manufacturer Airbus France. The objective of the programme is to establish an industrial technology cluster that will develop and test methods for the design and production of complex structural components made from composite materials based on carbon fibres and intended for use in the transport equipment sector.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "I am glad to approve aid for research and innovation that will enable significant and rapid technological progress in several key areas of European industry."
The DEFI Composite programme represents approximately €137 million in costs that can be taken into account for the granting of aid. It will last for four years and aims to develop a series of methodological tools, protocols and implementation processes used for the design, modelling, testing and production of parts and structural components made from composite materials, in order to ultimately achieve further reductions in weight and energy consumption, as well as increased levels of resistance and flexibility.
By enabling partners from different fields to exchange knowledge and experience from research results, the programme DEFI Composite will help to overcome certain technological bottlenecks which are common to all sectors covered. The programme will also lead to the development of generic demonstrators for use in several application areas (aeronautics, rail, automobile, sailing).
The programme was selected by the French Industrial Innovation Agency (merged with OSEO since 1 January 2008) under an aid scheme authorised by the Commission in July 2006 (see IP/06/1020). France notified the proposed aid for the DEFI Composite programme in November 2007, as aid measures for amounts above a certain threshold must still be notified individually to the Commission. Only the €19 million part of the aid granted to Airbus France was subject to an in-depth examination by the Commission because of its size.
Following an in-depth examination, the Commission takes the view that the measure meets the conditions set out in the Community framework for state aid for research, development and innovation (see IP/06/1600). In particular, the Commission considers that the DEFI Composite programme compensates for certain market failures. There are no immediate market incentives for a programme of this nature given the high risks involved and given that there is no guarantee of success.
Furthermore, it is difficult to set up a partnership of this type, both between the different sectoral application fields for composite materials and within the aeronautical sector. Finally, the programme will have positive effects for the EU as a whole in terms of the dissemination of knowledge and positive benefits for the environment. Any distortions in competition arising from the aid should remain limited as the programme will focus on upstream R&D activities not linked to any directly marketable products.
The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under case number N 679/2007 in the State Aid Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.
Published on: 2008-10-08
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