We are excited to share several important updates regarding the AREANA project.
This announcement includes the AREANA Synergy MoU, highlights the expansion of its signatories, the establishment of the General Assembly, details about the first in-person meeting and a JoinED Call, and a multinational Aviation Research Strategy comparison process has started.
Synergy MoU
- Around the Aerodays in Warsaw, we signed the AREANA Synergy MoU. With an initial seven signatories, then joined by UKRI in July, we now have eight ministries and funding programs from five countries (AT, DE, NL, RO, and UK) who want to jointly promote synergies in European aeronautical research.
Group of Signatories:
- Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur (BMIMI), Radetzkystr. 2, 1030 Wien, Austria
- Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE), Scharnhorststr. 34-37, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Ministerie of Infrastructuur en Waterstaat (MINIENW), Rijnstraat 8, 2515 XP Den Haag, The Netherlands
- Autoritatea Nationala pentru Cercetare (ANC), Str. Mendeleev 21-25, 010362, sector 1, Bucuresti, Romania
- Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), Martell House, University Way Cranfield, MK43 0TR, United Kingdom
- Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft (FFG), Sensengasse 1, 1090 Wien, Austria
- Stichting Luchtvaart in Transitie (LiT), NL Aviation Plaza Prinses Margrietplantsoen 81, 2595 BR Den Haag, The Netherlands
- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Polaris House Swindon SN2 1 FL, United Kingdom
- In the meantime, the General Assembly (GA) of the group of signatories has been established, with Ron van Manen (LiT) as speaker and Vera Eichberger (FFG) as deputy speaker. A Steering Committee (SC) was elected (Chris Low (ATI), Daniele Mocenco (INCAS, representing ANC), Judith Jegers-Boekel (MINIENW), Polina Wilhelm (FFG) and Hartwig Hagena (DLR, representing BMWE, Speaker) and tasked with handling day-to-day business and recruiting additional members.
JoinED Call
- The first in-person meeting of the General Assembly will take place in The Hague on September 10th.
- In addition to the adoption of the process manual, the main focus will be on the launch of the MoU group’s first multinational “JoinED Call”.
- The “JoinED Call” will govern the collaboration of an expected 10 or more funding programs with an estimated total volume of €40 million+. The Joined Call will enable bilateral consortia formation between all participating programs, thus building on the first “international interim call” of the German LuFo program. The “International Interim Call” enabled German companies to form bilateral consortia with other funding programs and led to joint proposals with partners from 13 different countries (including France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, and Australia).
- The official launch of the “JoinED Call” is planned for the beginning of October 2025. Participation by other funding programs is generally possible, provided they plan their own national call, which will evaluate submitted project proposals by October 2026.
Strategy Comparison
- Another item on the agenda at the in-person meeting will be the presentation of initial approaches to a comparison of the aviation strategies of Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.
- The goal is to facilitate an intensified exchange between the participating countries, which, while maintaining “strategic autonomy,” will facilitate the identification of common areas of interest and opportunities for cooperation.