Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) are drivers of innovation and set important impetus for an intelligent and sustainable economic growth in Europe in order to ensure the future viability of our society. However, there are major differences in access for SMEs to KETs within Europe. These are particularly evident in many Central European countries where a suitable infrastructure for KETs is still insufficiently available.

The KETGATE project connects business support organisations and research institutes in order to help SMEs accessing high-level technology for advanced materials, photonics and micro-& nano-electronics in the areas of transport, health and food.

For this purpose, a contact point is set up at each partner location which offers advice to SMEs towards KET application. In pilot projects, jointly developed service models offer selected companies the concrete application of KETs through cross-border cooperation. In total, the network of smart access points will support at least 90 SMEs from Central European regions.

Besides, contractual obligations will be made with 20 other organisations to expand and to strengthen the network. Thus, the project will not only contribute to the competitiveness of SMEs in Central Europe, but also generate significant change for the entire region by supporting regional Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3).

The consortium encompasses 8 partners from Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia. BEC is an associated partner.