Giuseppe G. Daquino

Is materials research a foundational pillar of the EU defense innovation?

Abstract:

The European Defence Agency (EDA) launched in 2022 the Hub for EU Defence Innovation (HEDI) with the aim to serve as platform to stimulate and facilitate cooperation on defence innovation among Member States while ensuring synergies with related European Commission activities and coherence with NATO innovation initiatives. The innovation in EU defence spans at different stages of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL). For this purpose, HEDI is meant to focus on activities from proof of concept to uptake of innovation.

EU defence innovation is strongly linked to the EU strategic autonomy, which is deployed into the capability to cover many sectors of the supply chain, especially in critical technologies. In addition, the (almost) full EU dependency from specific Third Countries for some critical raw materials (CRM) implies the need of advanced process to re-use, recycle and replace (if necessary) the most strategic CRMs.

Materials research is one of the R&T activity pillars at the European Defence Agency as well as within the European Defence Fund (EDF) of the European Commission. In order to support the HEDI framework a multi-year programme (ICARO) was launched at the end of 2023, structured on 4 Strategic Research Clusters, embedding development areas in the land, maritime, air and cross-cutting domains.

In EDF a full category is dedicated to Materials & Components research since 2021, with the goal to enabling defence capabilities, yet not mature at EU level. In addition, the European Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS) initiative is more and more fostering materials R&T in order to enhance the dual-use technology transfer mechanism (DU2TM).

Biography:

Giuseppe G. Daquino is a nuclear engineer, with a Ph.D. in nuclear and industrial safety and a Master in Business Administration. He has worked at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC), at the CERN in Geneva, and at the Research Executive Agency of EC within the Space Research. In the latter context, he developed a long experience in project management, the portfolio being mainly composed of space-critical technologies, including materials and structures, and enabling technologies for satellite communication. Dr. Daquino is the Chair of the EDA Capability Technology group (CapTech) on Materials & Structures, contributing to the EDA Research, Technology, and Innovation Directorate initiatives aimed at defining capability-led priorities, programs, and projects. He is responsible for the maintenance/update of the CapTech’s Strategic Research Agenda. In this role, he liaises with the EC and EU Agencies, industry associations, companies, and academic institutions involved in military and dual-use R&T.