On 1 December, the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) published a call to its candidate members to receive proposals for Wave 1 of industrial research, validation and large scale demonstration activities under the umbrella of the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The call is the second call to be launched within the framework of SESAR 2020 - the next phase of R&D of the SESAR JU - and the first in the area of industrial research, validation and demonstration.

Under this call, activities will be awarded to new areas of research and innovation, as well as areas already covered in SESAR 1 for which further work was planned in SESAR2020 to reach the required research maturity for a delivered solution . This work will be awarded as a maximum of 28 complementary grants to Members of the SESAR JU and will be performed in the context of SESAR 2020 partnership arrangements, in accordance with SJU Regulation 219/2007, amended by 721/2014. The successful completion of this call will enable the transition from the current programme of activities to SESAR 2020 covering the period up to 2019.

“This is not just another call for research; it is a call for both innovation and further change in ATM. We believe that with the submissions from our industrial members, we will have the means to expand our catalogue of solutions and demonstrate on a very large scale how these can bring significant performance benefits to the different stakeholders in the ATM community,” says Florian Guillermet, Executive Director of the SESAR JU.