In Orkney, tests are ongoing on the world's most powerful tidal energy floating turbines. In Aberdeen, Dundee, Birmingham, Brighton and London, city councils and bus companies participate in Europe-wide projects deploying hundreds of innovative hydrogen vehicles for zero-emission city transport. In Armagh, Northern Ireland, new types of drugs for cancer therapy with scientists in Belfast, London, France, Germany and Switzerland are being developed. What do these projects have in common? The European Union's €95 billion research and innovation framework programme, Horizon Europe.
The good news is that since 1 January, researchers and businesses in the UK are able to participate in Horizon Europe on par with their EU counterparts and have access to EU funding. I am in London today to celebrate this huge milestone with the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Michelle Donelan. This is a win-win for both sides and marks a new chapter in EU-UK relationship.
My message to British researchers and innovative businesses is simple and clear: Apply! Thousands have succeeded before, joining forces with European partners, advancing science, boosting academic careers and business growth. Officials estimate there are about 65,000 UK businesses with research and development interests that make them eligible for Horizon Europe funding.
British teams took part in over 47,000 EU research projects in the past 40 years, receiving GBP 18 billion. Horizon Europe is significantly larger than its predecessors, with a yearly budget of around GBP 11 billion, plus contributions from associated countries. The UK is expected to add about GBP 2 billion per year.
The programme tackles the major challenges facing our societies such as climate change. British talents already contribute their knowledge and skills. For example, five companies from the North, Midlands and Cambridge develop fast-charging, low-cost batteries for electric cars, with scientists from Nottingham and research centres in Europe and Turkey. In Exeter, the Met Office works with Reading's European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and with Met institutes across Europe to improve climate prediction. This contributes to the science underpinning the Copernicus Earth observation programme, to which the UK also associates.
Artificial intelligence is perhaps one of the biggest game changers for the future. In London, digital startup Deep Render is working with German and Austrian partners and the support of the European Innovation Council, a part of Horizon Europe, to use AI for extreme video compression. In Cardiff, researchers work with EU partners to design artificial cells that could help treat diseases. The NHS in Scotland and Wales have joined a Europe-wide network to procure innovative healthcare products and services.
Horizon Europe has schemes to fit different needs. The European Research Council funds the best blue-sky research on the sole basis of excellence. Fourteen grantees were awarded the Nobel prize, including British nationals Sir Peter Ratcliffe in 2019 for his work on oxygen-deprived cells and Sir Konstantin Novoselov in 2010 for his work on graphene. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions support mobility networks and fellowships. For example, Queen's University Belfast recruited 20 international researchers working on themes of the Belfast Region City Deal.
Large public-private partnerships push the boundaries of knowledge and tech, in areas ranging from new medicines and vaccines to clean aircraft and better railways. The European Innovation Council funds innovative start-ups and scale-ups and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology supports Knowledge and Innovation Communities across Europe. It will open a hub this year in the UK.
Horizon Europe is not merely European. New Zealand recently associated, Canada will soon, and we are in talks with South Korea.
Don't miss this huge opportunity. I look forward to your success!
