As part of the InvestEU Programme, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti supports the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy to promote Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) As part of the InvestEU Programme, the Ministry for Business and Made in Italy (MIMIT) and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to provide assistance for and promote Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI).
IPCEIs are large-scale industrial collaborations that bring together knowledge, expertise, financial resources and economic actors from across the European Union to achieve highly significant technological and productive goals in strategic value chains for industry on the continent.
Today there are more than 40 IPCEI projects that, following authorisation by the European Commission, have obtained financial support from MIMIT for the execution of radical innovation projects in the battery, hydrogen, microelectronic, cloud and health sectors, with significant industrial and technological repercussions on the production system.
The agreement between the Ministry and CDP aims to encourage the participation of highly innovative and sustainable Italian projects in the IPCEIs, with the aim of strengthening the country's international competitiveness. To be eligible as an IPCEI, projects must demonstrate a high level of innovation for the relevant international market, make a significant contribution in terms of technological advancement compared to the state of the art, and be considered strategic for the national economy. Furthermore, they must promote collaboration between public institutions and the private sector.
The partnership between MIMIT and CDP was made possible by the resources made available by the European Union under the InvestEU Programme and by CDP itself.
More specifically, MIMIT plays a key role in identifying and proposing initiatives of national interest, actively participating in European bodies for the assessment and identification of future IPCEIs. It launches calls for expressions of interest, informs the EU Commission of projects requiring authorisation and support, and manages the execution of approved projects.
In addition to following all construction phases of each individual IPCEI, MIMIT is also involved in the evaluation and identification of future IPCEIs within the Joint European Forum for Projects of Common European Interest (JEF-IPCEI), where MIMIT represents Italy with the aim of identifying strategic areas for the European Union and aligning future IPCEI initiatives with the objectives of the EU industrial strategy.