ICE Agency hosts NATO and EU to talk emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs)

Brussels – Many business opportunities come from NATO and EU programs in emerging technologies (EDTs) for the economy and defence. What are they, and how to exploit them? How best to seize them? This is what the first seminar hosted in Brussels by the ICE Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalisation of Italian companies revolves around, as part of the initiative “ICE listens to Europe”.

EDTs, or emerging and disruptive technologies (such as artificial intelligence), are innovations with equal degrees of risk and potential, so they are of great interest to NATO and the EU itself. From the European perspective, the heart of the matter is to finance innovations in line with the overall goals of the EU.

As Deputy Head of the task force dealing with this within DG Budget in the Commission, Davide Lombardo presented the STEP Platform (Strategic Technologies Platform for Europe). The purpose of STEP is to support European industry and stimulate investment inherent in critical technologies in Europe. “STEP has a new approach to the use of European funds,” Lombardo explains, with the aim of “coordinating and making the best use of funds in eleven EU programs,” five of which are directly managed by European authorities, such as Horizon, and six others managed by member state authorities, such as the ERDF.

In the medium term, the system should enable businesses to have simplified and transparent access to European funds, also using AI on the STEP portal. An important aspect is the re-programming of European funds that are “of strategic priority for the EU,” including regional cohesion programs. Italy has been one of the most active countries regarding the orientation of compatible projects toward the objectives of the STEP platform.

“STEP does not provide for new funds, but rather systemises existing funds in the current multi-year funding framework,” comments Caterina Attiani, head of Industrial Policy and Innovation at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the European Union. “The STEP regulation and the Net zero regulation were negotiated in parallel,” but the Net Zero Industry Act Regulation (NZIA) (2024/1735) is of direct interest to companies. The production of net-zero emission technologies is the key aim of this framework of measures, in correlation with the measures affecting critical raw materials. A single, coordinated, and simplified scenario is sought. The first aspect concerns the reduction of timeframes for project authorisation, as well as new criteria for public procurement, auctions for renewable energy sources, and single points of contact.

There is more, such as the focus of the three NATO representatives on dual technologies and the importance of coordinating research in the military and civilian worlds. The Deputy Head of the Innovation Unit – Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber (IHC) Division, Matija Matoković, stressed the importance of cyber defence for NATO and its allies. The strategic structure involving the Alliance and its members is functional in securing and maintaining the technological advantage articulated in the EDTs, focusing on AI, quantum, autonomy strategy, and biotechnology. It is essential to remember the dual use of technology, which affects not only the military but also the civilian sphere. There is “a great willingness to coordinate with the European Union” and numerous commonalities for developed technologies.

One of the innovation tools used is the DIANA Fund, presented by the Italian Representative on the Fund’s Board, Massimo Artini. DIANA stands for Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic and is a novelty in the NATO landscape since it was created to support companies in the emerging technologies sector. Following the same file rouge of Matoković’s talk of the duality of NATO work, Artini also adds, “The purpose is to identify and accelerate innovation in the dual use sector within the Alliance and provide technology developers with resources.”

Salvatore Calabrò, Chief NATO Science Advisor, offers a glimpse of what’s at stake by outlining the latest news on emerging technologies coming from NATO’s STO Section (Science and Technology Organization).

STO deals with research in defence and security, offering tools to the Alliance and its partners. The research is developed on NATO priority themes, focusing on studying “the impact of science and technology on security and defence,” such as the impact of climate change or the resilience of territories to stimuli of various kinds. Calabrò, like previous speakers, reiterated the importance of coordination with the civilian world, which, when in possession of more advanced knowledge or technology, is a security breach from the Alliance’s perspective.